When I was little, 7 or 8 years old, my big cousin Lizzie gave me this make up set as a birthday present. It was big, huge actually. It had three drawers and a mini mirror, and space on top too. It had eye shadow and nail polish, eye liners and lipsticks. Rings, blush. Girl’s makeup! I was in love with that present, finally I was going to be a grown up.
My dad actually got pretty mad at this present. He loved to see a big smile on my face, always have, but he couldn’t cope with the idea that his little girl was going to wear –fake- makeup. I am not just the only girl in my family, I am the youngest sibling too.
I always played with that make up set. I put blue eye shadow with purple lipstick and painted my nails yellow. I was rocking it. I even remember once when I mixed eye shadow with lip gloss so I can have black lips. Anyways, I was a big fan of my make up set my cousin gave me. My dad still wasn’t.
Since I was little, I have a good relationship with my parents. I don’t lie to them, really I don’t, and we can talk and have a conversation without any problem. So I talked to my dad, I wanted to know what was it that made him so mad about me using make up. He told me that the fact that I was so little bothered him. He didn’t want me to use makeup since so early. I knew he was right, but I told him make up made me so pretty, I looked like a princess. “You are pretty, always. You don’t need make up to look good. Make up just highlights your real beauty and you are beautiful enough to be wearing anything that will cover up your face”. That has stuck with me since. My dad showed was the first one who showed me make up wont make me pretty, I already am.
I kept playing with that makeup set until it ran out. But I knew it was just for the fun of using my face or my friends’ as a canvas.
I grew up knowing that make up highlights beauty. All my friends started using make up when they were 14 years old, or maybe before. I start using make up – BB cream, mascara and a little blush- for school on April of my senior year! I didn’t want makeup to define me, I didn’t want society to define me.
Last week I stumbled upon Colbie Calliat’s new music video “Try”. I love all her songs so I had to listen to it. She was tired of being photoshoped, of being transformed into a weird pictured society finds pretty. Nowadays, girls want to look like that girl from the cover of a magazine or from the latest music video, but they don’t know that not even that model looks like that. Colbie wrote an amazing song about that, and needless to say it has become one of my favorites.
I am 19 years old, and yes, I use BB cream and mascara. I just did my highlights on my hair and I love to dress up properly. But I do it for me, not to like myself, but for me. You don’t have to try to change so others like you, the only important thing is to like yourself.
“This is what you want, to belong, so they like you
Do you like you?”