Its All In the Lips

“Don’t eat salt. Salt is the enemy.” This is one of the many gems of advice that Mrs. Keyshia Ka’oir Davis offers if you want to get and keep your waistline snatched. Seriously, if you haven’t seen a picture of her waist look it up. One of the main things she is known for is her barely there waistline.

I am obsessed with a good lip, eyebrow, and lash. In my opinion those are the three bare minimum things that are a necessity if I am going anywhere. Years ago (around 2013/2014) I was with my cousin riding around and she asked me if I wanted this dark burgundy lipstick that she wasn’t using because she just wasn’t feeling the color on herself. Being the lipstick lover that I am I didn’t even hesitate in taking the product. The lipstick came in a black tube that had the words Ka’oir on it in white writing. Until this day I have never seen packaging like Keyshia’s before. That was the first time I ever heard of this brand and little did I know in that moment the way that I saw the world and myself would change forever starting with one tube of lipstick. The color looked amazing on me by the way.

Months later I was scrolling through social media and Gucci Mane was headline news with a woman named Keyshia Ka’oir. At the time, they were all anyone was talking about. I love Gucci Mane and can rap the entire Parked Outside song word for word, but for some reason in that time frame I had started listening less to rap music and had no idea who his girlfriend was or the fact he even had one. Everyone was talking about how Keyshia was so real and a “ride or die chick.” I remember thinking to myself, who is this woman? I want to be like her. It's time I found out.

One night, I was laying down and I went on Google and typed in Keyshia Ka’oir. That was when I figured out she was the woman who made that lipstick my cousin gave me. It took about fifteen minutes before I was in complete awe of her. Social media just portrayed her as Gucci Mane’s ride or die girlfriend. She truly was that but also so much more. Keyshia Ka’oir is an entrepreneur who now has three successful brands: KA’OIR Cosmetics, Fitness, and Hair. At the time I discovered her she had two brands: KA’OIR Cosmetics and Fitness. She even has YouTube videos telling you exactly how she created her first brand and became successful.

At the time, I was miserable in college and even more miserable due to how my relationship was going with my then boyfriend. When I went to college I went to make my parents happy. I should have been working on my studies, but I had zero interest in them. I am truly that person who gets distracted by a speck of dirt when I’m studying. The night I found out who Keyshia truly was, I was actually supposed to be studying and taking a thirty minute break. Those thirty minutes turned into hours and yes, I failed that test the next day. By the end of my introduction to the then Keyshia Ka’oir I learned some things about myself. The main one was: I was for sure unhappy and needed to make changes in my life immediately. I was doing the things that Keyshia said don’t do. “Stay focused - especially when it comes to men; do not get caught up in men.” I was worked up over a guy that didn’t deserve me whatsoever and was completely distracted by him and honestly, putting him before me. Also, being so unhappy with school knowing I didn’t want to be there was truly taking a toll on me. I didn’t believe in myself because I wasn’t living for me. I was living to make others happy.

That night Keyshia gave me the one thing no one else could, hope. I stayed up for hours to find all the information I could about her. Going through her Instagram posts showed how strong and dedicated to herself and her success she truly was. It wasn’t until then I realized how much was holding me back. As much as I wanted to blame my boyfriend or family for my unhappiness there was no need to. It starts within yourself. Keyshia built her entire business from the ground up herself. She has stated that she was so successful because she started with no debt. She is living proof that you can have everything you want. Nobody's story is perfect but we can all truly have a fairytale ending if we believe in ourselves.

I wish I could say after that night it was an overnight success story for me ;I dumped my boyfriend and stood up to my parents but that wasn’t the case. About one to two years later I broke up with my boyfriend because things got worse and worse. It took me that long to build up the strength and courage to leave. Looking back at it now, I was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship. One thing I can testify to is that love is a hell of a drug. Be extremely careful in picking who you love. After that night I started to pray that I would fall out of love because I had the love bug bad for the wrong human. I have always looked up to Keyshia not only in business but in love. Loyalty means everything to me and the fact that everyone knows Keyshia is ride or die for her man and respects her for it truly makes her even more of an inspiration. She showed me to never settle for less. Though we have never met in person, you can tell just by pictures how much Gucci loves her and he truly treats her like a queen. When the time comes I know that my relationship will be built on every pillar that is important to me and I will be treated like a queen. I also can’t wait to compare our diamonds because Gucci ices her out! It helps that she can also afford to ice herself and her man out as well. Put a price tag on yourself and don’t settle until the right one agrees to pay the bill. Never conform to make anyone else more comfortable. That was my greatest downfall.

I was in school for three more years and I finally was set to graduate. I knew I would still be in school for a little while longer and I thought to myself I should just go ahead and walk. (The college I attended only had May graduations, not fall. I was supposed to be done in the fall.) I told my parents that I would walk and finish school. I walked in May and still went to school while working two jobs. I had finally reached my breaking point. By that time I was diagnosed with anxiety and depression. Everything had just gotten out of control for me to deal with. I called my mom, she was so worried about me she told me dad to come and get me about two days after we talked. I went to the doctor the day after my dad came to get me and was told by the doctor I couldn’t drive back to school that day. I needed to get back due to it being a huge game day weekend and I had to work. That didn’t happen. I was out of school and town for at least three to four weeks. During that time I went to visit my best friend and stayed with her. When I finally did go back to school I had so much work to catch up on. I flunked out. That was the second time I had taken that class and I had to wait another year to take it again. That was when my breaking point was reached and I was done. I am a college dropout that walked across the stage. Imagine my parents disappointment when I told them I am not going back to get that degree.

Fast forward to three years later, I am still degreeless and happier than ever. Though I disappointed the people I love the most, the only thing I would change was to do it sooner. As I stated earlier I wasn’t living for myself or my happiness. In those three years Keyshia Ka’oir became Mrs. Keyshia Ka’oir Davis and recently welcomed a baby boy with now husband Gucci Mane. The KA’OIR brand is doing better now than ever. She sells out of her fitness products quite a lot.

I myself have healed from my past. Though it is some extremely rare times when I get into a situation and something triggers me from my past I can now work on it. Who knew one tube of lipstick would change my entire life. I would like to say thank you to Mrs. Keyshia Ka’oir Davis for just believing in herself and reaching new heights. She inspires me every single day to be myself and stay true to who I am. I hope my story helps the nonbeliever to believe in yourself. Everything truly starts within you. Nobody is going to make that change for you. I can’t wait to see where my life takes me now that I am creating my own journey and listening to my wants and needs. In the end, it all worked out.