" We get so worried about being pretty.

Let's be pretty KIND.

Let's be pretty FUNNY.

Pretty SMART.

Pretty STRONG."-Unknown

Ironically, this post was originally going to be about one of my favorite passions: makeup and beauty. What started out as a regular journal entry about this topic quickly turned into a full on, strongly opinionated blog post, so here it is.

For starters, let me just say that I absolutely adore makeup. From a young age, I was basically raised to love it. My mom has been a beautician for 25 years, and for as long as I can remember, I have been surrounded by makeup, nail polish, and hair. Some of my fondest memories as a child were the days that I went to work with her, breathing in the fresh fumes of acrylics and hair spray. Due to that, the seed of beauty was sewn into my six-year-old mind.

As a tween in middle school, I can remember the days when I was so intrigued by makeup, especially since I wasn't allowed to wear it. I would sneak my cheap mascara to school and put it on after my parents dropped me off. After that fiasco, high school was definitely next on the cringe-worthy trial and error period for me. The dark ages, as I so affectionately call them was when I didn't know how to apply anything, let alone know what to buy. I remember those dark days when I would apply a cover stick to my ENTIRE face, thinking it looked good. And of course, I can't leave out the awful orange tint of my otherwise pale face, a result of cheap bronzer. Then one day I stumbled upon the best thing invented since microwave popcorn.

Youtube.

And not just Youtube, but Youtube makeup tutorials. To say I have an obsession is truly an understatement...I could go for days in front of my computer screen, watching thousands of different techniques on contouring, or the newest fall makeup looks. You name it, I've seen it.

After watching countless girls expressing themselves on Youtube by artfully teaching others how to apply makeup to their face, I really got to thinking.
In this day-in-age, women are becoming more powerful. There are many female influences in pop culture, and style today that speaks very strongly about certain topics. One of those topics being beauty. One of the most popular things being told to young girls is:
"You don't have to try anymore!"

"You don't need to dress to impress anyone, but yourself!"

With that being said, I truly do believe in the power of inner beauty (hence the opening quote). But I believe that since girls are looking at makeup on the more negative side lately, it can give other girls that wear it a bad stereotype. Granted, there are A LOT of people that still love makeup, and I'm not trying to say there aren't many of us anymore. the makeup industry will always thrive. Still, there are quite a few stereotypes about makeup lovers that I would like to address.

We are constantly considered FAKE.

What does that even mean? Because the last time I checked, no makeup company has EVER guaranteed to make you look 100% all natural. Because it's impossible for them to guarantee that. I'm sorry, but not one single person that wears makeup can say that they look EXACTLY the same without it, and if they do they are lying. If that was the case, there wouldn't be a need for makeup whatsoever.

Women that wear a lot of makeup are considered INSECURE.

This one is the worst to me. First, let me start off by saying that no girl EVER wants to hear from anyone that they are insecure. Typically, girls that are insecure, who KNOW they are insecure. I totally believe that some girls hide behind makeup and some even go as far as obsessing over trying to make their face look perfect (we've all been there). But don't blame it all on the makeup people! The question I always ask when I hear makeup hater comments is, " what about the girls that just purely enjoy makeup?" We aren't insecure, we just think it's fun! Maybe that's strange to some people. To me, there's nothing more fun than watching a YouTube tutorial on a new technique, and then getting out of bed, (#lazylifeforever) and trying it out on myself. And yes, we makeup lovers feel beautiful after we've achieved a perfect winged-liner, or nude lip. But that certainly does not qualify us for the 'insecure category'.

So, in the perfectly accurate words of Taylor Swift:

"The haters gonna hate, hate, hate
Baby I'm just gonna shake, shake, shake
Shake it off"

So if you love makeup, and feel beautiful while wearing it, keep on watching those tutorials, countless times ( is it just me?). When it comes down to what truly matters, inner beauty is the most important. And yes, be encouraged that you are beautiful inside and out, with or without makeup. But also, be encouraged by the makeup you wear, knowing that it is a creative way of expressing yourself.