Nell Merlino is on vacation with her family and will be back to blogging on Monday, August 10th.  Until then, please enjoy guest blogging from a few of Count Me In’s experts, community members and staff.  Today’s entry is from Amy Litt, Manager of New Media and Communications at Count Me In.

Count Me In has its first official lip color!  Poppy King, founder of the pinup inspired cosmetic company Lipstick Queen, has created a bold new lip color called FIRED UP! to fuel the fires of women entrepreneurs who are pulling the country out of recession.  A fire engine red lip gloss could not be more perfect for the CMI family - Nell Merlino herself is a red lipstick queen and, much like the classic red lip, an inspiration for bold, womanly confidence in every situation. 

From the press release:

“More women than ever are becoming both the primary breadwinners and caretakers in their households,” says Poppy King. “And as women begin to dominate the labor force, I wanted to let women in on a tool I have used for years to help boost my confidence to face my own challenges, the red lip. It’s just a small action women can take everyday to get in the right mindset and get FIRED UP to make an impact.”

“This is the most educated, innovative, and ambitious generation of women the United States has ever seen,” says Nell Merlino, CEO and Founder of Count Me In For Women’s Economic Independence. “We are starting businesses, growing businesses, and creating desperately needed new jobs, which are providing economic stability for our families and the nation in the same way that our mothers and grandmothers, inspired by Rosie the Riveter, kept the economy running during World War II."

Courtesy of Poppy King

I, myself, am a makeup junkie.  I do not leave the house without my five-minute face and a blow dry.  And while I could also go on for hours about the double standard, the ridiculousness, the time and the money that women sometimes feel forced into devoting to their looks, I also feel that there’s a privilege we have in the power and control to craft our appearance as we choose.  Want to look a little younger, a little more rested, a little braver?  So does your husband, but false eyelashes and a little rouge are probably not an option for him.  (Gotta get the right wig first.) 

I think Poppy’s down with that idea, that a little lipstick is a powerful way to change a woman’s circumstances.   After all, when she needed a good red lipstick and at 18 years old she found a manufacturer to mass-produce it for her, and launched a line of lipsticks that have fueled the resurgence of classic 40’s allure. 

The story of how FIRED UP! came to be is too fabulous not to share, and another great parable for how the world of women entrepreneurs is really small if you reach out your arms.  M3 Racer Kerrilynn Pamer owns a lovely shop called Castor and Pollux in the West Village, and has been a friend of Poppy’s since she started carrying the Lipstick Queen’s products several years ago.  On a rainy day in June, Kerrilynn chatted up a prospective customer who had picked Poppy’s book, Memoirs of a Lipstick Queen, off a shelf and was completely engrossed by it.  This lady told Kerrilynn that Poppy’s guide to business was so interesting because she was going to interview at an organization that supported women’s entrepreneurship.  Kerrilynn asked her “Are you going to Count Me In?”  “Yes!”  The lady bought the book, told Nell this story of meeting an M3 Racer with wonderful things to say during her interview, and left the book with us.  Nell and Kerrilynn met at her store.  Kerrilynn called Poppy to tell her about the fabulous meeting she’d had because of this woman who picked up her book.  According to Kerrilynn, Poppy squealed and told her that she had been researching women’s groups and had already asked her publicist to call Count Me In to let us know she was releasing FIRED UP! to benefit our organization.  Amazing!  

FIRED UP! will be released on September 1, 2009 at www.lipstickqueen.com and in department stores and boutiques nationwide. 

So knockers up, pucker up, and get FIRED UP!

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