The Power of Wearing Makeup Everyday

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Every now and then, I will get visceral, vivid flashbacks of the time I sat in my eighth grade Algebra I class and freaked out over… makeup. Shielded behind one of those dividers that discouraged wandering eyes, I gave up on the math test in front of me and spent five minutes vigorously rubbing my eyes free of the eyeliner I’d painstakingly applied that morning, then delicately picking off the thick clumps of mascara that lined my lashes.

As I flicked away the fallen wisps of mascara from my desk, I recalled one of my friends commenting on how much makeup I wore, and how little she wore in comparison. We were thirteen; why was I even bothering? God, she wished she had that free time or cared that much.

I was distraught, to put it lightly. Did I care too much? Is that the message of wearing makeup most days conveyed to other people? Did I come across as too insecure to the other thirteen-year-olds, not to mention everyone else, in my life?

As it turns out, middle school girls are just mean.

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I grew up watching my mom put on her subtly sparkly eyeshadow and signature red lip every single day in our shared bathroom mirror for as long as I can remember. This inspired me to discover my own signature look (which, of course, in middle school, consisted of heavy, messy winged liner). My mom never told me I couldn’t wear makeup, nor did she necessarily encourage me to; makeup simply existed as a tool that I could use or not, a neutral stomping ground so far as she was concerned.

Admittedly, much of the reason I began to wear makeup when I was younger was due to insecurities. I caked on the foundation and concealer every day of freshman year in a desperate attempt to cover up the three red pimples on my face. I layered on the liner because it was dark and might deter people from approaching me. Initially, it was all a way to hide my natural face—all the features I was born with—and the features my mother and father provided me with.

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Makeup, for me, is no longer a way to hide. I don’t wear it every day—despite what the title may insinuate—but I do wear it most days unless I’m lazy or too sick to bother. I like my natural features and my bare face, but I prefer to enhance those features with thick coats of mascara, brow gel to keep my unruly brows in place, and a little swipe of eyeshadow shooting off the edge of each eye to act as an eyeliner placeholder.

Makeup is fun. It offers us the freedom to create upon the blank canvases that are our faces, to convey a message to others about who we are that does not signal insecurities or “caring too much.” I like my bare face, but if I feel more confident with something that is enhancing me rather than covering me up, where’s the harm in that?

The concept of shaming others for choosing to wear makeup is rooted in insecurities. Makeup can make you feel more put together, more ready for the day—and if makeup does nothing for you, that’s okay, too! Putting on makeup can be an act of self-care; spending a few extra minutes up close and personal with your own face might be seen as an expression of self-love, getting to know yourself a little better day by day.

Image Courtesy: Streisand Style Files

Finally, makeup also can be wielded as a weapon. For those who don’t identify as a cis woman—i.e., the group for whom it’s least “controversial” to don makeup—it can be a way of finding yourself. Wearing makeup could help someone present themselves to the public as the person they identify with internally, because without makeup it may be less obvious. Makeup can help blur the harsh lines between gender identities and fluctuating sexualities. Makeup is, in its essence, art, and art harbors a multitude of powers.

Essentially, there is nothing wrong with wearing makeup most days of the week or even every day. Sometimes it can even double as a second barrier against pollution and help your skin, depending on what type of concealer or foundation you’re using. Don’t let anyone else shame you for the decisions you decide to make for yourself, so long as those decisions are benefitting your life and not hindering your individual growth. Maybe I just wrote this to make myself feel better for wearing makeup every day. But I also know I like my face just as fine without it, too.

Strike Out,

Writer: Gillian Bennett

Editor: Noelle Knowlton

Graphic Designer: Alison MacCloud

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