Woo! You made it to part two about my thoughts regarding makeup. Like I said, this post will consist of my thoughts surrounding the idea of wearing makeup in general, and whether it is good, bad, or can be taken too far. When it comes to makeup, I’ve noticed that many people tend to take a viewpoint on one of two opposite sides of a spectrum. However, some people also have many ideas that drop them directly in the middle. On one side, you have the perspective that makeup is wrong and a way that girls cover up their insecurities while also painting new identities for themselves to appear as. Therefore, makeup should not be used.
Overall, I disagree with this line of thinking, although I do concur that girls sometimes use makeup as a blanket covering their personal insecurities. But, I disagree that the fact that some girls use it to hide is therefore a reason justifying all girls not being able to wear makeup to enhance their natural features. Now, on the other side of the spectrum, you have girls who use makeup as an intense art, and take on the challenge of creating new looks on a regular basis using extravagant colors, lash extensions, and much more. I disagree with this side as well. While I do think makeup is, indeed, an art form that many people have an incredible talent with, I don’t agree with the idea of “painting” ones’ face in attempts to create whole new looks that don’t match with who that person is. Makeup should not turn us into someone we are not.
This leaves my personal thoughts on makeup, which fall somewhere in the middle of this whole spectrum. You’ve read my story of discovering and using makeup in part one of this blog post. Obviously, I wear makeup. I, therefore, am not against it. So, in a nutshell, here is what I think about makeup and why I personally choose to use it:
1.) Makeup enhances our natural features
2.) Makeup is fun and girly
3.) Looking put together and presentable tends to make me more productive
So first of all, I have no problem whatsoever with using makeup to enhance or enrich the features God has given us. It is not wrong to seek and love beauty; God is the creator and ultimate lover of beauty. Like I said before though, the problem comes in when people use makeup to the extent where they no longer look like themselves. From using crazy eyeshadow colors like reds, blues, and purples, to lining your eyes with heavy eye liner and drawing exaggerated wings, to even plucking out your eyebrows to recreate and reshape them entirely are all unnatural and leave you appearing nothing like you would if you wore no makeup.
I’ll admit, for a season in my life of wearing makeup, I did hide behind it and was afraid of showing my acne rid, pale face in public. Thankfully, I never fell into the trap of wearing heavy makeup to cover everything, but I did begin to feel very awkward and insecure when people saw me without makeup. Nowadays, while makeup still does make me feel more confident than not, I have no issue with people seeing me without it, and frankly some days I’m just too lazy to put it on anyway.
Also, you can ask my family, but my behavior stays the same whether I’m wearing makeup or not. Believe it or not, some girls’ attitudes change depending on whether or not they have applied makeup to their faces that day. They sometimes tend to become shy, quiet, and more reserved when not wearing makeup. I used to be this way too, as I didn’t want to draw any attention to what I considered to be my ugly face. Now, thanks to Jesus growing my confidence and faith in who He made me to be, (which, by the way, has nothing to do with my physical appearance), I hardly feel any different when wearing makeup or not.
Moving on to my next point, I think makeup is fun! It’s girly, artsy, and creative. I enjoy drawing, photography, painting, dancing, and hand-lettering, which are all, obviously, different forms of art. Art is fun to me, and makeup has thus been an exciting growing and learning experience within that same artistic arena. It’s interesting to see what natural color tones go together along with what looks can match with different special occasions or outfits even. I also think it’s interesting to see how girls create their own individual looks according to their unique, God-given features. It’s just really fun overall! Makeup sure is expensive though, which is a drawback. Thankfully, I, unlike some women, am not very adventurous when it comes to trying new brands, looks, or products. Therefore, I just stick with my four main products and haven’t had to worry about wasting money trying new things that may or may not work for me.
The third main reason as to why I enjoy and use makeup is the sense of motivation I tend to have after putting it on and getting ready for the day. I haven’t met many girls who say this same thing, but I swear, not putting on makeup and wearing loungy clothes instantly puts me in a lazier mood. Even when I’m dressed in normal clothes and yet not wearing makeup, I don’t feel as motivated to be productive. When I’m put together both in my attire and my face, I instantly feel more motivated to get things done during the day. It’s weird, but it works.
Plus, I also think it’s important to look presentable on a day-to-day basis. It shows we care about ourselves enough to express ourselves maturely and respectably with those we encounter. I’m not saying we have to look our best each and every day, nor am I saying we can’t have those days where we sit back and put absolutely no effort into our appearance. I just think it shows good character to look presentable and act accordingly.
Now, many of you may be wondering, “Sarah, you say all this stuff and say you’re confident whether wearing makeup or not, yet I hardly see you without makeup.” You’d be correct, my friend. The reason for this is mostly because of the lodge, as odd as that may sound. Going back to how I think it’s important to look and act presentable, because my family and I are (constantly) in the customer service industry, it’s important for us to not look like slobs upon meeting new people, which for us, happens practically every day. Therefore, I always try and make it a goal to look put together on those days I know I’ll be encountering and interacting with lots of new people.
First impressions are a huge aspect to our business. We find it very important to make lasting, good impressions with people we meet and welcome at the lodge. Whether we realize it or not, first impressions set the stage for how our guests will perceive us and our enterprise during their stay with us. So, whether those impressions come from things like being kind and inviting in conversation, or even just showing that we take care of ourselves and are mindful of looking well put-together, I think it’s important to exhibit excellence in whatever manner you can. For me, aside from always trying to be welcoming and friendly to the people who stay here, that also means setting aside the time every day to look presentable, especially in the summertime.
So no, I don’t wear makeup because I need the security it can provide me. (I find my security in Christ, y’all.) I wear it because I think it’s fun and girly, and also because the line of work my family and I are in requires us to present ourselves in an appropriate and reputable manner. Plus, I enjoy the fact that makeup enhances my features and, yes, of course, is very pretty. And thus concludes my thoughts on makeup. No one has asked me why exactly I wear makeup, but I nevertheless thought it would be fun to share my opinions of it. So, what did you think? What are your thoughts?
Thanks so much for reading!
-Sarah <3