You know, in the past I’ve been accused of being obsessed with celebrity women—when they look like normal people. To that, I always respond “duh.” Of course I am! These women are made to look superhuman with the help of makeup and the artists that apply it, and at the end of the day, when all of the paint and primer is washed away, what do you end up with? Someone … well, refreshingly normal in many cases.
Whenever someone says to me “So and so is so hot” I always say, “Yeah, just see her without makeup.” Then I promptly send a picture of said person looking completely normal and not impossibly gorgeous, because, of course, I’ve already trolled them this way.
I do this because I sometimes feel like less of an attractive woman because I don’t contour my makeup. (I know, right?) I don’t know how to expertly apply my eyeliner, I don’t use the “right” foundation. Pores are visible. You know. So to see these women looking normal and to know that if I had the $8,000 to spend on myself like Jennifer Anniston does (yeah, that’s right she spends $8,000 A MONTH to look natural), I could probably look pretty amazing, too.
In a nutshell, though, does that mean that makeup is anti-feminist? Does a young girl who thinks her nose is too wide so she applies streaks of foundation two shades to dark down the sides of her nose, because she read in some magazine that that helps reduce the appearance of a wide nose, have Covergirl to blame for her insecurity? Are magazines and makeup and the idolization of painted up models to blame for women hating themselves? I vote no on both counts; I say it’s women who don’t spend countless hours on the internet searching for “celebrities without makeup” who are creating their own problems.
Like my co-worker said to me with regard to these very celebrities: “They’re just people,” this is so true. They’re people who have access to better makeup and people who can do a better job at applying it than me and you. Combined. Makeup is an art form and sometimes art makes people feel uncomfortable and inferior, and when that happens to you, I suggest you hop on Google and throw that term in the image search bar. Or just become a writer for a feminist website and write 439 words on how you’re not a bad person because it makes you feel better to see the world’s most beautiful women looking normal without makeup. Just stay away from Halle Berry, Beyonce, and Kate Middleton … those brats are beautiful all the time.
I don’t wear makeup. I never had. As a result, my skin is in fantastic shape. But that’s another story.
I don’t see makeup as inherently anti-feminist. Like everything it comes down to why you’re doing or not doing it. If you wear makeup because you specifically feel like you have to in order to get ahead, then I think that’s a bit anti-feminist. If you just enjoy wearing makeup, then wear it.
Sure. But, if Covergirl spent a little less time and money trying to convince us that how humans look is not okay, we might be able to skip the Google step and spend those countless hours writing the Great American Novel, inventing world peace, or catching up on Glee.
I hate wearing makeup. Foundation smothers, lipstick comes off on everything, and I rub my eyes too much to wear stuff on there. I feel the makeup industry, along with the rest of the media, has shamed girls into believing “don’t go out until you put your ‘face’ on!” My mom has told me she likes my face better with makeup. Ow. But you know what? It’s ok that I have dark circles under my eyes. I have acne, yeah, because I’m young, not unhygienic. My eyelashes are too light because I have beautiful blond hair. My face is masculine, sure, but I think it compliments my strength as a woman. Pro-nudity- facial nudity!