When I was about 13 years old, my mom let me wear makeup for the first time. My skin wasn't the best by any means, so I welcomed the opportunity with open arms. I had dark spots, middle school acne and a very oily complexion. The first time I wore makeup to school, it was for a show choir performance. My mom worked at Clinique at the time, so the foundation was on point, the eyeshadow was poppin' and the red lipstick went well with my skin tone. I could not believe the overwhelming amount of compliments I got from my peers that day. I heard things like, "Wow. You are so pretty!" and "You should wear makeup everyday!" That day, my adolescent self decided that people only thought I was pretty when I wore makeup. I believed that I, from that day forward, I had to wear makeup everyday.
Eventually, I realized that most of the people I went to school with couldn't tell the difference between my made up face and my bare face. Despite knowing this, I still had to come to terms with my unique face, eyes, and skin. I had to know that I was beautiful with and without makeup, no matter what other people had to say about it. These days I wear makeup whenever I feel like it. Not because I feel like I need it, but because I have that choice.
Recently, Alicia Keys has started a no makeup movement. She's allowed herself to be photographed during recent high quality photoshoots with absolutely no makeup. Alicia says she feels "the strongest, most empowered, most free, and most honestly beautiful that [she has] ever felt." She recently relayed to the public through Twitter that just because she has chosen not to wear makeup doesn't mean she is against it. It's refreshing to see a high profile celebrity make a statement such as this one in a world where women have been trained to think that makeup is the definition of beauty. We are in the day and age of eyebrows being drawn on (which I am totally here for), eyeshadow being applied to a T and faces being contoured as if painted by Van Gogh himself. It's just nice to know that, despite popular belief, women still have the choice to create their own standards of beauty and choose what they prefer when it comes to makeup.
To the people who are against Alicia's movement: get over it. She's not advocating for the annihilation of makeup, but for the choice to be free of it and still be beautiful. She is empowering women to be natural and not care about the world's view. She is giving us life with her perfect skin and beautiful natural hair.
To the people who are for Alicia's movement: yay for you. Although you may feel strongly about not wearing makeup, don't shame those who wear it. Just because a woman loves to put on a full face everyday doesn't mean that she believes she needs it to be beautiful. Some women make a living out of beating faces, so let's not take away from that.
This is our chance as women to stand behind each other. We have to choose to acknowledge that every woman has a right to choose her idea of beauty and to live it out. Let's applaud each other for whatever choice we make. Let's choose to love each other through this whether it's with a full, highlighted face or a freckled, makeup free face. As always, love God, love people and love yourself no matter what insecurities you may have.
