As I sit in the airport at 5:30 a.m., I look around myself. I do not see a single woman without makeup on. Okay, maybe there is one, but you get the point. I woke up early today to be sure that I had my five minutes to put on some foundation and mascara, and I am sure that these women budgeted a bit of time to themselves this morning as well.
Why do we do this? Why do we wake up and spend time putting foreign substances on our faces? Some may say that we do it because we are insecure, that women must feel some sort of shame about their appearance to put makeup on every day. Others believe we are hiding from or even lying to ourselves and others. Some say that women are subjugating themselves to a male-dominated culture and allowing themselves to be judged based on beauty rather than brains. Some even believe that makeup controls women – that it hooks them in and makes them keep buying more and faking their looks.
Well, I think that women use makeup to take control. I believe that we use makeup in order to empower ourselves to be, well, ourselves.
Have you ever looked at a woman and NOT judged her, even just a little bit? It seems to me, as well as to brave beauty blogger Em Ford, that women will be judged either way.
Ford’s beauty blog embodies the dispute that women are placed in the middle of. Is there ever a line where you are wearing too much or too little makeup? Is there a way that women will ever not be judged on their appearance? My answer is: Who cares?
Women need not feel belittled by their choice of wearing makeup or not wearing makeup. We need not feel judged for wearing too much, or too little. We are not lying or pretending. We are not subjugating ourselves to men. We are not being controlled by makeup, not if we do not want to be.
We are controlling the way that we are viewed. We are using makeup to bring out our natural beauty, to express our individuality, to boost our confidence, and to allow the outside world to see past our outside appearance into our true selves.
Cheri Lindsay, a volleyball coach and Dermablend spokeswoman, has embraced her imperfections. Lindsay has a skin condition called vitiligo, which causes her to lose the color of her skin in blotches. She loves herself and she has accepted her differences. Lindsay also wears makeup to cover her skin condition. She states on a YouTube video that she wears makeup so that others can look through the initial shock of the skin condition and see who she truly is. Cheri Lindsay has taken control of how people view her. She is beautiful with and without makeup, but she is able to be herself with no reservations, no odd looks, and no questions when she wears makeup.
Another Dermablend spokeswoman, Cassandra Bankson, uses makeup to help her model. She admits that she grew up with severe acne, and was bullied so much that she was pulled out of school. Bankson shares her story with us on a YouTube video, stating that she found it hard to love herself before she was able to control the way that she looked. Now, she is a successful model and YouTuber. Bankson helps us understand that we have to let go of the idea of perfection and just be ourselves in order to achieve happiness.
Like Cassandra and Cheri, I wear makeup everyday to conceal my imperfections. I am not self-conscious without makeup on. I feel fine with my appearance without makeup, and I do go out in public without makeup on. But if I can cover up a zit and my dark circles with a little bit of makeup, I feel much more powerful in the outside world. I do not feel judged for having acne or looking tired. I wear makeup for myself – to make myself more approachable and more “me.” I believe that we should do anything that makes us feel happy and beautiful; and if wearing makeup can make women feel more happy and beautiful, why should anyone stop them from doing so?