Makeup. There is a definite love-hate relationship when it comes to those bottles and tubes of magic that are the only things that let me feel like I am somewhat prepared to face the world sometimes. On most days, I don’t give it a second thought; I just get up, put my face together, and begin my day. On some days, however, putting on makeup is just a hassle and I wish I didn’t have to do it. But do I really have to? Yes! That was the answer that always immediately came to mind since midway through freshman year of high school when I first began experimenting with the miracles of makeup. Of course, my parents would tell me that I looked fine without it and that they could barely see a difference, but I knew better. They are my parents so they had to tell me that.
“From a survey conducted by the Renfrew Center Foundation in 2013, it has been discovered that one in five girls who have worn makeup between the ages of 8 and 18 years old have negative feelings about their looks when they don’t wear makeup, such as feeling self-conscious, unattractive, or as if something is missing from their faces. Of the girls who wear makeup, 65 percent started wearing it between the ages of 8 and 13 and 27 percent hardly ever leave the house without wearing any. The places most girls feel are okay to be bare-faced are at home, the pool or beach and the gym. The least acceptable places to be bare-faced are friends’ houses and school.” – Huffington Post
I don’t know about you, but this is definitely relatable, and sadly, we are a big part of this problem. We put so much pressure on ourselves to look perfect like the “Insta-famous” people we follow, that we lose touch of reality. All of us ladies have the right to feel 100 percent comfortable with who we are and exactly as we come, with or without a face full of products. And I do believe that most girls are supportive of each other and can find the true beauty in all of our fellow females. Fear of not being picture perfect and looking as good as everyone else, though, gets in the way of this fact, and leads us every morning in our routine to cover up and fit in with all of the other beautiful painted faces.
So, in order to actually walk the walk and put some actions with my words, I pushed myself way out of my comfort zone and decided to go one day plain faced – but not just on any day. I did not wear makeup to my semi-formal dance, an occasion where every other girl was not just made up, but looking absolutely perfect from head to toe. It was definitely scary, but I am so glad I made myself do this. Going without makeup during the day was easier since many girls look casual and don’t usually wear makeup. Come evening when it was time to get ready, however, I almost broke and didn’t follow through. It may sound silly, but part of me was scared: scared of not fitting in, not looking beautiful, and that my sisters would wonder why I wasn’t put together and representing them well.
To my delight and relief, I quickly realized from the beginning that no one even seemed to notice or care, and I was actually complimented on how I looked and for what I was doing! This was such a confidence boost, and for the rest of the night, I didn’t feel at all out of place or worried like I was in anticipation of the event. In fact, my sisters and friends were so supportive of me and more encouraging than I could believe. They made me feel confident through their compliments and praises, but the biggest success of the evening did not come from anyone else. Knowing that the beauty they saw was not coming from anything I had put on my face or effort I took to look as good as everyone else, but from what was purely from inside and my untouched, unpainted smile was a truly amazing feeling.
I feel more secure with myself now than I have been in a long time, and I hope that all girls can know that what makes you beautiful has nothing to do with your outer beauty and makeup techniques. True beauty has everything to do with how you carry yourself and letting your true natural beauty shine. If you’re someone who wears makeup every day, I challenge you to go a day without it and just see how you feel. I can promise you that though it will not be an easy change at first, it will bring you much more joy and security by the end of the day than you can imagine, and hopefully a perspective change. So stay beautiful girls, and keep letting that inner beauty shine.