Wearing Make-up Doesn’t Make You Beautiful

Do I stop and admire people? Of course, I do, especially the beautiful people that glow from within. Usually, those beautiful people proudly wear their scars because the scars are part of their life stories. Usually, those beautiful people present themselves without makeup on a daily basis. I like to think that most of us are the beautiful people within, instead of painting our “beautiful” only on the surface.

This morning as I was perusing social media, I scrolled past yet another make-up advertisement, more like an infomercial. If you clicked on the picture or the headline, you were taken to an article or video to read and listen to the company’s presentation. The headline, or short blurb, caught my attention enough that I scrolled back. The words that made me check out the link? “Don’t Put Make-up on Wrinkled Skin…”

“Yes,” I thought, “an advertisement, infomercial, or article that doesn’t make you feel you must wear make-up. An advertisement or article that doesn’t diminish the beauty of the unaltered face.”

I took the bait and clicked.

Deceived!

The article continued with “until you do this.”

Nope! I’m not wasting my time to read any further.

Why am I Irritated?

Far too many women struggle with self-confidence regarding their looks. These are the women on whom the giant conglomerates prey. These are the women who admire the super-models pushing make-up products.

The idea behind the advertising is that if you buy their product or wear what the super-model is wearing, you will be beautiful. They don’t come out and say that you will be considered ugly if you don’t wear make-up; more like you NEED make-up to enhance your beauty.

I blame these giant conglomerates and super-models for society’s warped view of beauty. I blame them for suggesting that the beauty of a person is only on the outside. I blame them for creating a culture where “beautiful” can be applied and worn on the outside but not addressed on the inside.

As women, we need to embrace our beautiful selves inside and outside. We need to embrace our scars and tell their stories. We need to embrace our imperfections because they make us the unique individuals that we are. In fact, I see you as beautiful.

I Choose NOT to Wear Make-up

In the 1960s, a discussion regarding make-up between my grandmother and my mother created a lasting impression on me.

My grandmother was going to have surgery to remove some cancerous lesions from her face. She was irate that the doctors were adamant about not wearing any make-up until the patches had completely healed.

“What will people think?” my grandmother snipped.

“They’ll think you are lucky to be alive and able to have this taken care of.” My mother’s retort silenced my grandmother.

It was the doctor’s belief that make-up was one of the causes of skin cancer in women.

Fast forward 50 – 60 years: Doctors and scientists know more now about skin cancer and chemical ingredients that contribute to skin cancer than they did in the 1960s. Most of those dangerous chemicals have been removed from makeup and banned.

It wasn’t just the conversation that had an impression, but the great care, the oily salve, and the bandage change my mother did every day for my grandmother. I silently vowed to myself that I would not have that happen to me.

After the wounds healed, I saw that my grandmother was heeding the doctor’s advice and only wearing make-up on special occasions or when she went out to special functions.

Makeup and the Stage

In seventh grade, the theatrical stage stepped into my life. If my grandmother’s brush with skin cancer had not made an impression on me, stage make-up (pancake make-up) would have dissolved any relationship I had with make-up in general.

Stage makeup is used to accentuate your features so they can be seen by the audience. Stage makeup brings back the color theatrical lighting washes out and accentuates your features.

If you are unfamiliar with pancake makeup, picture a round, shallow container filled with a hard, dry, compressed color base that requires water and a sponge for application. After you slightly wet the make-up in the container and the sponge, you drag the sponge through the color and wipe it on your face. The water evaporates and leaves that dry, compressed color on your face. To me, it felt like someone had painted a clay Halloween mask on my face. That makeup dried out my skin and caused me to itch.

Dating and Special Occasions

By the time I hit the high school dating scene, I had no role model to help me learn to apply makeup. Neither my mother nor my grandmother wore much, if any, make-up and were less than excited that I was interested in wearing it. Plus, most of my friends did not wear make-up. Instead, I tried to learn how to apply and wear makeup on my own. Not easy in the days before you could access the internet and learn how to do almost anything.

Each time I tried to apply even eye shadow, I felt fake. If I wore concealer (I’m not sure what I was trying to conceal) or foundation, I usually started unconsciously scratching to the point of removing any makeup.

By the end of the evening, I realized that I had either scratched or rubbed the makeup off, or my skin had absorbed what little I had applied.

How do I know that? After I “removed” the makeup with a product called Noxzemia, the washcloth or cotton pad was still white – even after removing what little mascara I had applied.

Ignore the Advertising Hype

Today, I only wear a bit of makeup if I am in a stage play. I am who I am.

You are who you are and you are beautiful: scars, imperfections, and all. You are beautiful when you let your inner beauty give you that certain glow. You are beautiful when you smile because you radiate positive energy. You are beautiful without makeup.

Isn’t it time we start to ignore the giant conglomerates who use all sorts of tactics to make us feel that we need to purchase and wear make-up? They tell you that you need to look younger. (I’d rather do what I need to do to feel younger.) They tell you that you need to cover those freckles and imperfections and show off flawless beauty. They entice you to buy their products with their packaging and their messages. They use big-name models as spokespersons.

I’ve stopped listening to their hype. Shouldn’t you?

Isn’t it time to check to see if your inner “beautiful” is enough to radiate “beautiful” energy around you?

Please realize that there is absolutely no reason you need to hide your raw beauty with makeup. It’s time to let your natural beauty shine.

What about you?

Do you wear makeup daily or only on special occasions? What do you think about the media hype on needing to wear makeup? Please take a moment to share your thought and ideas in the comments below.

Until next time . . .

Photo by R. Kojetin & Created with Canva

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