Every morning, I start my day by putting on makeup. Call it living under ridiculous beauty standards, and I couldn't disagree, but at the same time, makeup is just fun.
Going on dates, I always try to look my best, and for me, that feels like a nice dress and a full face of makeup. But that's just me. But at one point, my boyfriend told me, "You don't have to wear all that makeup for me, you know," and I realized a lot of people have the wrong idea about makeup and the people who choose to wear it.
The thing is, I don't wear makeup to impress anyone. I don't even wear makeup because I feel like I need it to be pretty. I wear makeup because I find applying it in the morning to be like meditating, preparing me for the day ahead. Wearing bright red lipstick is like wearing pure confidence for everyone to see. Winged eyeliner makes me feel sexy, even when I'm completely stressed out by all my responsibilities. Juggling everything that I have to do in college is exhausting, but getting up every morning and taking that time to pamper myself before focusing on everything I have to do helps me to better prepare for my day. And sometimes, when the semester starts to spiral out of control, having control over what my face looks like is just enough control over my life to keep me moving forward.
I really hate the idea that women wear makeup to make themselves more appealing to men. As a woman who literally just loves putting on makeup, it's kind of offensive for someone to suggest that I only do that to please other people. If I didn't enjoy makeup so much, and it served only to appease other people, I would've gotten lazy about it a long time ago, kind of like what's happened with my homework. But that hasn't happened. Because putting on makeup is something that I do for me.
Another problematic idea about people who choose to wear makeup is that we are insecure. And sure, it's nice to be able to cover up the stress acne on my chin, but that doesn't mean that I'm not comfortable with how I look. I don't need makeup to give me confidence; I choose to wear it to pamper myself, because, damn it, I deserve it.
I make the choice to put on makeup every day, but it isn't because I feel like I have to in order to be beautiful. To me, putting on makeup helps me focus on myself for 15 minutes in the morning, and sometimes, that 15 minutes is all I get. I don't need makeup to feel good about myself, but it is an outlet for me to take care of myself when life gets hard.
