A friend proposed something to me the other day. What if we could all walk around campus for a week, without anyone wearing makeup so that we could remove the false sense of beauty people associate with the perfection that makeup appears to produce. I’ve always thought it was funny seeing girls that people characterize as beautiful or “hot” without makeup and they look like completely different people. The funny part is, we all do it. I notice the difference in the amount of makeup I wear on a regular day compared to a night that I’m going out or when I’m just hanging out with my friends in the dorms and don’t care what I look like—because they have to love me even on my gross days.
But why does our audience matter? We didn’t come out of the womb with a tube of concealer and perfect thick lashes, so do we feel like we have to be wearing it on a daily basis?
I’ve found myself nervous to even go to class sometimes without makeup, but then I realize—no one else notices or cares. People aren’t going to point and say “Wow, that girl is definitely not wearing makeup today.” No one will take the time out of their day to notice the small pimple growing on your cheek, because we’re all human and have imperfections. And if you are wearing makeup to cover up any acne—remember to opt for something oil free and stay away from compacts, because they are pressed with oil and can cause acne cosmetic, which is makeup induced blemishes. Getting caught covering acne with makeup and making your breakout worse only defeats the purpose—so remember to let your skin breathe once in a while!
People always joke about people that go cake-faced to the gym. But why is even a little foundation needed? It’s unhealthy for your skin to work out with makeup and you’re going to end up a little red and sweaty anyway if you’re really working out. It’s understandable when you’re going to the gym after classes and already have some foundation on, but to abuse your skin by wearing makeup just for the gym is just unfair to your face. And trust me—no one is examining your face for imperfections while they’re running on the treadmill.
Once in a while people will throw out the excuse—“I wear makeup for me, not for others.” Okay, well if that’s true then answer me this: do you wear makeup when you’re at home in your sweats having a Netflix binge kind of day—yeah, I didn’t think so. Sure, maybe wearing makeup may allow you to feel more confident, everyone feels more confident when they know they look cute. But why wouldn’t you feel cute on a normal day? After all, it’s still you under the makeup. I’m not hating on wearing makeup on the daily because I do it too, but I wish that it wasn’t a convention we spend hundreds of dollars on a year, when we realistically don’t have to. Because really—think how many chipotle bowls you could buy with the price of your foundation?
I’ll admit, I usually can’t go a day without mascara because I know I look like I’m falling asleep without it. And I know that the effort that I put into my makeup on a given morning usually depends on whether I know I’ll see the cute guy in one of my classes that day or whether it’s just a leggings and T-shirt kind of day. But if I know I’m going to be late—I’m not going to go out of my way to spend the 15 minutes it takes to primp myself, I’m going to run out of my room probably in the shirt that I fell asleep in and I won’t give it a second thought. But if you feel the need to stop your daily routine and reapply your makeup throughout the day—are you really doing it for yourself or to keep up appearances?
I think we should challenge ourselves, to not only not wear makeup, but to allow ourselves to feel confident and beautiful without it on. Because when it comes down to it—people that don’t know you don’t care whether or not you’re wearing it and people that know you aren’t going to think less of you—and if they do, then they’re probably just crappy people and you’re too good for them anyway.
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