I’ve heard it lots of times: “It’s so sad when women feel the need to wear so much makeup.” “Look at all the makeup she’s wearing. She must be so insecure.” “Too bad she doesn’t know she’d look a lot better without all that makeup.”
In our world, women can’t avoid criticism no matter what we do. If we choose not to wear makeup, then we’re unprofessional, ugly, or don’t care enough. If we choose to go all out, we’re insecure, slutty, or vain. For years, I tried to fit into what I hoped society would consider an appropriate amount of makeup. As a younger teenager, I didn’t wear any because I didn’t want to be seen as too feminine or ditzy. Then, as my friends started to wear makeup, I decided I needed to wear some to keep up. I spent high school trying to wear what I considered a modest amount of makeup.
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Only recently do I feel like I started to wear makeup just for my own sake. Contrary to what most people would assume, I started wearing more makeup after I started to appreciate the way I look. Before, I thought wearing makeup was more or less a lost cause because there would be no way to “fix” my face, and if there was, then it would take so much time and effort it wouldn’t be worth it. Also, there was a part of me that thought I didn’t deserve to look good. For me, not wearing makeup was a sign of low self-esteem.
Another fear I had regarding makeup is that if I wore it all the time, people would be disappointed when they saw my real face. But wearing makeup is not lying. By that logic, having tattoos is a lie because it tells people you were born with pictures on your skin. If anyone tells you that you are lying because you’re wearing makeup, ask them why they thought you had eyelids the color of eyeshadow.
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To me, wearing makeup is a way of showing myself respect. It makes me feel more confident, put together, and professional. I also enjoy the process of putting it on, so when I have the time, I wear a fair amount. But if I wake up late and don’t have the time to put on makeup, I still feel confident in myself. I’m the only person I’m trying to please.
Now, I understand some women may not feel the same way about makeup as I do. You might not enjoy the process of putting it on, or it may not do anything for you. That’s completely ok. The way you care for yourself and respect yourself may be completely different than the way I do because you’re a completely different person. Do what works for you.
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Don’t let other people tell you what you need to do to feel confident or how confident you are based on how much makeup you are wearing. There are beautiful and confident women who wear all levels of makeup.
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