As a little girl, I was very excited for every opportunity I got to play with makeup. At every dance recital and every sleepover, I couldn't wait to get my hands on whatever makeup I could find. I loved red lips and shimmery eyeshadows and the creativity that makeup allowed. And now, as I continue to grow into myself and have become more comfortable with myself -- barefaced or with a full face of makeup on -- I’ve come to realize the true power of makeup.

The stigma behind makeup is that some believe that girls wear it to impress boys or because we’re insecure or don’t love ourselves. Makeup lovers and wearers get a bad rap for being superficial or fake, but that's not true.

Everyone has a personal preference for how they decide to go about their morning “beauty” routine. Personally, I love makeup and absolutely everything to do with it. I spend much of my free time watching makeup tutorials online, following the trends and making note of the products I just have to have. It’s a love and passion of mine and it’s something that I do for myself. I love setting all my palettes in front of me and having the power to choose who I want to be that day. And sometimes I choose to put no makeup on at all and am just as happy with that, but it has taken a while to get there.

But as everything in this social media-obsessed generation goes, others tend to feel entitled to have an opinion on how people do their makeup. Some say things about people who wear makeup such as we’re “hiding what we really look like” (but if you think I naturally have gold sparkly eyelids, you have a few other things to learn). Or this trend of, “take her swimming on the first date” with the intention of washing all of the makeup off to reveal her “true self," like we’re going to turn into some makeup-less monster without winged eyeliner and a perfectly contoured face. If I wanted to put makeup on to look exactly how I look like without makeup on, then what would be the point? Also, jokes on you. We’ve got setting spray and waterproof makeup. It's most definitely not "false advertising" to potential partners. Who said we wanted to sell anything to anyone anyway? Sorry, nothing for sale here. We wear makeup for ourselves and no one else.

I was inspired to write this after watching makeup artist and YouTuber, NikkieTutorials’ video, "The Power of Makeup." Makeup shaming is alive and well, but why? In the video, Nikkie explains that makeup can drastically change how one's face looks but it's more than just a face changer. Makeup doesn’t hurt anyone. It is a demonstration of artistry. Makeup has no boundaries or limits; it’s something for everyone and it’s whatever you want it to be. It’s plain old fun!

Makeup lovers everywhere have united to spread the message of the power of makeup, sharing their struggles and stories about loving and wearing makeup. Makeup is empowering and can be an act of self-love. So whether you live and breathe makeup or couldn’t care less about it, at least be aware of the true power of makeup. Spread love, not judgment.