Makeup, beauty, and women tend to always be bundled together, especially in advertising. But I suck at makeup, so does that mean I suck at being a woman, or that I'm not beautiful?

I have plenty of friends who apply their makeup perfectly. The perfect cat-eye, reverse cat-eye, the dog-eye (probably not a real style). The perfect contour and just the right amount of blush. They stay caught up on the latest makeup trends and purchase things like Kylie Jenner’s newest lip product. My friends perfect their faces while I’m still carrying around the same makeup I wore while in junior high: the basics. I have foundation for those nasty breakouts, eyeliner (duh), mascara (of course), eyeshadow for my weekend nights out, and the occasional light-pink, never risky, lip-gloss.

Until very recently, I had always thought women needed all of that makeup to look beautiful, to be a woman. Of course, that was a very naïve view, and I’ve been thinking about it for a while.

About a month ago, I was looking in the mirror after one of those really long, glorious naps (the one all college kids know too well), and I noticed how beautiful I actually was becoming. My eyes were naturally doe-eyed without the added makeup, and I just had a natural beauty that I had always been jealous of my mother having. I had no makeup on. I looked simple, yet…pretty. It was then that it hit me that, yes, makeup can help boost the beauty in the women who wear it. But it only boosts. Makeup doesn’t make a woman beautiful. The woman who is wearing the makeup is already beautiful, whether she sees it or not.

Women need to realize that they don’t have to doll-up to impress anyone. We claim we do it for ourselves, but that is hardly ever 100 percent true. Even if we don’t do it for the guys, we do it for other women. Women can be cruel to one another. When we see something we don’t like, we seem to make a habit of leaning over to our friend, making a little scene, and whispering some snotty comment. Or there is always that bitchy, “what were you thinking” look.

Perhaps that is why we wear so much makeup today. Because the need to be liked and appreciated and beautiful is such a huge weight on our shoulders, and that doesn't end when we step into our homes. We log in to Instagram and see all of these perfectly-makeup, beautiful women. Of course, we then try to compete and post a selfie of ourselves all decked out in makeup. There are even some women who put the makeup on just to take the "perfect" selfie.

Maybe we can ditch some of this weight. If you see a woman who doesn’t seem to be wearing makeup, or even if she is, tell her she is beautiful. Or at least make a conscious effort not to give her dirty looks if you don't like the way she looks. It may feel weird to do it for a little while, but it could make all the difference in how the individual woman would feel about herself.

Women need to know they are beautiful, and that doesn’t have to come from a man. In fact, I feel like whenever a random woman tells me I am beautiful, I take it more seriously than if a man were to tell me I’m beautiful, especially if the other woman is extremely beautiful herself. As a fellow woman, we need to unite. We still lag behind men in so many ways: lower salaries in the workplace, positions of power, or just lack of women being represented. We need the power and we can only get that if we stand together instead of knocking each other down.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to get this makeup-gunk off my face.