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October 25, 2005
Forget cosmetics and bare your face
I’ve observed what happens when a girl goes through the metamorphosis of becoming a woman. There are certain aspects of fashion and glamour that simply must be fulfilled. I can accept (while usually not understand) the desires of preteens and young women to show off their newly discovered features with their short skirts, colored hair, and push-up bras until they grow out of all that a few years later. But there’s something that has always puzzled me. If you want to impress the boys, why would you hide your face with that layer of coating you refer to as cosmetics?
To me, a woman always seems so much more attractive with the absence of make-up. I understand that not every girl covers every inch of their face with a two cm. thick mask of shiny whatnot, but wearing even a little seems pointless to me. It creates a sense of looking fake, which is a word I don’t think anyone wants to be associated with. The word cosmetic is often used in reference to covering up a deficiency or defect.
No woman’s face is deficient if she’s just proud of how she looks or if she simple doesn’t care (which seems even more appealing to me). I’d rather see plain old white, tan, or brown rather than a false rosy pink.
“What would you know, Eric? You’re a dude!” That is true, and since I haven’t gone through whatever problems plague a female’s life, I will never understand the need for the cover-up. It’s not like girls are wearing make-up for the sake of other girls anyway, so I get the advantage of observing from a different point of view. I certainly hope (but fear the opposite) no one wears it to try to set or follow some unwritten standards, although I’m sure that’s a possibility. All I know is that I’ve always been perturbed at the sight of someone that deems cosmetics necessary to be beautiful (or at least prettier, for those girls that claim they don’t think they’re attractive). In fact, it kind of makes me worry about them.
I realize there are plenty of women who would defend themselves with a timid, “I just like to wear a little...” But if you think the make-up you’re wearing makes just a little impact on the way you look, why not just go without? Is it to give off the impression that you don’t care too terribly much about how you look (as to dissuade anyone from accusing you of being superficial) while still letting people know that you know how to dress fancy like a real woman? There is a little gray area on the matter, I see.
I’ve also learned, through awkward conversations on the subject with girls, that make-up is just sometimes fun. Apparently, it can just make you “feel good,” or even perhaps “better” in a few extraordinary cases. If you wake up sometimes and feel like you want to do something out of the ordinary, and that something is make-up, all the power to you. These reasons are obviously different than wearing it to be easier on the eyes of others, and for that, I give a little leeway.
The art of theatre, as well as television (if you can call it an art) and cinema, is an area in which I deem cosmetics acceptable. This is for the obvious reasons of creating and accentuating facial features and emotions. But I don’t see women walking around campus with dark lines drawn across their foreheads or dimples to show emphasis of their confused, smiling, or angry faces. But I just might prefer to see that.
If make-up makes you feel better about yourself, instead get comfortable with yourself. That’s your face you’re alteringčthe body part with some of the most important features known to mankind. And all the while, the prettier you think you become with make-up, the uglier you’ll feel on those infrequent days when you don’t wear any. Maybe this is ignorant guy talk, but wouldn’t products like foundation prevent your pores from getting oxygen? Is it comfortable to have eye shadow or mascara in every corner of your eyes?
I always assumed that having to wake up extra early in the morning to pretty yourself up would be a major nuisance, but if you actually enjoy the act of painting your face, then that’s a different story. But I do know (from experience) that I can run from my bed to my classroom in just four minutes when I wake up late, but my timing would be quite altered if I felt obligated to throw on some mascara or blush as I bolt down the stairs and across the lawn.
There is a noble quest I often like to endure of persuading my loved ones (those who wear make-up on a daily basis, anyway) to try going a day or so without it. Often times they quit wearing it altogether, with the exception of when their friends give them Avon and Mark products as gifts or begin asking, “Are you sure you’re okay? You haven’t worn make-up in weeks!” I just love overhearing that. Or perhaps you don’t want to waste that huge pile of cosmetic products you’ve acquired over the years. Billions of dollars have been spent on so-called “beauty aid.” We know that at our age, we can’t blame this obsession on the media; it’s obviously a conscious decision.
You can’t believe how fortunate I feel to not be subdued by any standards of beauty, or in my case of being male, handsomeness. So I applaud you, women, who have never thought the textbook image of a woman to be appealing or something to strive for. You are more beautiful than you’ll ever know.
Contrary to what you might believe, you won’t be an eye sore if you go without the security blanket of cosmetics. I don’t believe it ever actually makes one look better. Expose your face to the elements. Maybe you’ll feel more free and natural, and nature is one of the most beautiful things you’ll ever experience.
Posted by msveum at October 25, 2005 12:54 AM
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