Hey guys,
This is going to be a bit of a different post, I just want to sit here and write and tackle a topic that interest me/seems important to me.
I might make this a regular thing, depending on how many topics I find that I can write about.
This morning I got ready in 25 minutes which was a new record for me! The process included showering, shaving, washing my hair, putting in contact lenses, putting cream on my face, brushing my teeth, deciding what to wear and then doing my make up.
All excited about my success I told my best friend about my ground breaking record and his response was "You don't need to do all that".
He then started to go down the list I sent him of what I managed to do in 25 minutes, almost ticking everything off as "unnecessary". At first I felt a little attacked, like he was saying that what I was doing was stupid and was just consuming too much time anyways.
From there on I started to defend myself, trying to justify why I do need to wash my hair every day and why I do need to put cream on my face and why I do need to put on make up.
Soon I came to realise that at least with the make up thing, he was right. I still do wash my hair every day because other wise it just looks hideous and stands in every direction, pointing away from my head. Creaming my face is also necessary, as my skin gets flaky otherwise.
But the make up thing was right.
But the make up thing was right.
Girls shouldn't feel like they need to put on make up. Covering up our faces shouldn't feel necessary and it shouldn't be something that we have to do every time before we leave the house.
I do understand putting some concealer on a few blemishes/dark circles or brushing on some blush for a bit more colour. But I don't understand the girls that literally cake up their faces and put tons of foundation on face and neck, even though they most likely don't need it.
Society and especially the media pressures young girls into believing that they have to look a certain way, and if they don't fulfil those criteria they become very insecure and feel like they're less worthy than others.
I understand what that feels like, don't get me wrong. I think most girls do anyways. Going through puberty and the process of becoming a woman I suffered from very bad acne, which made me feel very self conscious. I felt that because the skin on my face was in such bad condition that I wasn't pretty. Every other girl around me had perfect skin and I was always the one with loads of spots and blemishes. Being quite premature and growing boobs earlier than every other girl my age didn't help.
I felt like I was always being looked at, like I had to change something about my looks, hide my skin and boobs, to be able to fit in with the rest of the crowd.
When I discovered make up at the age of 13 it seemed like the best solution to just smother it all over my face and cover everything up as well as possible.
In the beginning it must've looked quite hideous, but over time, I got better at it.
By now, I love make up, I am obsessed with it and love playing around. Trying out different things, to see what they can do is so much fun and very entertaining to me.
But there is one big difference: I don't use it to hide or cover my real skin anymore. I use it to enhance the features I have. I use it because I like it and not because I want to make others like me for it.
I do feel more comfortable and more pretty when I wear make up, so I still have things to learn, but I also go outside without anything on my face. I have learnt to understand that NOT everyone is looking at me and that NOT everyone is seeing that one spot on my chin. NOT everyone is immediately judging me for having scars or spots or an uneven skin tone. Most people don't even notice. I don't notice those things in other people, and if I do, I don't judge them for it, so why would they?
According to my best friend "all girls are prettier without make up".
Everyone has insecurities and things they would like to change about themselves and their physical appearance, it's natural. But those insecurities shouldn't take over and make you want to hide behind a mask (of make up).
Most young girls are affected by this social pressure to look perfect and that beauty is defined by one certain stereotype.
I would love for that to stop, but I'm afraid it won't happen. Girls will continue to smother their faces in make up and they will continue to hide behind it.
One thing that gives me hope though is that most of these girls have learnt to understand the problem once they have grown into women. The same thing happened to me. Once I had reached a certain age I understood that I don't need to look like the models on TV and in magazines to be seen as beautiful or be accepted by society. I can be myself - my natural self that does sometimes still get spots and that does have insecurities - and people will still like me for who I am. And if they don't, if they judge me for my appearance, then they are superficial people that I wouldn't want to be friends with anyways.
Everyone is so much more than just their outer shell and what they look like and that is something that young girls, as well as society and the media need to understand AND teach.
The necessity of putting on make up and changing our looks shouldn't be as extreme as it is.
Fashion and make up are a really fun thing to play with, but it should stay at that level: playing. Not abusing it to try and fit in.
That's all.
Leoni
