If you're like me, you have noticed the popular trend of makeup. From celebrity makeup tutorials to movie characters on the big screen, today's society has firmly established the importance of cosmetics. It is an industry, an art form, a symbol of beauty, and a sign of status. Not only that- makeup is a social norm. Today, if you walk down the street without makeup, people ask you if you're tired or ill. Has our society become so self-absorbed, that seeing a female's natural face is not just unusual, but looked down upon?
Just reflect on when Alicia Keys decided to go makeup-less for the VMA's. Social media exploded at the phenomenon. She got accused of shaming the girls who did wear makeup, or of just being too lazy to look nice. Of course, all celebrities receive criticism for their behavior, yet this is a bit extreme. Just think about it. One woman decides to go to an event sporting the lovely face she was born with, yet people say that isn't good enough.
I understand makeup emphasizes your natural beauty, but is it really necessary to "perfect" your face, to the point where you look like a completely different person? I am not trying to put people down who wear makeup. I wear makeup. I'm just saying, I feel like society's expectations of women to look like a barbie doll 24/7 is a bit extreme.
Everywhere I look it seems cosmetics are being promoted. Everything from Instagram, to YouTube, to Facebook, to my friends who remind me that I cannot be beautiful without drawn-on eyebrows and waterproof mascara. Today, beauty is defined through fake eyelashes and bronzer. Everyone wants to look like Kylie Jenner. We spend hours in the mirror, constantly checking to see if we missed a spot. God forbid we have acne.
My hope for the future is society will someday see beauty as more than just skin deep or makeup-layer deep. I wish we didn't judge people for not wearing makeup: seeing them as poor, lazy, or ugly. I wish makeup wouldn't be a determining factor in which friends we chose or which leaders we followed.
When I think about society's need for makeup to determine beauty or wealth, it makes me dislike makeup. Why do I rub concealer all over my face every morning, if not to help justify makeup's importance? Why do I feel self-conscious without eyeliner, if I don't place the definition of beauty in makeup?
We as women don't have to be dependent on cosmetics to be considered beautiful, happy, or financially stable. So why do we believe otherwise?
