I recently read this article on Buzzfeed about a girl who went makeup-free for a week and the things she learned from it. First of all, she was super uncomfortable with her own face when she wasn't wearing makeup, and had a bit of a self-conscious meltdown, followed by the eventual acceptance of her face and the epiphany that she doesn't NEED makeup all the time.
This kind of article offends me a little bit. Not in the way that I’m throwing things around or resentful towards the author of the article. Just in the way that as a woman, she felt that she had to wear makeup every single day in order to be accepted, and it took a fairly abrupt and severe experiment to cure her of that way of thinking. I’m offended FOR the author.
What does that kind of thinking mean for girls like me? I don’t wear makeup. Not to work, not at home, and only occasionally for a nice date or family event. And even then, it’s just mascara and eyeliner, and then I feel FANCY AS HELL. I’m all like “Look at me, I’m so fancy! I have bits of chemicals and stuff on my eyes!” And yes, when I do wear it, I feel like I look good.
BUT I DON’T FEEL ANY BETTER OR WORSE ABOUT MYSELF OR MY APPEARANCE WHEN NOT WEARING ANY.
This is a very important point. I am not a hideous troll, nor am I in any way a supermodel. I am an average, very-pale female. I keep myself relatively groomed, I get my eyebrows waxed and my hair trimmed. These things I do for me. I have bushy eyebrows and I like the way I look when I am groomed. But I feel no inclination to cover my face in makeup, or spend a ton of money on expensive makeup or beauty products. I do what feels good for me.
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| Not me. At least not once I shower! |
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| WHOA DEFINITELY NOT ME. |
In the end, I like my face, makeup or no. I am comfortable with the way I look. Do I occasionally get self conscious about my looks or my body or my super-thin hair? Of course. Do I compare myself to airbrushed perfection in magazines or on tv? NOPE.
People, PLEASE don’t compare your physical looks with anyone else. You are you and there is nothing you can do about it. Be comfortable with yourself, or change yourself in whatever ways make you feel good. But don’t compare yourself to others. What’s the point in looking at someone else and categorizing all the things you don’t like about yourself or that you wished were different? It only serves to make you feel bad about yourself.
Trust me, there are enough things in this world that will try to make you feel bad without adding yourself to that list. You should be your own biggest cheerleader, your own staunchest supporter of who you are. People may try to bring you down, but only you can control the way you feel about yourself.
If wearing makeup makes YOU feel good, then by all means, go for it. I’m not saying that no one should wear it. I’m saying that we shouldn’t be wearing it because of the world telling us we should. Listen, the makeup companies just want to sell their product. Magazines and tv commercials are the best way to do it. Telling you you need it is a good way to do it. It has nothing to do with YOU, it is about them. Do what feels good for yourself, not something an article may you feel bad for not doing.
Should I feel about myself because I don’t wear any makeup to work? Would you? A better question: Would you feel badly about yourself for not wearing any (you rebel!), or for what you think other people will think? How would it make you feel if other people didn’t even notice? Would it make you feel worse if they did notice?
Maybe these are the types of questions we should really be answering. Thoughts, anyone?
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