When one is surrounded by social media influencers or “ordinary” individuals who are obsessed and talented at doing their makeup, one can’t help but fall into the same hole they did. You can spend hours on YouTube watching both girls and boys create tutorials on seamless looks, and you have a high chance of executing the makeup to look to a T in your own way. Makeup is a type of art form, an art form I constantly practice but still manage to get terrible at by the second. Some individuals feel comfortable wearing zero makeup but others love the mask of confidence makeup gives them. It not only boosts their self-esteem but ultimately it can give them confidence in every aspect of their lives. Whether one feels comfortable in their own skin or in a “skin” they have created, make up lets them have an empowering moment of self-love and confidence.
Personally, I tend to fluctuate between being bare-faced and wearing makeup throughout the week. There are days where I am craving a bit of a self-esteem boost so I try to dress to impress and wear the makeup I want to wear. But there are other days where I feel amazing in my own skin. This ideal of “do what makes you feel good” has taken years for me to acknowledge since we live in a society with strict beauty standards. When you finally stop listening to what people are saying about your physical appearance, that’s the day when you feel the most at peace and content with who you fully are, on the inside and out.
Those who assume that ALL girls who put effort in their outer appearance are trying to impress someone are wrong. Those who assume that ALL girls who put zero effort in their appearance are sloppy and lazy are wrong. Those who assume that boys can’t wear makeup are wrong. Those who assume and judge are what’s wrong with today’s beauty standards. Most who wear makeup are looking to feel good about themselves and only for themselves. Most who are bare-faced are comfortable and confident with exposing their imperfections since it is a part of them. Males can certainly wear makeup; it is their choice. Makeup is a universal art form. It’s your choice to do whatever makes you feel not only comfortable but confident.
There are days where I don’t feel comfortable in either makeup or my own skin and that’s okay. My goal is to accept myself in every possible aspect in hopes of empowering me and becoming a more confident human being daily. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a self-assured individual who has cancelled out the judgments of others and only focus on the remarks of those with genuine remarks. Your skin will not only radiate because of a moisturizer or a highlighter, but it will exude because of the confidence and self-love you posses.