Winged liner. You’ve seen it on every beauty vlog ever, and you’ve also seen on every other person wearing eyeliner since forever. I definitely was not an exception. Ever since I mastered the wrist-flick in high school, you could believe that winged eyeliner was my signature look. Going to class? Winged liner. Going to a party? Winged liner. Wearing makeup period? Winged. Liner.
I’m going to follow this up with the fact that I get bored with routine ever so often. I’m great about switching up my style or my hairstyle if I happen to feel like it’s getting a little old. For some reason or another though, winged liner was always something that stayed. I definitely felt like this particular way of doing my makeup made me look the best, and in some ways, I didn’t feel like I looked like me without it. So winged liner hung around throughout high school and despite the fact that it became thinner and less prominent in college, the point is that it was still my go-to. Until recently. Because the impossible happened. I got bored. I looked in the mirror one day and decided that I was tired of the effort and time and precision that winged eyeliner took each morning.
So I quit doing it. I went to Target and bought myself a new pencil liner and proceeded to banish my liquid eyeliner to the back of my makeup drawer. Here’s the thing: opting for a more natural look made me appreciate the features of my face that were purely mine. Sure, winged liner had made me feel great about my appearance, but it had also given me a fairly “made-up” look that I began to feel like I needed. Shedding this part of my everyday routine made getting ready easier, and in the process made me feel better about showing the world a more natural face. Nine times out of ten, I think I look great, with or without makeup. But there’s a difference between feeling great about yourself when you’re your only audience versus going out in public. It’s almost similar to the way I used to try out edgy outfits in the privacy of my own home, while being nervous about wearing the same outfits out, regardless of how much I loved them.
I guess you could say that changing up my makeup routine played a huge role in silencing that little doubtful voice that cared so much about what other people thought about the way I looked. An added bonus: spending a little less time doing my eyeliner in the mornings (armed with a Q-tip and makeup remover) meant that I could use that time to focus a little bit more on my skincare. Taking time to exfoliate and put on moisturizer in the mornings really does make a difference. On top of that, I didn’t have to worry about my wings getting ruined whenever my eyes watered or whenever I blinked a little too much.
At the end of the day, if you think you look good, people can tell. And who cares what they think anyway? Makeup shouldn’t be the factor that determines how put-together you are. That being said, I haven’t quit makeup all together, trust me. A fresh eyeliner still brings me joy, and there’s nothing like a good highlight. But it’s a good feeling when you treat makeup like an option and not as a mandatory part of your day. Take my word for it, sometimes natural can be a refreshing change.