Girls wear makeup because we are independent and can do whatever the fuck we want

We didn’t spend all this time contouring just to impress Jack at the kebab shop


'Ooooh who are you trying to impress, looking like that?'

'Are you sneaking off to see some boy? You never usually wear lipstick.'

Above are examples of some of the (many) remarks I have gotten over the years when I felt like changing it up from my usual bare-faced look. Some comments are by well-meaning relatives trying to engage in my youthful love-life, whilst others are a more transparent revelation of a bigger problem.

The main problem here is that our face, something that is supposedly completely ours, is scrutinised by others. It should be the case that it’s our body. What we do and don’t do with it is our own decision. However, the societal stigma that surrounds makeup today is based upon this harmful, underlying assumption that the very way we look translates into something we ‘owe’ to others.

Sisters slayin' for themselves

Sisters slayin' for themselves

A pushy mother might despair at you for not ‘taking pride in your appearance’ if you choose to go makeup free one day, and a job description might require one to wear a certain amount of makeup to look ‘presentable’ to customers. Obviously one should practise good hygiene and look neat, but at what point has something as personal as your own face, been deemed as not ‘good enough’? There might be people out there who feel more confident with a full face, and equally so there might be those who don’t want to wear makeup. The way these women assess their feelings towards makeup and how much they rely on it should be down to them and them alone.

Unfortunately, girls seem to turn on each other when it comes to this issue, too. As aforementioned, women may judge somebody as being ‘lazy’ or a ‘butch’ if they choose not to wear makeup; but if a woman wears a lot of makeup, that is usually a girl’s go-to insult if they feel offended by this person, assuming they are a ‘slut’ or ‘desperate’ amongst other things. It’s all well and good if you don’t want to wear makeup, but what really grinds me gears is how a select few who don’t wear it feel somehow entitled and better than you. They say how they ‘don’t need makeup’ as they are so frickin’ beautiful, which implies that if you wear makeup, you must ‘need’ it to cover up all your flaws because you have a face like a fungal-toenailed foot.

Whilst I do think that some branches of feminism these days take things to the extreme, I do believe that due to our shared history of our ancestors fighting for our rights, we should all look out for each other to an extent. We should not bring each other down based on our different ideals on what a ‘woman’ should be, we should coexist.

GRL LOVE

GRL LOVE

A final little rant I’m going to have on this is based on the outdated but still annoying meme: ‘this is why you take a girl swimming on the first date’. I’m sure you’ve all seen it, but its based upon a before-after picture of a girl getting done up, and the meme implies that by wearing makeup, a girl is ‘deceiving’ you into making you think she is attractive. So you better assert your manly authority and foil her dastardly scheme by making her rinse off her makeup so you aren’t stuck dating someone ‘ugly’.

If you are the kind of idiot who thinks a woman has naturally red lips and sparkly eyelids then I question if you have the mental age and capacity to actually go on dates in the first place.

Secondly, girls wear makeup for a manner of reasons. It’s most likely not to impress you, but maybe the girl you’re dating wants to make an extra effort for you, impress you and bring up her own confidence by using makeup to ensure she is the best version of herself. Maybe she has acne she’s insecure about, or feels her natural eyebrows are too sparse. All she’s trying to achieve by wearing makeup, in this case, is to feel happier in herself to feel more able to give you an entertaining date. If you’re going to punish and ridicule her for that, you’ll be shattering her confidence. If that's your aim here, then what kind of person would that make you?

squad

squad

The ultimate point I’m getting at here is that, when it comes to makeup, it is our face and therefore our rules – nobody can take that away from us. Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline or maybe you should mind your own goddamn business.