This is just a quick post about some of my thoughts about makeup and how much it plays a part in our self confidence issues.
I don't know about you girls, but ever since I was a little girl, I have never felt like I was really pretty. I would always compare myself to models or girls that had blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, skinny, etc, you know the types of girls I'm talking about. Being Asian didn't help my confidence at all either, especially since my sister and I were always the few Asians around and felt like such outsiders because of it. Kids would make fun of our eyes, the way we talked, etc, and when you're a little kid, your feelings can get hurt pretty quickly. So I always felt like I was never pretty enough, especially when I was around 6 up until about my junior year of high school. It also didn't help that during grade school and the beginning of high school I had to wear braces and glasses. Talk about feeling nerdy! While no one in high school ever really made fun of me, I still felt like an ugly duckling compared to the other girls. I think around eighth grade is the time when I first started sneaking eyeliner and lipstick to school and applying it before class. Ever since then, my obsession with my looks grew and I tried to find ways to make myself more attractive. I started plucking my eyebrows and wearing more makeup. I tried dieting and exercising, even though I wasn't fat. Luckily my sophmore year of high school I was able to switch from glasses to contacts; however the type I had to get were a special kind and extremely painful to wear, so I just stopped wearing them completely (without my parent's knowledge!) and haven't worn any glasses or contacts since. Lol, I'm actually lucky I haven't gone blind by now!
Anyways, back to the main topic, without the glasses my confidence went up a little bit more.
Finally, at the end of my junior year, people were starting to notice me more. I don't really know why because I wasn't really doing anything differently...I guess I had somehow 'blossomed' or something. So from then on my confidence slowly grew over time and I started to feel better about myself. Guys were noticing me a lot more and girls were always telling me I was pretty. I started to embrace my ethnicity and appreciate it instead of curse it.
The point of this discusion is this: all of this happend while I was wearing makeup. And while I was wearing makeup I had twice the self confidence as I did without it. This still applies today. Without makeup, I feel like I am just a plain jane with bad skin, dark circles, and small squinty eyes. When I wear makeup though, I feel much more presentable and confident. Is this a bad thing? Yes and no. Although I believe everyone should embrace their natural beauty and be grateful for what they have, I am extremely grateful for makeup and the confidence it has given me. While some people may think that this is shallow, I disagree. Without makeup, I probably would never have had the confidence to talk to anyone, especially guys. I probably would not have attracted either one of my boyfriends' attention to get them to notice me and ask me out (yes, I've only had two serious boyfriends!). So I truly believe that makeup can be used as a self confidence booster, as long as you use it within reason and do not soley rely on it as your self esteem. When it comes down to it, people will like you whether or not you're wearing makeup, it all depends on your attitude and the personality you portray to people. True friends and family will love you no matter what you look like, so if there are people around you who are judging you soley on your looks, then you need to reevaluate their relationship with you. This is just my opinion and experience, please do not take this as me telling you what to do. :)
In closing, I would like to share with you my face with and without makeup. Although I can definitely say that I look better with makeup, sometimes I like to go without makeup because having my flaws show keeps me feeling more normal and not so much like a made up doll. Now, I know this whole discussion might sound weird coming from someone so addicted to makeup as myself, and in no way does this mean that I'm not going to wear makeup anymore, but I just wanted to share my thoughts with you and remind everyone that you should embrace your beauty and flaws because that is what makes us all individuals.
I hope you girls found this useful and please feel free to share any thoughts or your own experiences with me!
