Make up isn't the problem. So many times I've seen people preach against make up, and their hearts might be in the right place, but make up isn't really the bad guy. Make up provides a way for people, women and men, to express themselves, and expression is never a bad thing. The problem here is societies standards for women, and the pressure it creates for women to conform to a specific type of look to be considered "beautiful". We are expected to apply make up daily to be "acceptable". However, we also aren't allowed to wear too much, otherwise we fall victim to criticism.
I've been wearing make up since I was 12 years old. I always thought that make up was what women were supposed to do. I didn't know differently, and I've even been told by other female members of my family that I look better with make up. This contributed to my need to perfect my make up look. I was never satisfied though. It was never enough, until I realized it wasn't the make up that was the problem, but the way I see myself. By the age of 13 I never left the house without make up. For me, the idea made me so uncomfortable, I would compare it to the idea of leaving the house without clothes. Without make up, I felt naked, exposed, and indecent. This is wrong. No one should ever feel this way for simply not applying an optional product. At 19 and 20 I still didn't even feel comfortable enough with my skin to be around my boyfriend at the time, who I had been dating for a year, without make up on. I felt like if he saw me without it, I would become undesirable.
I have struggled with acne for 10 years, and these past few years have been rough on my health. I fell ill back in 2015 and I've been on a downward spiral ever since. I'm often pale because of it and constantly tired, which results in dark circles under my eyes. Make up has helped me in these ways. It has kept my confidence up when I needed it to, but these things don't make me ugly, and make up shouldn't be the only reason I'm comfortable in my own skin. I don't need it to be beautiful, and neither do you.
Our beauty is not defined by what we wear, weather make up or even clothes. Make up is a tool to accentuate your already beautiful features. It is supposed to be used to highlight your natural beauty, not cover you up. You are not a canvas that you paint on, but you are the art work and make up is your frame. You don't lose your value without it.
Reshaping how we view ourselves is not an easy thing to do. With our whole lives being lived, and being told to think a certain way it might be a process, but I think learning to love yourself and be comfortable with your natural skin is something everyone should do. I'm still trying to get there myself. I'm now 21 years old and this is where my journey of self love begins.
Remember, make up is not the problem. If you enjoy wearing make up, have fun with it! Use it to express yourself and get as creative as you want to. Just know that you don't need it to be desirable or beautiful.
I'm proud of you all!
-Tori Lynn XOXO
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