On social media, there seems to be this thought lately that makeup is somehow “false advertising." False advertising for/of what, I don’t understand. Women aren’t products, first of all, and why are women being shamed for doing something for themselves? I, for one, have personally never put on a shade of lipstick to impress anybody other than myself. Makeup and cosmetology is my power. It’s one of the few things in this world that I can control. I can control how much I wear, what products I do or don’t use on any certain day, and most importantly, I can control what image and vibe I give off. I can control how I feel. The power of makeup and cosmetology is huge for me. Over the past few years, I’ve started a personal journey to explore the world of colored cosmetology and I’ve never felt better about myself. Brightly colored eyeliner and lipstick and hair dye are my favorite ways to express myself.
If you look through the makeup scattered across and interspersed through the containers on my desk, there’s a definite pattern: lots of nude and neutral colors, but lots of bright colors in eyeliner and lipstick.
My eyeliner comes in three select colors: darkest black, eggplant purple and sparkly emerald green. I have carefully selected each one for different reasons. The black is the most neutral. Black eyeliner goes with almost everything and also gives off a feeling of being able to take on anything that comes my way. Purple and green eyeliner are necessary because according to countless fashion magazines, they make my eyes pop and bring out the inner hues that aren’t normally visible.They're also fun colors that are great for livening up my face and just being something extra on days that I just need a little something.
My dozen, or so, lipsticks range in hue, from nude to the palest baby pink to the brightest red. Nude is perfect on a light makeup day or when I just want a little something extra. It accentuates my lips without adding anything else to distract from the rest of my makeup. Baby pink is sweetly calm, perfect for those summer days with light makeup, when I need just a small pop of color to tie everything together. Bright red is perhaps one of the most classic makeup items out there. It’s been worn by beauties such as Marilyn Monroe, famous for her red pout (among other things), and Rosie the Riveter, an icon of femininity who wore bright red lipstick. It’s one of personal favorites, and one that I wear the most. It's classic, but it’s also strong, bold and catches your attention.
My hair color also tends to changes. My mom made me wait until after I took my senior photo in high school to dye my hair. The very week after my picture was taken, I went into the salon for my appointment and paid a $100 to dye my hair red. It didn’t come out quite how I wanted, but I still loved it. That was the first in a line of hair color choices. Every color was selected by me. After that first time, I always dyed my hair myself. The effects of the colors on my confidence was amazing. Each color had its own power, its own sense of life. I feel like every color gave me a slightly different personality. Red made me feel fun, adventurous and like a show stopper. The red hues varied, but I kept my hair red for over a year. After that I went to a dark burgundy, which while the purple hue lasted, I loved. The purple made me feel mysterious, bold and a little out there. Most recently I tried to go blonde. It was interesting to say the least, and it’s definitely something I won’t do again. The blonde, however, made me feel more confident. It gave off its own identity of being strong, and it made me feel more classic. America has the identity of a classic blue eyed, blonde beauty and I definitely felt that. Plus, blonde goes great with the whole black eyeliner, bright red lips look that I tend to favor. In my opinion though, blondes don’t have more fun. I had the most fun being a redhead.People will always have opinions about how you look. Whether it's your hair color, makeup or clothing, everyone will have their own thoughts and not everyone will agree. That's the magical thing though. It's your choice how you look and how you choose to express yourself. I use makeup and hair dye to make myself feel more confident and ready to take on the world. Not everybody will like that but not everybody has to. As long as you feel confident and like your best self, go for it. Regardless of what anybody else thinks or says.
