“I like girls without makeup. The natural look is so much better than what girls wear nowadays,” a viewer writes to me on my Twitch chat, as I do a “get ready with me” stream.
Women have heard countless variations of this statement, whether that is “Take a girl swimming on the first date” to “Guys don’t like a lot of makeup, so why do girls still put on so much?” All under the premise that women gravitate to makeup out of a desire to attract men, but even by that logic—men treat us differently, sometimes even negatively, by how much makeup we’re wearing. Not to mention what men perceive as little makeup oftentimes is a full face.
While I understand that the people who comment on the amount of makeup women wear are often well-intentioned, the underlying assumptions of these comments are under the premise that women do so to impress men. The makeup world is a community where women thrive off sharing recommendations with their friends, getting ready together, and complimenting each other on their skills. The notion that women are so invested in this artistic endeavor only to obsess over which product suits them the best to attract men is ridiculous. Ask any woman why they wear makeup and the most predominant answer will be to find confidence within themselves, not to fit the mold of beauty standards men have set out for them.
The joke of bringing a woman swimming on the first date reveal how oblivious men are when they believe that women are trying to deceive them through makeup. Women do not naturally have gold on their eyelids or red lips. While a woman’s attractiveness can objectively change as a result of makeup, that is not the main purpose, which is instead one of self-expression. Female beauty through the male gaze is held up to such a standard that a woman is only fuckable with makeup, but with too much, she turns off male desire.
Men laud the natural look as the ideal look, and they often believe that women wear makeup as a way to cover up their insecurities. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—why should we shame women for investing in a hobby that makes them feel more beautiful? The understanding that women who wear makeup are lacking in confidence is wrong. Makeup is an art. We need to stop belittling women for having interests and passions. I am not merely the sum of my looks. My self-worth is not simply how pretty I am. I do not need makeup to like myself.
While men tear down women who wear makeup, women uplift each other through sharing which products make our skin the dewiest and helping each other create the perfect look. Makeup is a tool for us to transform ourselves, find our place in a supportive community, and feel beautiful while doing so.
My love for makeup began when I was eight. I discovered Michelle Phan, one of the earliest beauty YouTubers, who fostered my love for makeup through her artistic tutorials. I was still at an age when I thought boys had cooties, yet that’s when my interest started, at an age when boys were the last thought on my mind. All I knew was that I found something that captured my attention and I have no intention of stopping my fascination anytime soon.
