Whilst coming back to Cardiff on the coach yesterday, I noticed that the woman next to me, (she must have been in her twenties), wasn't wearing any make-up. 'What's this?!', I thought, 'BARE EYELASHES?!'. I then looked to the other side of me to see another girl completely bare faced. Terrified I had entered 'no-make-up-armageddon' and that someone was standing by, ready to attack me with a face wipe, I started back aghast. I suppose a part of me was slightly...horrified at the lack of make-up! All girls should wear make-up. It makes you prettier and therefore more successful. Or does it?
I started wearing make-up at a very young age, around eleven and by the time I had started my first year of secondary school, I was already wearing a full face - mascara, foundation, eyeliner and lip gloss. I just remember staring in the mirror with my mum standing next to me as we tried to suss out the best possible way to get rid of those dreaded spots! 'You'll have to start wearing foundation to cover them up', my mum suggested. I thought nothing of it as a thick layer of foundation, that most certainly did not match my skin tone, was applied to my face. And ever since that day I have been wearing a full face. I admit I have probably been getting it wrong for the last couple of years. I did glow an orangey hue all throughout secondary school, trying to find the perfect colour match for my skin. (It's NARS' Punjab, incase you're wondering). Then there was the bright pink lipstick my aunty gave me: 'It's Chanel! You have to wear it!', she squealed, even though it made me look like a Nicki Minaj wannabe.
Despite these make-up mis-haps, I enjoy putting make-up on - it makes me feel so much better about myself. I wouldn't DREAM of going out without having rummaged through my tardis of a cosmetics bag. I have tried for years to find the best mascara for my lashes,that fabulous lipgloss which lasts all day. To be honest, I even slap on a full face even if I am inside my room, revising all day, just because it makes me feel a touch more comfortable. I feel as though I can approach people without feeling like they are laughing at my blemishes or wondering why my eyes are so small.
The whole hour I spend 'putting on my face' as they say, gets me compliments - 'That eyeliner makes your eyes look so big and beautiful!' and 'Are those your real eyelashes? They are? Wow.' Without make-up, I am just plain, old, boring me, with ordinary eyes and non existent cheek bones.
But who am I to say that you can't be happy and feel confident about yourself without wearing make-up? The two girls that were sitting next to me were living proof of that. One was engaged, admiring her gorgeous engagement ring and planning the colour scheme for her wedding. The other was on the phone to her boyfriend, talking about how she had managed to get 'the job she'd always wanted'. These girls prove that you don't need makeup to be successful and happy in life, so why do I still cower at the thought of stepping out of the door without having consulted my bag of slap, first?
I'm not sure if much can be done to change my thoughts on make-up or if I am already too far gone and unable to escape the evil clutches of Barry M. But I do know that wearing make-up makes ME happy. I definitely have respect for girls who don't give a crap about concealer but that doesn't mean I'll be following in their footsteps any time soon. So, if you do see a random girl in the street, brandishing a bronzing brush and preaching about the new colour-stay lippy, it will most likely be yours truly...
