When I was little, I had a little set of children’s eyeshadow. Colourful and intensely sparkly, I would scoop great globs of it onto my finger and smear it over my cheeks and forehead. A particularly brash red and purple shade of gunk would often find its way into my hair.
When little children play around with make up, they, yes, invariably look absolutely ridiculous by the end of it, but I feel that they get the point of it far more than most adults. Or what the point of it should be, anyway. Makeup, no matter how loudly the cosmetics companies may shout to the contrary, is not a necessity: it is an extra, one of those frivolous, superfluous things that are inarguably not of any practical value. And I really do think that useless things should be enjoyable in some way.
None of us should feel ashamed to leave our homes without our true faces buried six feet under in foundation, or shy away from letting strangers see us with our eyes less defined than we’d like; with paler lashes; with less full lips. We shouldn’t wear make up out of fear, but out of fun. We should be batting our mascaraed lashes with glee and flicking the edges of our eyeliner with a sense of fun and frivolity – or else what’s the point? Why go to all that time and effort if you don’t enjoy wearing it? There is nothing wrong with your natural face, and it shows that something is very wrong when so many women are ashamed of theirs.
We may no longer slather our faces in red and purple glitter, and, as we grow older, I reckon that’s pretty understandable. But our attitude to make up should still be the same. Instead of slapping on your foundation like a mask, put on your make up like you’re sat, four years old, with glitter in your hair and a big gappy grin on your face.
Or don’t put it on at all.
Also, I found these articles on the topic of make up:
http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2013/05/27/stripping-our-masks-redefining-attractiveness-and-questioning-social-pressure-to-wear-makeup/
http://jezebel.com/5972605/when-is-wearing-makeup-a-choice
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