My beauty journey has been a long and, dare I say, unfortunate one. From middle school pictures with way too much blue eyeshadow to high school pictures with not enough coverage, I’ve always struggled to find the perfect balance, and I’ll admit I’m still figuring it out. Just two years ago, any time I stepped out of the house I had to put on a full face of makeup like I was going to fashion shoot or glam event. While there is nothing wrong with doing your makeup to look glam and fierce, I had to step back and ask myself why was I doing that just to go two blocks to the grocery store.
Fortunately, I did some soul searching, and talking with my mother, and was able to figure it out. Changing my mentality was the next step, so I challenged myself to slowly decrease the amount of makeup I wore to get to a point where I would feel comfortable going out without it. I would start out with a full face, then take away blush, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, foundation, concealer, lipstick, one-by-one until I was left with a bare face. Doing this not only opened my eyes to see how much time and effort I was putting into going somewhere simple, but it also showed me that I didn’t need all of those layers to feel beautiful. I wasn’t putting on the makeup for me; I was putting it on so I felt like others would accept me.
Nowadays, I save my “glam” face for when I actually go out. It becomes something that I want to do, not something that I feel I have to do. Not only does this make it feel more special, but I know that I’m doing it for me.
Whatever your comfort level with makeup is, whether that be barefaced or fullfaced or somewhere in between, you should wear what makes you feel most confident and happy. And if you’re striving to find that happy medium, you’ll get to it. With a little soul searching and experimentation, you’ll be able to rock any makeup look and find your own beauty.