A Review of
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies that Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business, by Karmetria Dunham Burton, PhD
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By Shaundale Rénā
Never Wear Red Lipstick: 8 Lies That Stop Black Women from Succeeding in Life and Business took me on several rides. Author Karmetria Dunham Burton, PhD speaks of business and faith and simultaneously shares stories of personal loss amidst private professional gains. This book falls under this quarter’s Art & Artist for Dr. Burton’s creativity to apply something as simple as red lipstick to a corporate structure that starts with the individual self — the truest form of a raw canvas. She not only attempts to start a new conversation surrounding Black women in the workplace; she breaks through the noise of what we are told not to do and makes it clear that beauty is still in the eye of the beholder and that the wider the stroke, the broader the masterpiece.
To my surprise, this book touches on many of my corporate experiences—even as I worked in the nonprofit sector over fifteen years. Ironically, Burton experienced the same levels of undermining and betrayal in her professional quests that left me feeling hurt, angry, frustrated and alone, often at the hands of other Black executive-level professionals. It was hard to fathom that this might be considered “standard behavior,” even though it felt all too real. Her story is the glitz and glam of what a representation of true authenticity looks like at every level—whether bountiful or broken.
Yes, I did question whether this is every Black woman’s professional plight, as it is challenging to dismiss the need to feel prepared to be disrespected as part of the corporate requirements “to arrive.” As a Black woman, we spend a lot of time striving for our version of the best of the best career. However, nowhere along the way do we stop and consider the various insults we may or may not encounter. Nobody ever prepares for that level of disappointment; neither are we ever sat down and told how to. It can only be felt when it is experienced, and it is rarely ever experienced in isolated instances. To which Burton speaks candidly in her own way about what community and non-conformity look like … Artistry at its best.
What I appreciated about Don’t Wear Red Lipstick is that each chapter opens with a truth and a lie. There are also expectations laid out with actionable goals. In the end, the author’s objective is to help, heal, inspire and equip readers. And isn’t that just like the broad and wide strokes of everyday life? So, Paint Your Lips Red, Burton’s literary anthem, comes alive in fashion and in form.
I’d have to say Dr. Burton succeeded in her attempt to bring readers into her world, to show different ways to navigate future challenges and even how to see themselves in current situations—creatively, nonetheless. Her hindsight is someone else’s foresight. However, some lessons were hard-learned—for instance, after a Black male executive she thought was her ally told her she was “doing a great job,” but was “too ambitious.” And, before that, a Black female manager dismissing her as a whole in passing, stealing her presentation ideas at a roundtable discussion and cancelling meetings with her to try and save face.
I do want to point out that Paint Your Lips Red is inspired by Karmetria’s “Big Mama.” The author admits that she came to realize “this finishing touch wasn’t just a fashion statement” for her grandmother, who always requested her red lipstick before leaving home. “It was her superhero cape” that “represented her power, her mojo, her fierceness, and her fearlessness as she faced a day of being poked and prodded while not feeling her best ‘later in life.’” So, to the author, red lipstick was an outward manifestation of Big Mama’s courage, which she now offers to each reader, artistically.
As Dr. Burton shares numerous stories of different individuals—mine unknowingly included—no two stories are the same. However, this book will show you that not one of us has the market cornered on grief. So, whether you relate to her own stories—when she started writing, she was married; when she finished, she was widowed—or those of her mentees or coaching clients, Don’t Wear Red Lipstick will strike a nerve or two and still somehow manage to give you access to the process of doing the work. And as a conscious woman of color, I needed the takeaways to chart my own next course for myself.
I equally enjoyed Karmetria’s “Boss Blueprint Breakthroughs,” as the call to action to pray, process and paint your lips red guided us to set clear, actionable goals. One that stood out most was dealing in hope (and not in delusion), but my second favorite was being a lady and a legend, as her lessons on poise were priceless! “To lead with poise,” Karmetria shares, “means choosing to manage your emotions rather than allowing them to manage you.” Although more of a technical stance, I see the beauty of this simply being “stand tall,” even amongst the giants we may face in our lives. One statement at a time, Burton imparts wisdom necessary to glow from within.
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Shaundale Rénā (@iShaundale) is a multi-award-winning freelance developmental editor specializing in romantic comedy, historical, contemporary and women’s fiction, and nonfiction self-help and memoir. With six international awards under her belt, Shaundale has collaborated with imprints like Adams Media/Simon & Schuster and Lake Union Publishing/Amazon Publishing on bestsellers like Self-Care for Black Women and Scarlet Carnation. Her most successful self-published clients, Kimberlee Yolanda Williams and Zariah L. Banks, have won multiple awards for their work, Dear White Woman, Please Come Home and Beauty Beheld, respectively. Shaundale’s passion for connecting the big picture of a story shines through in her work with indie and traditionally published authors alike. When she’s not editing for clients and writing under her alias (@StonyRhodes), she writes the New Releases column for KIZA Blacklit Magazine and book reviews for the African American Literature Book Club (AALBC). Learn more about Shaundale and her work in the literary arts by visiting www.ShaundaleRena.com.