Since I was five, I’ve had a small obsession with makeup. I loved the way I could transform myself into a whole new person with just a dab of sparkly eyeshadow and a crazy vibrant lipstick. I began to explore more into it when I got to high school, wearing just a simple look here and there to make my appearance pop.
I didn’t have trouble with acne; in fact, I had the clearest skin out of my two sisters. Foundation was something that I rarely applied because my face already had a natural glow.
Unfortunately, that glow disappeared.
I had begun to go full-force with my makeup on a daily basis. I would beat my face every morning in await of the comments that I would receive for looking like a makeup God. It was required of me to wear makeup for a number of school projects being that I was on-camera all the time in my communications class.
I never really gave my face a break.
When senior year rolled around, I noticed something had changed. My T-bone area was always flared with small bumps and blackheads. Acne marks had taken over my cheekbone area from past irritation. Dry spots would constantly appear under my eyes where I would apply my concealer and highlight.
My perfect skin was ruined.
Like any girl who felt insecure about her flaws underneath, I tried to hide it with more makeup damage.
I didn’t feel pretty. I felt as if I didn’t wear makeup people would look at me differently and make rude comments about my appearance being that I had developed so much acne scars underneath. I was scared. How could something that helps you be pretty, destroy the real you?
And then I thought, what actually defines pretty? What makes a woman truly beautiful other than glamorous clothes, shoes, and high-definition makeup?
I could tell I was losing a sense of myself, so I boycotted wearing makeup every day the first semester my freshman year of college. I went Monday through Friday not wearing a lick of foundation or eyeliner. I only caved in when it was required of me for projects and presentations, and still then, I only applied eyeliner and lipstick.
I felt so empowered to make this transition because I was being my true self. I didn’t need MAC or NAARS to make me feel or look beautiful. It was girls at my school who wore a full-face each day and I was different because I didn’t. I created my own identity being fresh-faced.
For girls out there who are afraid to build self-confidence without beauty products or enhancements because you are scared of what people are going to say, I want you to read this:
“You are beautiful. There is no beauty product or alteration that can make you more amazing than you already are. You are stunning. No one or no object defines you.”
We often lose sight of who we are because we are so pressured by the way society sees us as women. We need to break that burden. The way our lips plump with a specific lipstick or the way our highlighter makes our cheekbone standout is not who we are.
It’s the true beauty within you that shines by with the way you perceive yourself without it. Don’t let anyone tell you different. Those acne scars and blackheads are the battle wounds of a powerful woman. Let them be a symbol of how courageous and brave you are to simply be you!