Hello fellow interweb friends!
So I should be studying for a chemistry test that I will have in less than an hour and a half, but I thought, what the heck, I had to get this out there because I think it is very important to be supportive of other girls. You probably think this is so hypocritical of me to write this post since all of my posts this week has been about make-up and ways to make myself look better, but that is not the case, I promise! The purpose of this post is to, for lack of better terms, raise awareness/promote girl empowerment/confidence. I know a lot of girls are very uncomfortable to go out and about and show their bare, naked face with no make up because they feel like there is some kind of flaw with their look with out the layers on top of it. We all know and have friends that are like this, and sometimes, we feel the same way, I know I do, but that is not the case! I honestly do think that the less make-up girls wear, the more natural, more down to earth, and pretty they are! I'm not saying that I'm pretty or beautiful or anything of that sort, but if you know me in real life, you know I go out with no make up at all times; maybe on a lucky day, I will have on a little bit of make up but still looking very natural. To show you I am completely comfortable with how I look without make up, I will share with you pictures of me with no make up on, taken today, no filters or editors (besides the app used to put together the collage), and let me tell you, today is probably the worst day to see me without make-up on because I'm overly stressed and haven't slept very much lately, so here goes, hopefully, I won't scare you off with my super weird face!
So this top picture is the better side of me without make-up on! What I mean by better is that I actually have my hair down, not necessarily brushed/combed! This is what my friends and family see everyday (and there are some really good looking guys at my school), even the people at work and all the hottie-patotties going to Disneyland! But in reality, on a super day-to-day basis and for my super close friends on Snapchat, I usually look like the bottom picture with that crazy bun, weird faces all over the place, and completely no make-up at all! Even if I Snapchat the guy I'm crushing on or my best friend, I do not mind looking like the way I am without make-up because at the end of the day, make-up can only make you look pretty for so long. Once you take off that make-up, you should be proud and happy of what you look like because there are people out there who has to live without make-up, who was born with less fortunate features that they cannot control or cover up with make up!
For me, for a while, I was a little pressured to put on some make-up to make myself look more "presentable" because that's what girls around me were doing. It is pretty insane how much girls around you can influence your views about yourself because I remember, this girl I knew said something the lines of, thank goodness for make-up and how easy it is to learn or else some of the girls we know are still going to look just as bad as they did a few years ago. That was when I took a step back and realize, wow, I might be one of those "not so good looking" girls sh was talking about and I got pretty sad and offended, but at the same time, I realized I was only wearing make-up because that's what these girls wanted me to do, not necessarily what I wanted to see myself as. It's true, sometimes, it is to look nice and put on a little something to bring out your favorite features, but it is also just as fine to let your face be in its natural form!
To me, the main reasons why girls are so dependent on make-up and try so hard to avoid their natural face nowadays is because they were exposed to the idea of looking perfect through make-up way too young in their lives. I know I didn't start wearing make-up until senior year of high school, specifically prom, and didn't really have much make-up knowledge until college. Even now, fours years into college, I still don't know that much about make-up besides the basics! Because girls are exposed early on and they get access to make-up early on, they start using it earlier, which means they become obsessed with this "perfect" face look at a much younger age. Since this tends to happen during their teenage years, when they are most impressionable, they stop noticing their real, natural face, and become too accustomed to their made-up faces, which is why, as they get older, they have to have their layers and layers in order to feel like they are ready to step out of their room!
Of course, these are only my opinions and I don't mean to come off as "preachy" or anything like that, but I have some amazingly beautiful girlfriends around me who are stuck in that phase where they feel like they need to have their make-up on in order to go out, but to me, when I see them get ready, before all the layers, I think they are just as pretty as when they do put on the make up! From one girl to another, from one person to another, I think it's important that we help empower and appreciate each other for the person that we are without all of the other products out there that supposedly make us look better. I'm a huge believe in the idea of "looking good, feeling good, and doing good," but that does not mean you have to put on five million layers (sorry for the exaggeration but you get my drift) in order to look good! It can start with something as little as wearing your favorite shirt or earrings that can make you feel pretty, without having to put on the layers! If anything, the more make-up you wear, the longer you use make-up, the more discolored and damaged your skin gets, which ultimately, makes you even more dependent, so why not lay off the foundations and concealers and let your own skin, your natural beauty process do its thing and keep you looking natural and beautiful at its own pace! Make-up is like anorexia to your face, so why not do the healthier option of using it in moderation (which is like eating healthy and exercising) to keep yourself looking youthful and beautiful!
I apologize if I offend anyone or sound hypocritical in this post, but I just wanted to share with all you girls out there that you are pretty without all the make-up and concealers! And hopefully, you'll still like to read my posts after this! This does not mean I want to ban make-up, it just means I hope and wish that we all can appreciate our natural looks without feeling the pressure to hide behind layers and layers of stuff, cause that's all it is, stuff that we can live without.
So let's make a little pact to start wearing less and less make up together? And also give compliments to friends we know more often so we can all learn to love ourselves and our natural beauty more?
Until next time,
With love,
Uyen
