Recently, Alicia Keys has vowed to never wear a drop of makeup ever again—a pretty shocking announcement, coming from one of the most glamorous celebrities in the music industry. But this statement raises further questions about how far our beauty standards have driven women. It also brings up another interesting query: does wearing makeup mean that you don’t love yourself?
Since the age of 13, I've loved makeup. When I was younger, I would pretend that the red plastic tip of the dollar store lipstick tube was real.
When my mom thought I was old enough to start wearing makeup, I was ecstatic. We went to the Clinique counter at our local mall and bought an array of eyeshadows, blushes, and mascaras, but not once did I ever feel like I was wearing makeup to hide my face. Of course, I struggled with a healthy amount of 13-year-old girl self-confidence issues, but I never saw makeup as a way to change who I was.
Every girl and woman lives under constant scrutiny regarding her appearance. If we wear makeup, we’re trying too hard, want boys’ attention, or look trashy. If we don’t wear makeup, we look tired, sick, or lazy. I can see why Miss Keys is deciding to shed it all for good; however, I think that by doing so in this manner, she is ignoring another outlook that finds body positivity regardless of makeup use.
Traditional beauty standards have told women how to look at all times, implying that makeup should be used to hide, cover, and conceal. But in the past couple of years, women have spoken out in favor of makeup and its ability to empower women and bring out the features on women’s faces that they love. This has caused many to see makeup in a new light.
Miss Keys does point out a major flaw as the reason for her makeup purge. She wrote that she felt her makeup was acting as a mask. This should never be the case, yet we continue to push this agenda with traditional and standard beauty campaigns that depict models with pounds of sparkly black gunk smeared over their eyes. But rather than shutting down makeup altogether, we need to teach girls and boys that makeup is not something to hide behind. Makeup does not make the person; the person makes the makeup. If a person feels beautiful while wearing makeup or without wearing makeup, then that is what matters, not the amount of time it took for them to get ready in the morning.
Of course, if Alicia Keys believes this is the best decision for her, then she knows best. But I think that she should have acknowledged the other side of the argument.
My love for makeup has only grown to this day, and I still see it as a way to express myself and become more of who I am. For example, I love my brow shape, but the gods did not bless me with the brows of Cara Delavigne and Sofía Vergara. So, I fill in my brows, and I can tell you how awesome I feel when my brow game is on point. Makeup is awesome. No makeup is awesome. You are awesome, whether you decide to wake up looking flawless or whether you spent ten minutes getting that cat eye right. Your decision to be your own person is the most empowering.
