LONGWOOD, Florida – A tube of lipstick cannot erase abuse.
For Sheryl Kurland, however, something so small can help a woman rebuilding her life recognize the person looking back at her in the mirror.
Kurland is the founder and president of Find Your Fabulosity, a Florida-based nonprofit that collects new, unused lipstick and distributes it free to women receiving services through domestic violence shelters across the United States.
Ten years after its establishment in August 2016, the organization says it has distributed more than 120,000 new lipsticks to survivors of domestic violence in all 50 states. Its current website says more than 300 women’s shelters receive lipstick through the program.
“For a woman who has lost so much to abuse, the gift of a new lipstick helps her to love the woman she sees in the mirror, once again,” Kurland said in material provided to TheJ.ca.
The premise is deliberately simple.
The lipstick is not intended to replace shelter, counseling, legal assistance or other services needed by women escaping abusive relationships. It is a personal gift designed to provide something different: a small reminder of identity, dignity and self-worth.
From One Shelter To A National Program
The idea developed after Kurland became involved in domestic violence advocacy in Florida.
According to her organization, Kurland attended a Community Law Enforcement Academy program in 2015 where domestic and dating violence were discussed. She subsequently completed training to become a certified domestic violence advocate and volunteered at SafeHouse, a local shelter.
While presenting workshops to women at the shelter, Kurland noticed how participants reacted when they could choose lipstick shades for themselves.
The experience inspired what eventually became Find Your Fabulosity.
Rather than simply distributing cosmetics, Kurland began treating a new lipstick as a symbolic personal gift for women who had often left abusive homes with little of their own.
Find Your Fabulosity was formally established as a nonprofit in August 2016. It is an all-volunteer organization.
The project has since expanded dramatically.
Individuals, community organizations, clubs, and companies contribute new, packaged lipstick. The organization says donated products are then shipped to participating domestic violence shelters, which distribute them directly to women receiving their services.
Its network now reaches more than 300 shelters nationwide, according to the organization’s current figures.
Cosmetics companies have also contributed products over the years. The organization says brands that have donated include M.A.C Cosmetics, e.l.f. Cosmetics, Thrive Causemetics, and others.
In 2023, Thrive Causemetics named one of its lipstick shades “Sheryl” in Kurland’s honor.
120,000 Lipsticks And Counting
The program has steadily grown in scale.
Find Your Fabulosity now reports more than 120,000 new lipsticks distributed to women recovering from domestic violence. Its website values the donated products at more than $1.5 million.
The organization celebrated its 10th anniversary this summer.
Its continuing growth was evident during an August appearance by Kurland at the Rotary Club of Winter Park Sunrise, where a club collection drive contributed approximately 500 additional lipsticks. The Rotary club described Find Your Fabulosity as serving approximately 300 shelters.
The nonprofit has also received national and local media attention.
CBS aired a feature in 2025 as volunteers packaged 1,250 lipsticks for distribution, while television stations nationwide highlighted the project in connection with National Domestic Violence Awareness Month and National Lipstick Day.
The Meaning Behind The Lipstick
Kurland emphasizes less the cosmetics themselves than what receiving something new and personal can represent.
Women escaping domestic violence can arrive at shelters after leaving possessions, homes, and established routines behind. The lipstick is meant to be theirs, chosen and received without obligation.
Find Your Fabulosity describes each tube as a small part of rediscovering “voice, identity, and beauty inside and out.”
Kurland has remained deeply involved in domestic violence advocacy alongside the nonprofit’s distribution work.
She completed domestic violence advocacy training in Florida and has spoken to women’s organizations, community groups, conferences, and other audiences about domestic violence and the experiences that led her to establish the organization.
In 2025, she received the Women’s Executive Council of Orlando’s Heart of Service Women’s Achievement Award for her work.
As National Domestic Violence Awareness Month approaches in October, Find Your Fabulosity is using its 10th anniversary and 120,000-lipstick milestone to draw renewed attention to both its work and the larger issue confronting the women it serves.
The lipstick remains a deliberately modest intervention.
It does not pretend to solve domestic violence or the complex challenges facing a woman who has escaped an abusive relationship.
Instead, Kurland’s organization has spent a decade betting on the power of one small act of kindness: giving a woman something new, something chosen for her, and something meant to remind her that abuse does not define her.
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