I love beauty. It takes a quick glance at my vanity overflowing with makeup to notice my devotion to the artistry of it.

Beautifully drawn wings and strategically placed glitter simply makes me happy. Not only do I religiously watch my favorite beauty gurus on YouTube, but I have studied the history of makeup dating back to the ancient Egyptians, where eyeliner was used medicinally and cheek stain was used for protection. I adore every aspect of this branch of beauty.

This seemingly shallow view on beauty does not stand alone in my heart and mind as the only definition of what I find beautiful.

To further explain, here is a list of what I find beautiful in no particular order:

• Laughter
• Bright lipstick
• Confidence
• A killer outfit
• A sturdy handshake
• A genuine smile
• The sunset
• Rainstorms
• Rob Lowe
• My sister reading
• Bravery
• When my dad looks at my mom
• Scars with stories

Beautiful smiles are not limited only to those with pearly whites and perfected lipstick. A killer outfit is not dependent upon my taste, but only upon how the wearer feels in it. Scars only shape a person into being who they are today, regardless of the marks they leave on their skin.

And Rob Lowe… well, Rob Lowe is just a beautiful human and will be until he's dead... and maybe even a little after that.

You can find beauty in everyday life and make it a point to appreciate it when in its presence.

You can still do this, however, and still love makeup, or doing hair, or loving fashion or appreciating luxury brands. You can still appreciate beauty and not be defined by it.

Beauty is not limited to physical attributes human beings happen to posses. Beauty is not defined by what the media tells us it is. Beauty is everyone and everything.

Just because I love makeup, love getting my hair done and enjoy dressing up now and then does not mean that I have a vain, shallow definition of beauty.

I do not believe that we must choose. Who says that we have to choose between loving beauty through makeup and hair dye and lacy bras and loving beauty in the form of acceptance and choice and open-mindedness?

The beauty of acceptance when it comes to the world of beauty is that we have a choice. The catch, however, is that no woman should be judged for making that choice.

I am no less of a feminist for wearing makeup and others are no more of one for facing the world bare-faced.

When everyone believes they know what a feminist should look like, women are being shamed into submission. If I can’t be a feminist and wear high heels, maybe I should keep them in the back of my closet until the world is ready for them. If I am not supporting the rights of my fellow women because I straightened out my natural curl, maybe I should resist the urge to play with the hair tools I got for Christmas.

While I have been called a hypocrite for loving the beauty industry while simultaneously calling myself a feminist, I believe the only time hypocrisy truly enters is when we are told we have to choose between the two.

While makeup is a small, small aspect of a person’s life, being shamed into anything—whether it means being shamed into never putting on makeup or putting away all your high heels—is the opposite of what feminism is all about. The root of feminism is choice. And my choice is to adore beauty in all its forms.