Wednesday 13 August 2014

project bare all | why I wear makeup


after reading zoe's makeup rehab & project bare all post last week, i thought it'd be nice this wednesday to touch on the topic myself as opposed to my usual beauty based wednesday post. a few times in my life, whether it be from my parents, friends, boyfriends, whoever, i've had people comment on my makeup. why do i buy so much? why do i wear so much? why do i spend so long applying it? how can i be bothered to put so much effort in? and so on and so forth, so i thought i'd use this post to talk about why i as an individual choose to wear makeup.

so, there i am, first thing on a morning with 0 hair taming or makeup application having happened. in zoe's post she refers to her makeupless self as the 'real me', and while i understand where she's coming from, i don't completely agree with what she's saying. the above photos show the physical real me, but actually, i don't think bare faced me portrays the 'real me', as in the me who has tastes, a personality and a particular style, but how could it ever? existing naturally it is a blank canvas, and it's the detail then added to it that begins to paint the picture on the exterior that reflects the interior, where i believe the 'real me' exists, as in the human version of myself who is more than just a body. does my natural body, my natural aesthetic say anything about me as a person? of course not! it's the ways in which i manipulate my body that start to tell you about 'the real me', the me as a person, and here's why. 

so, why do i wear makeup? first of all, because it's a lot of fun. i love browsing drug stores, trying new products, getting excited by products, finding products which completely change my make up routine... i could go on! one of my friends gets equally excited about dvds, buying them in abundance, and while i don't get the obsession myself, i don't try to make her feel bad about it. yet it seems with makeup, there's always a person trying to put you down about it, as though makeup is entirely superficial. sure, i like my face after a half hour session painting it up, but buying, applying and wearing makeup has become something of a hobby of mine, and i'm sure plenty of others would agree that makeup is also that for them, too. now, of course some people won't understand it, and that's fine; all i'm saying is that everyone has different hobbies, and makeup happens to be one of mine. as much as i enjoy the end result of using makeup, i get much more enjoyment out of it than simply the final outcome. 

i've also come to question why makeup is viewed so negatively within society. you often hear bitchy comments about how girls are 'fake' because they wear too much makeup, yet i couldn't honestly say i'd ever been called fake due to a couple of other choices i've made when modifying my body, one being my nose ring. if anything, shouldn't a piercing make me more fake because it's a little more permanent than the makeup i choose to wear every day? i mean, i can't simply remove it and instantly there be no trace of its existence. or how about my dyed hair? i'm stuck with that until i spend years growing it out into its natural state, yet not once have i ever been scrutinised about my choice to dye my hair because it makes me 'fake'. i'm not sure where people draw the distinctions between what does and doesn't make a person, girls in particular, 'fake', but it's all extremely confusing and bred out of insecurity, i'd imagine (but again, perhaps another topic for another day.) 

so, let's talk about my nose ring briefly. just like the clothes i wear or the accessories i adorn my body with, my nose ring was a choice that i made because i felt it reflected a part of my personality that i thought would be nice to show externally. similarly, i choose to say different things about myself every day based on the makeup i choose to wear, and these differences in my daily makeup can reflect even the most minor fluctuation in my disposition that day. feeling fierce? a dark red lip normally occurs. feeling lazy? skip the winged eyeliner. they're normally such tiny decisions, but they speak volumes about my feelings on any one particular day, and my personality in general. just as i use clothes, i use makeup to communicate messages about me that i'd like people to receive as quickly as possible. of course, the most effective way to communicate my personality is to open my mouth and speak to people, but sometimes you're not always given that opportunity, so to as accurately as possible communicate to somebody who i am, i find that hair, makeup and clothing can help me to do so in a non-verbal manner, and why is that such a negative thing? i know you're always told to not judge a book by its cover, but i think it's useful when the cover can provide you with a concise, accurate preview of the full story.

it's not that i dislike my natural face, far from it, i just find it a bit boring. naturally, i'm just the same as everybody else; not aesthetically, of course, but i'm still just another human. small physical factors such as whether or not i'm smiling or if i have scars can say things about my personality, but even those don't speak volumes, so i find the best way to convey my inner self accurately through my exterior is to manipulate it and decorate it until i feel that it's saying what i want it to. who knows, maybe it's my illustrator mind that means i'm so involved with trying to accurately portray my character through my aesthetics, because that's what i find interesting and enjoy doing, and i think it's very sad that i'm often made to feel bad about my interests and hobbies because they may revolve around using and wearing makeup. ultimately, it comes down to communication. like a piece of my illustration work, i want people to begin to understand what's happening underneath from one single glance, and makeup helps me to communicate that message just a little bit more effectively. is that such a crime?

to conclude, i feel that it's important to state that i use makeup because i want it to reflect the person on the inside, not because i'm insecure about what's on the outside. it's taken good a year or so of practising self love and a well considered skincare routine, but i'm finally at a point where i can look in a mirror bare faced and be content with what i see. so, what about you? i'd love to hear why you do or don't wear makeup!
 

3 comments:

  1. Loved this post! You are naturally very pretty! I would say that I wear makeup to improve my self confidence. I dont have the pleasure of trying out tons of different looks as my face doesnt take a lot of makeup so I have to keep things simple! :) x
    sarahlouiseruth.blogspot.ie

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  2. Lovely tag and honest blogpost. I've also been skipping my makeup for some days and I actually love it - it's improved my skin SO much.
    X sjoukje - www.lemontierres.com

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  3. really lovely post! I think I have to say I agree with you on a lot of this. When I first got into make up it was probably that more 'peer pressure' thing of seeing a lot of girls in my year at school wearing it. But nowadays I wear it because it is what makes me feel a little more confident.
    Lauren | OhHay Blogs!
    xxx

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