Makeup has been around forever. Men and women have always been wearing it. According to historians, humans started using products on their faces and bodies in Egypt. Cleopatra seemed to wear lipstick made of ground carmine beetles while others were using kohl, a mixture of metal, lead, copper, ash, and burnt almonds. The designs around their eyes were supposed to keep the evil spirits away. Hundreds of years ago, Native Americans were painting their faces as a representation of their tribe and beliefs.
Europe has a rich history with cosmetics, too. During the middle ages, wearing makeup was considered sinful but women did it anyway. A few decades later, starting in the Renaissance until the beginning of the 20th century, people wanted to be as pale as possible. They sometimes used powder to lighten their skin. It meant that they did not have to work in fields and that they were wealthy. On another hand, prostitutes wore pink makeup to contrast the symbol of wealth . Some types of cosmetics also existed in the Middle-East and Africa.
Despite the fact that in the early 1900s, during the two world wars and the feminist movement, cosmetics were not popular, the 20th century developed the use of makeup. Mascara, pressed powders, eyeliner and more were created at that time. Many celebrities had their own preference in makeup and were known for it, like Audrey Hepburn and her cat eye. Nowadays, the makeup industry is working very well and cosmetics have become more popular than ever. Thousands of brands offer different products adapted for everybody.
Everyone has a different reason for wearing makeup. It can be to accentuate a feature, to help create a character, to hide some parts of their face, or to feel prettier. Mikayla Douglas, junior, stated, “I only wear makeup a few times a week and it’s always simple, but it does make me feel more confident.” Sophomore Katie Doing said that she wears a lot of makeup every single day. “I don’t do it for anybody else, I do it for myself. It makes me feel cute, confident and a lot happier so I don’t care about what other people think.” Many other girls stated the same thing; makeup gives confidence and confidence is the key for a happy life.
Lately, people criticize girls who wear makeup as though it is a bad thing. For example, a tweet saying, “When you go a first date with a girl, take her to the swimming pool so you can see how she really looks like,” was trending on Twitter and agreed by many. Beauty gurus on Youtube have been insulted and criticized for wearing makeup and had to explain themselves.
Most of guys that it depends on how much makeup a girl wears. “If the girl wears way too much makeup it looks bad,” stated Matt Peckerman. “The ones who shine when they are in the sun, it’s terrible,” said Trevor Jost. They would also prefer a girl who embraces her natural beauty and does not need to add anything to her face. “Pretty girls don’t need makeup,” said Evan Leathers. Makeup is seen by some men as a thing used to hide personality and features girls do not like on their face. None of them, however, talked about the reason girls use cosmetics; they did not know what it was.
Others feel like it does not matter if the girl wears makeup or not. Jared Weber, a senior, thinks that it’s a choice girls make, “I don’t really care about it actually, how she acts is what’s important.” Jaden Ochs believes that, “Girls should wear as much makeup as they want if it makes them feel good and confident.” According to him, it’s an art form and it develops creativity, so nobody should be blamed for being passionate about it. Some girls do not put makeup on their face because they feel like they have to, but because they like it and it’s just another way to express their personality and show what they enjoy doing.
Some stereotypes also occur when it comes to cosmetics. Red lipstick is only worn by sluts, girls who wear a lot of makeup are superficial and fake, or a dark eye makeup is for goths. According to Mandarin Foster, the biggest stereotype is that girls wear makeup for guys. “It’s not true at all, I personally wear makeup for myself because I like playing around with it, Foster said.” Moreover, Foster stated that girls who wear cosmetics are not superficial, inner beauty is the most important thing and putting red lipstick on doesn’t mean that personality does not matter anymore. The stereotypes are not true. Some types of cosmetic look good on certain people, and at the end of the day everything comes off and the real person is still here.
Nobody knows what is going on in everybody else’s head. Makeup brings confidence, it makes people who wear it feel prettier, so it should not be criticized. It’s also something some people enjoy doing, so since when are they supposed to stop doing what they love because other dislike it. After all, the inside is more important than the outside. So stereotypes should be forgotten and personality should matter more than how much foundation is on a girl’s face.
