I remembered in college, I wasn't such a big fan of make up. Whenever I'd come home from school tired and stressed out, my mom would often tell me that it isn't bad to put a some powder and lip tint on to make me feel good about myself when the going gets tough. Of course at that time, I didn't know what that meant ---until recently.
My interest in makeup started when I lost weight a couple of years back. I had such bad skin and breakouts that I felt the need to cover them up because despite all the weight that I lost, I wasn't feeling good about my myself. My love for makeup started with an apricot scrub, concealer, powder and red lipstick then the collection and buying... just didn't stop.
I figured that make up and skin care products gave me a little push of confidence that I needed in those "self-doubting-moments" I had going through adulting.
To be honest, I didn't know there was such thing as "makeup shaming" even when I had some people comment about me wearing make up all the time until one of my co-workers told me "Kaya ka may pimples kasi sa make up. Hindi ko gets bakit laging naka-make up ka, work lang naman." (The reason why you have breakouts is because of make up. I don't get why you always have to wear makeup when you're just going to work.) I remembered saying "It makes me feel good about myself." I wanted to say a lot more than that but I just tried to keep mum about it because everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
I started researching and found out that a lot of people say nasty comments about people who wear make up like "You can't trust a person who wears too much make up" or "Take her to the pool on your first date, these females look crazy without makeup" and a lot more.
It's not like I need to explain myself to anyone but I wear make up on because I feel like I can do whatever it is I wanted to accomplish so long as I look and feel good about myself. That's what make up does to me. (And also, it's just kind of fun to wear, especially with all the colors, flavors and shades that we can match our outfit and moods.)
I'm sure that other girls and boys have different reasons why their makeup is fab and fleek everyday and that's something that's none of our business. In a world where people are constantly told what we "should" or "shouldn't do" in terms of how we look, the way we dress and how we do our jobs, don't you think that "makeup shaming" should the least of our problems.
I wear make up for me and not for you. Please keep that in mind the next time you wanted to comment on my blinding highlight or tinted sunkissed cheeks.
