[Apparently I'm not done with this blog just yet. :o) ]
1. Because I don't spent the day worrying about whether I've applied my make-up in the best possible way, touching it up after I eat or whenever my eyes get misty, or whenever I might need to "freshen up". I use that time for other, more important, things.
2. Because I don't spend any money on cosmetics - I spend it on travel, books and music instead. Knowing that my money goes to nonconformist thinkers, multi-talented musicans and amazing experiences makes me feel a lot better than knowing my money goes toward a tube of chemicals which has probably been tested on animals
3. I don't wonder 'will that person like me without make-up?'. What you see is what you get! ...If someone is only spending time with you because of how you look when you are made up, that person is pathologically superficial, and you need a better source of self-esteem
4. Because I know my features are OK. My features are the exterior expression of how I feel on the inside. If I'm feeling unattractive (and I do have moments of that), no amount of make-up will change the expression that my face will assume.
5. Because there is no layer between me and the world. If I want to kiss someone, I don't leave a lipstick stain. If I want to touch my cheek to someone else's face or shirt, I won't risk any foundation particles rubbing off on him or her, or leaving a smudge of eye makeup.
6. I know that I haven't let myself be influenced by the unspoken expectation that women should wear make-up to be regarded as socially acceptable to both women and men. I won't let the patriarchal demands of 2012 make me like my face any less. Let those who live by the mascara wand and lip gloss pot enhance their self-esteem, accentuate their self-love and bring out their self-confidence.
N.B. It wasn't always this way. In high school I was obsessed with lipsticks and eye-makeup, and would spend a lot of my money collecting cosmetic items like these. Thankfully, in English I was given a chapter of Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth to read, and it helped me make the break from make-up for good. I just realised that I didn't need it anymore. When I met someone I clicked with romantically, or had a good rapport with as a friend or fellow student, I knew that it wasn't the fact that I was wearing a couple of millimeters of eye makeup that they were drawn to. It was my personality.
Some further thoughts: Have you ever seen a photograph of a person that you thought was really attractive, only to see them in motion and realise that they were really nothing special? A person who is aesthetically pleasing only holds my attention longer than a short initial period if they have a beautiful character. I have no doubt that some people notice that I'm not wearing any make-up and think things like "she's not making an effort" or "she's not good-looking enough" - and the thing is that these are exactly the kinds of people I wouldn't want to seek me out anyway. I don't need superficial advocates of the patriarchy in my life. What I do need is bright and friendly individualists who care too passionately about life to spend it obsessing over their looks.
1. Because I don't spent the day worrying about whether I've applied my make-up in the best possible way, touching it up after I eat or whenever my eyes get misty, or whenever I might need to "freshen up". I use that time for other, more important, things.
2. Because I don't spend any money on cosmetics - I spend it on travel, books and music instead. Knowing that my money goes to nonconformist thinkers, multi-talented musicans and amazing experiences makes me feel a lot better than knowing my money goes toward a tube of chemicals which has probably been tested on animals
3. I don't wonder 'will that person like me without make-up?'. What you see is what you get! ...If someone is only spending time with you because of how you look when you are made up, that person is pathologically superficial, and you need a better source of self-esteem
4. Because I know my features are OK. My features are the exterior expression of how I feel on the inside. If I'm feeling unattractive (and I do have moments of that), no amount of make-up will change the expression that my face will assume.
5. Because there is no layer between me and the world. If I want to kiss someone, I don't leave a lipstick stain. If I want to touch my cheek to someone else's face or shirt, I won't risk any foundation particles rubbing off on him or her, or leaving a smudge of eye makeup.
6. I know that I haven't let myself be influenced by the unspoken expectation that women should wear make-up to be regarded as socially acceptable to both women and men. I won't let the patriarchal demands of 2012 make me like my face any less. Let those who live by the mascara wand and lip gloss pot enhance their self-esteem, accentuate their self-love and bring out their self-confidence.
N.B. It wasn't always this way. In high school I was obsessed with lipsticks and eye-makeup, and would spend a lot of my money collecting cosmetic items like these. Thankfully, in English I was given a chapter of Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth to read, and it helped me make the break from make-up for good. I just realised that I didn't need it anymore. When I met someone I clicked with romantically, or had a good rapport with as a friend or fellow student, I knew that it wasn't the fact that I was wearing a couple of millimeters of eye makeup that they were drawn to. It was my personality.
Some further thoughts: Have you ever seen a photograph of a person that you thought was really attractive, only to see them in motion and realise that they were really nothing special? A person who is aesthetically pleasing only holds my attention longer than a short initial period if they have a beautiful character. I have no doubt that some people notice that I'm not wearing any make-up and think things like "she's not making an effort" or "she's not good-looking enough" - and the thing is that these are exactly the kinds of people I wouldn't want to seek me out anyway. I don't need superficial advocates of the patriarchy in my life. What I do need is bright and friendly individualists who care too passionately about life to spend it obsessing over their looks.
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