Making It Your Own

How you wear your makeup is ultimately an expression of how you see yourself and how you want other people to see you. Your face is the first thing people see when they meet you, and makeup can actually make a pretty lasting impression. Your teenage years are no exception to this, but what makes it especially hard is the desire to stand out while at the same time, fitting in. You want to blend in, you want to be like everyone else and do the same things your friends are doing - and yet, you want to be noticed, you want to be different and special. I see groups of girls all the time who are dressed in different variations of the exact same outfit - from head to toe, same, same, same. Maybe the color of the shirt is different, or the brand of the skirt, or the exact style of the shoe, but essentially, it's all the same. And the same goes for makeup. Matching liquid eyeliner and eyeshadow across the board. I'm not complaining, I went through the same thing, I wanted to wear what everyone else was wearing (for the most part, until I totally rebelled from this idea and wanted to wear gray lipstick and black eyeshadow for a while), but as I've gotten older and gotten more comfortable in my skin, I've learned to ask myself, "is this really what I want to be wearing?" Turns out, I really really love bright colors of eyeshadow. My favorite shade is a green ("Graffiti" by Urban Decay) that belongs in a box of crayons. I seriously LOVE to make my eyeshadow match my outfit or an accessory (like a yellow ring or bright blue shoes). Lots of people tell me, "oh, I could never wear that color eyeshadow", but the truth is, they wouldn't want to. It's not their style. It's mine. Basically, what I'm saying here is that finding your own style is an experiment and it's going to take a while. Don't be shy about what you really like just because no one else wears their makeup the same way you do. You can bet I got a LOT of strange looks in my gray lipstick days (including lots of disapproving ones from my mother), but I thought it was really cool - at the time - and it allowed me to express myself. Life is too short to spend too much time worrying about fitting in all the time. Just be sure that the way you are presenting yourself (meaning, the makeup you're wearing) is telling the world what you want it to say. Makeup can very often times be misleading and people can quickly form opinions about what kind of person you are, based simply on the way you look. It sucks that people are so judgemental, but that's the way it is. If you don't wear any makeup, you're a nerd. If you wear too much, you're a tramp. It's tough to navigate your way through it, but stay true to yourself and don't let your friends dictate what you like. Do I sound too preachy? Agreed. I'll give it a rest. For today, at least. :)