I love to play with makeup. The different colors and techniques and styles are fascinating. In my opinion, it is a form of artistic expression. And many others feel the same. But recently there has been a common meme that has been circulating that goes along the lines of: "This is why you have to take a girl swimming on the first date," that threatens self-expression and really grinds my gears.

I'll tell you why it makes me mad. First of all the use of the word 'bitch.' It is extremely derogatory. More specifically, this makes me mad because this girl probably doesn't want to have this acne and she probably wishes her eyebrows were thicker. I'm sure she knows all of this. She is very aware of what she might consider her flaws and does her best to cover them. And if we are basing the need of makeup on little flaws like this, every male between the ages of at least 12-18 should really have a bottle of foundation in their bathroom because, sorry to break it to you, your skin isn't near perfect either. But of course, that brings up this issue:

Girls might not feel the need to wear this much makeup if society didn't pressure them as much to do so. Girls are starting to wear makeup younger and younger. If they are doing it because of theater, dance, or just because they want to 'look like mommy' for an hour that is fine, but no child, in my opinion, should start wearing makeup before seventh grade and shouldn't even do anything past mascara and concealer until high school.

Especially at younger ages, a child's skin is far more sensitive than the average adult's. And not to mention, adolescence is an extremely emotional time in a child's life. They are extremely vulnerable to social pressure and torment, so instilling in them that they need to cover themselves up because they are not good enough, pretty enough, or hot enough is not OK.

I was lucky to have parents who never really encouraged or discouraged makeup. My mom wears very little on a normal basis, so that became the norm for me, too. This gave me the opportunity to come into the makeup world on my own. In middle school, all I would wear was Great Lash Mascara by Cover Girl in the shade Brownish Black because it was cheap and I felt like it was all I needed.

It wasn't until my summer of senior year that I actually discovered makeup. And at this point, I had a job and could actually afford to experiment with it. YouTube was my best friend at this time and helped guide me through the wild world that is makeup (because if you are going to wear makeup, you might as well do it well, right?). And you know what that did for me? It enhanced my confidence. Not because I was covering myself up, but because I was enhancing the beauty I already had.

I came to love myself more, especially without makeup and stopped beating myself up so much. It allowed me to say, "Hey, I actually kind of am beautiful." I'm not saying I'm perfect in any way, but my relationship with makeup has always been a healthy one. The only reason I ever feel like I need makeup, is not because of boys or anyone else, but because I have a spot and I don't like it, and even then I still often leave my room bare-faced and no one really cares if I have that spot or two (P.S. YouTube is a really good place to learn about skin care too, which in my opinion, is necessary, for everyone).

People often ask me "Why do you have so much makeup if you don't really wear it or need it" and I respond, "because it's fun," as it should be. If I want to have gloriously shaped eyebrows, then that's my choice. If I want my contour to be sharp enough to cut butter, then so be it. It should be your choice to wear makeup and don't let anyone, especially a dumb boy, tell you otherwise.

And honestly, if a guy is stupid enough to believe your skin is that flawless and your eyelids are naturally purple, then you are better without him.