A few weeks ago I was at work chatting with some customers and coworkers; the lunch rush was over, so we were in a bit of a lag. One girl commented on another girls highlight and that got us talking about our different makeup styles while the guys awkwardly listened. We were talking about this for awhile and one girl mentioned she was just too lazy to put on makeup that day. Then one of the guys turned to me and said:

“You know, I would love to see you without makeup.”

I never really thought about it before, but most of my coworkers have never seen me without makeup on. I’m a server. When a female server wears makeup people are noticeably nicer to them and treat them better, they also tip more.

I’m not saying this is always true, but there is lookism that goes on and because of this I always tend to wear makeup when I go to work.

But it’s not a big deal if I don’t, so I offered to go wash off my makeup if they were really curious about what I looked like without it. The response I got was an uneasy:

“Well, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.”

OK, do people really believe that because I wear makeup that I feel uncomfortable without it? Because I promise, if I don’t feel like putting in the effort to put on makeup then I am not putting on that makeup.

Granted, I do know some women who do feel so uncomfortable that they can’t leave their homes without at least foundation or mascara on, but it’s a bit of a stretch to say that all girls are like that.

So, here’s a question: if you don’t wear makeup then there isn’t a problem, right?

Wrong.

When you don’t wear makeup, some comments people make can have a negative effect on your self-esteem. You tend to hear things like: "you’d be so pretty if you wore a little bit of makeup."

That’s right, not wearing makeup means we aren’t living up to society’s ridiculous beauty standards for women.

Another thing to note here is it’s not just guys who have an opinion on whether or not a girl should or shouldn’t wear makeup, girls do it too. When girls think that other girls shouldn’t wear makeup I’ve heard comments along the lines of ‘she’s trying to hard’ or ‘she just wants attention.’ When a girl sees another girl who isn’t wearing makeup I hear comments along the lines of ‘she was so rude and thinks she is so much better than me, she wasn’t wearing any makeup’ or ‘I’m so much prettier than her, she doesn’t wear any makeup.’ So what’s the right thing to do here to avoid the most ridicule? Wear makeup or not?

There isn’t a right answer and frankly, it’s ridiculous that no matter what we choose to do we still can’t win. We either have self-esteem issues and are attention seekers or we are told we aren’t living up to beauty standards and think we are better than other girls. Most of the time neither one of these things are true.

Why does it matter to people whether or not I choose to wear makeup? It’s not important nor does it affect you in any way.

Yes, most of the time I choose to wear makeup but it has nothing to do with my self-esteem or a need for attention. I choose to wear makeup because I think it’s fun to play with, it makes me feel like I have some form of artistic ability and it helps me to express myself in a unique way. So do whatever you want.

If you feel more comfortable wearing makeup or just find it fun to do then wear makeup. If you feel more comfortable without it or just don’t like wearing makeup then don’t wear makeup. But it’s none of your business what someone else chooses to do.