Putting on makeup every day is a lot of effort. That is why I hardly ever wear it. It takes a lot of time, effort, and precision to put on a full face of makeup, so props to the girls that can contour and have perfect cat eyes every day. I on the other hand, can hardly cover a pimple.
With all the new makeup trends like contouring, highlighting and a whole bunch of other things I don't know how to do, I have been hearing a lot of pushback against women who wear makeup. In particular, I have heard a lot of negative things from men.
For example, I have been hearing from several of my own male friends that they don't think girls who wear a lot of makeup are attractive. The problem I have with that statement is simple:
We do not wear makeup for you.
I, personally, only wear makeup on special occasions, particularly dates. Many men seem to think that when a woman puts makeup on it's to impress him. Poor guys still haven't figured the simplicity of it all out yet:
We do not wear makeup for you.
I put on makeup when I go out, because I think it makes me look better. I wear it, because I like the way I look when I have makeup on. Of course I hope that my boyfriend thinks I look nice when we go out, but that is not the reason why I get all "dolled up."
I wear makeup because it is a confidence booster. It gives women the opportunity to make themselves look the way they want to. When you appear the way you want the rest of the world to see you, you will be more confident in everything you do. You will feel beautiful and strong.
That is why I put in a lot of time and effort to put on makeup. It helps with my self-esteem, which is why a lot of women wear it. With all the body shaming and high expectations of beauty placed on women, it's no surprise we feel the need to wear makeup in order to feel beautiful.
However, we must remember that makeup is not to be worn so someone else can look at us and determine whether we are beautiful or not. Wear makeup because you think it makes you look beautiful.
That is why makeup is for feminists. Feminism is about giving women choices to do whatever they want in their lives, even when it is something small like whether or not to wear makeup.
So if wearing makeup makes you feel beautiful, wear it. There is a huge misconception that feminists must be bra-burning women who don't shave their armpits, but feminism is not about throwing away your femininity. It is about making the choice to look however you want to.
So if you want to wear makeup every day, do it. That does not make you a bad feminist. It just means you are choosing a way to make yourself feel pretty and confident in a world where you are told not to be.
Just do whatever makes you feel beautiful, girl.
