When I was 14 my best friend staged a makeup intervention. She stole all my makeup and hid it. It was a dramatic move, to be sure, but I can admit now that I had a problem. I wore makeup every single day and was afraid to leave the house or be seen without foundation on. Unfortunately, her thievery did very little to change my mind about wearing makeup. But slowly, as I became more comfortable with myself and my friends, I started to wear less and less. I became so comfortable, in fact, that I wore crocs to school everyday of my senior year (this then prompted my college roommate to stage an intervention in which she stole and hid my crocs).
The good news is I have perfect skin with olive undertones from my Greek great grandfather so giving up makeup was super easy. Lies! I have bags under my eyes and blackheads on my nose and my cheekbones are not carved out of stone. I don’t look perfect or even pretty everyday. I’m okay with that. I’m actually happy with that because not wearing makeup taught me a lot about myself.
You see, I used to be boring. True life. I was a boring person. Friends that know me now know that I’m hilarious and fun but this is a (fairly) recent development in my life. Sara circa 2006 did not make jokes or embarrass herself in public. Sara circa 2006 did a very convincing Regina George impression (on accident).
When I realized I didn’t have to be pretty it gave me the opportunity to be a million other things. That’s when I found out that I’m smart and funny and eloquent (but sometimes I am none of those things). And it turns out I’m kind of beautiful anyway. I like the way my face looks. I love the shape of my lips and the curve of my cheeks. I don’t even mind the blue under my eyes or the uneven tone of my skin because it’s my face and I like it the way it is. I never would have known those things if I hadn’t stopped wearing makeup.
It’s tough out there ladies, the world tells us we have to be “pretty and...” pretty and smart, pretty and ambitious, pretty and talented. It’s not enough to be a great writer, or a brilliant engineer, or a fast runner. You have to play tennis and look like Maria Sharapova. I read something the other day that said, “prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked female”. So, you don’t have to be pretty. But I bet you are. Now, find out what else you are. Go a week without makeup and see if you have conversations you wouldn’t have had, see if you make jokes you used to be afraid of, see if bravery doesn’t foster bravery.
I now have a much healthier relationship with makeup and my face. I do wear makeup sometimes (like today, because I got a haircut and it's just, like, the rules of feminism that you must always wear makeup when you go shopping or get a haircut). I love red lipstick more than most, and blush makes me feel like a rockstar. But makeup is fun for me now, it no longer necessitates when I can and can’t go out in public.
The fact is my brain has served me better than my face ever has. And in twenty years that will be even more true.
To see someone who said all of these things better than me, watch this video.
The good news is I have perfect skin with olive undertones from my Greek great grandfather so giving up makeup was super easy. Lies! I have bags under my eyes and blackheads on my nose and my cheekbones are not carved out of stone. I don’t look perfect or even pretty everyday. I’m okay with that. I’m actually happy with that because not wearing makeup taught me a lot about myself.
You see, I used to be boring. True life. I was a boring person. Friends that know me now know that I’m hilarious and fun but this is a (fairly) recent development in my life. Sara circa 2006 did not make jokes or embarrass herself in public. Sara circa 2006 did a very convincing Regina George impression (on accident).
When I realized I didn’t have to be pretty it gave me the opportunity to be a million other things. That’s when I found out that I’m smart and funny and eloquent (but sometimes I am none of those things). And it turns out I’m kind of beautiful anyway. I like the way my face looks. I love the shape of my lips and the curve of my cheeks. I don’t even mind the blue under my eyes or the uneven tone of my skin because it’s my face and I like it the way it is. I never would have known those things if I hadn’t stopped wearing makeup.
It’s tough out there ladies, the world tells us we have to be “pretty and...” pretty and smart, pretty and ambitious, pretty and talented. It’s not enough to be a great writer, or a brilliant engineer, or a fast runner. You have to play tennis and look like Maria Sharapova. I read something the other day that said, “prettiness is not a rent you pay for occupying a space marked female”. So, you don’t have to be pretty. But I bet you are. Now, find out what else you are. Go a week without makeup and see if you have conversations you wouldn’t have had, see if you make jokes you used to be afraid of, see if bravery doesn’t foster bravery.
I now have a much healthier relationship with makeup and my face. I do wear makeup sometimes (like today, because I got a haircut and it's just, like, the rules of feminism that you must always wear makeup when you go shopping or get a haircut). I love red lipstick more than most, and blush makes me feel like a rockstar. But makeup is fun for me now, it no longer necessitates when I can and can’t go out in public.
The fact is my brain has served me better than my face ever has. And in twenty years that will be even more true.
To see someone who said all of these things better than me, watch this video.