Over the weekend my boyfriend and I decided to get out of the house fairly early and head to a local farmer’s market (an indoor market, thank goodness). We indulged in free cheese samples and expensive, furry mushrooms (“lion’s mane” to be exact, and no they aren’t the trippy kind of mushrooms, either).

Afterward, we headed out do some other shopping at a plaza nearby. We came home with a good haul from Marshall’s, The Gap (factory store) and Ulta. The sales were on point and our second “treat your self” Sunday proved to be a relaxing success.

I know you probably want to hear more enthralling tales of sales, but that’s not the focus for today’s musings. Dom and I lazily drifted through the aisles in Ulta (a cosmetics store for those of you wondering) so I could find something unnecessary to add to my ever-growing, excessive collection of make up.

Dom is a good sport, though. He kind of wanders over to the tiny section of men’s products to look, and soon after finds me through the maze of blue eye shadows, plum-colored lip crayons and pricey brand named sections.

When I walk into any kind of store selling beauty products, I am the makeup-obsessed moth drawn to the dazzling, brightly lit palettes of powdered possibility.

Dom likes to observe while I match my skin tone to various foundations, concealers, bronzers and blushes (and usually makes some eye-roll-worthy joke about how I won’t find a ghostly pale color to match my complexion). During our trip to Ulta on Sunday, he casually mentioned how intriguing the whole idea of makeup is.

When I take the time to sit and really do my makeup, Dom tends to watch in amazement at how precise and patient I have to be to get the exact look I envision. If the lines of my eyeliner are uneven I have to use all of my self-control to not “fix” it by adding more and more liner (until practically my entire lid is just painted black).

Sometimes, I look like a slightly different person, but usually I just use all of the combinations of colors to be an enhanced version of myself. After all, isn’t that what makeup was intended for in the first place? To highlight the features you already possess and illuminate your inner goddess of confidence?

If you haven’t gathered by now, I absolutely love makeup. I don’t even want to know how much money I have spent on various beauty supplies, but I also haven’t regretted the purchases I’ve made.

I really find doing my makeup to be a relaxing, exciting hobby. Sometimes I impatiently rush home after a new haul of replenishing my supplies and re-organize every product on my makeup counter.

There is just something so calming about a new powder foundation, eye shadow palette or full tube of mascara that hasn’t been used yet.

The reason I bring up my poetic obsession with glorified face paint is because I feel like I have to explain myself; that beyond the face-painting females (and males) of this world, not many people understand why we spend hours and dollars to decorate our faces. Makeup is seen as a strange, insecure form of vanity or an obvious act of deception.

The result of this misconception comes in the form of people feeling entitled to share their opinions on how much makeup a person is wearing. I can’t even count how many times I have heard someone saying they wished women would wear less makeup because natural beauty is more appealing.

I have seen the assumption thrown around too many times that if your date’s makeup application looks obvious (as in: you can tell she/he is wearing any form of makeup) then that person must be a liar, have low self-esteem, could be “ugly” or she is high maintenance.

This snap judgment is engrained in our brains, now, and then you find that you are too focused on unrealistic, materialistic, shallow thoughts instead of actually getting to know the person.

So, let me just clarify something. If I took the time to make my face look as smooth as a porcelain doll, my lips appear perfectly plumped and painted vampire-purple, my cheeks and skin tone just the right shade of pink and bronzed to look like I had been exposed to equal parts sunshine and chilly temperatures, then I did not put forth that much effort for anyone else.

If you see that my smoky eyes are sultry and wide, with eyeliner pointed perfectly enough that the phrase, “shooting daggers”, may hold too much truth, then do not assume I am trying to impress every stranger I pass. Do not assume I am a liar, or a trickster, with zero confidence.

I love makeup because it is fun for me. I spend an hour dirtying brushes, sponges and tissues because I view this activity as my own art form. I was never very creative in the art realm. I mean I loved art in school, and I enjoy coloring my mandala-cat coloring books, but I can’t paint a detailed picture beyond an elementary-aged level.

I also want to point out that I am not a professional-level makeup artist. I absolutely would love to become that experienced and be compared to the beauty gurus of this world, but I don’t have the technique or money to become that advanced.

However, I do my makeup because I enjoy it, and I like to offer to do my friends’ makeup before a night out because I look at every blank face and envision what colors and shapes would look like on that skin tone or face shape. My friends also tend to be understanding and encouraging, even if I do mess up their eyeliner.

I am sick of hearing men complain about wanting a more “natural” girl, who doesn’t wear makeup, while also worshipping the photoshopped, heavily painted faces of celebrities.

I want to stop hearing women judge women for how that girl did her eyebrows, or how this girl applied her lipstick, as if contouring and complexions defines an entire personality.

I also want to stop seeing society’s standards taking control of how we see other people. Society says women need to have pore-less skin, the perfect-bronzed glow, the longest lashes, the most defined eyebrows and the thickest, shiniest hair.

If we don’t look like a walking cover model, then what is our use?

Society tells me to buy all of these products so I can become perfection. Maybe I started buying into that idea when I was younger, but now I feel a bit more triumphant. I feel like I have taken control against a minuscule piece of societal standards because I use makeup for my own interests and me.

I see makeup as an art form. I mean, have you scrolled through Pinterest, Twitter and Youtube in the beauty categories?

People are painting gorgeous pictures on eyelids with eyeliner!

How is this not art!?

I also want to point out that yes, sometimes I get insecure about my looks and maybe adding a little more foundation makes me feel better about myself. I’m not sure why that is up to anyone else to judge.

I also go days, even weeks, without wearing any makeup at all. I like to give my face a break, plus I get to sleep longer if I don’t worry about doing an extensive makeup session.

I also purposely went a month without wearing any makeup, so I could become less reliant on made up looks. I also was interning at the time, encouraging clients to accept their flaws along with their positive qualities. I felt kind of hypocritical at the time focusing on my looks too much, so I went ahead and embraced my physical flaws and found it wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. Now, doing my makeup is pure enjoyment, not necessity.

So, when someone tells you how you’d look better with more or less makeup, just walk away.

If they say, “if you just tried to wear a little makeup, you’d be so pretty”, tell them your life is not an unoriginal romcom where the quiet, shy girl gets a makeover and suddenly her life is miraculously perfect.

Just because other people don’t question what society tells us is right or wrong, doesn’t mean you have to follow along. If you love makeup, keep applying. If you don’t wear makeup, then that is totally cool. Just do whatever you enjoy and do it for you.

And, please, if a guy (or anyone) thinks it is funny to say, “bring her swimming on the first date…” or “this is why I have trust issues”, stab them with your dagger-sharp eyeliner, blind them with your dazzling highlighter and walk away from that nauseating ignorance.