“My dad used to say makeup was a shallow girl's sport, but it's not. It's armor.” Makeup is something to help us feel empowered, beautiful, and happy in our own skin. It is something people use often, rarely, or not at all. All of which are okay. You invest in these products that can hide the things you don't want to show the world or things you want to enhance that you love the most. That is a beautiful thing.

All of these girls were kind enough to show themselves in the skin they're in and also show themselves in a light that they feel comfortable in. Makeup can be empowering, but it is just important to feel beautiful and happy with who you are.

Avery Kiste, "Loving yourself is an important part of feeling beautiful for sure. You have to be able to acknowledge and accept your flaws before you can truly accept yourself and feel beautiful."

Claire Audilet, "Feeling beautiful on your own terms is important for feeling happy. If you feel beautiful and love yourself the way you are, nothing can get in your way."

Bre Cuff, "When you feel beautiful, every other aspect of your life becomes beautiful. The feeling of beauty is really empowering to anyone, especially when you are able to create that beauty."

Rebecca Puckett, "Feeling beautiful is important because life is short and this is the only body and face I will have in this life. You have to learn to love what you have when you have it."

Sara Shea, "It is important to feel beautiful so that you know not to worry about what others think of you. Then you can have more confidence in yourself rather than relying on others."

Leah Meisinger, "I wear makeup because it's a great way to express myself. To me, it's like art and you can do anything you want with it."

Rachel Dennis, "Doing my hair and makeup and dressing up makes me feel beautiful. However, I don't mind natural beauty either - when I don't wear makeup I can still find things I like about myself, and still feel comfortable in my own skin."

Kara Hall, "I wear makeup because it enhances my natural beauty; it also compliments outfits and makes you pop. If I don't wear makeup one day it's because I didn't feel like doing it or my skin is already glowing. Wearing makeup also helps me keep up with my skin care."

Ashley Bowman, "I wear makeup because it's turned into a daily routine. I have it engraved in my head that people would look at me funny if I didn't wear at least a little makeup." Caitlyn Brewer, "I wear makeup because there are days I look in the mirror and I am not completely happy with what I see. So I use makeup to change that and make the things I don't love look better. It makes me feel the most beautiful when I am happy with what I see in the mirror. A lot of times, makeup can help with that."