The Power of Makeup

 

Today I wanted to write a post a little bit different and longer than usual.

A post which is inspired by a video created by NikkieTutorials on Youtube and which has gone viral, reaching over 37 Mln views. In the video Nikkie talks about how, lately, there's been a sort of makeup ashame, a misconception that make people think that girls put makeup on just because they want to hide their imperfections or because they feel insicure.

After seeing that video, I felt so inspired by the whole concept she deals about and I decided to do an in-depth post about it. 

What does makeup mean to me? How it makes me feel? How important it is in my day to day life? What impact does it have on me? Why people nowadays put such a shame on it?

These are questions I realised I've never really asked myself. When I talk about makeup I usually tend to focus on the practical side of it: which products are better, what kind of makeup can I create for a certain occasion, which products are good for a certain type of skin/face shape/etc. I never really think about the importance it has in my life because it kinda became a ritual I do over and over again. But after watching Nikkie's video, I really started pondering on how makeup has influenced me in so many ways, since I was a little girl to nowadays. 

I went through many phases with makeup since I was little.

I remember being like five or six years old, back in Romania, in my aunt's hallway. She had a big mirror on the wall with a few sorted lipsticks standing there. I was so fascinated and loved playing with them, acting like a lady in front of the mirror. I still remember the smell they had. Floral and sweet. Those reds and  pinks had such an impact on me..

Then I grew up and I remember watching my bigger sister putting on makeup every single morning before going to school..and I just kept thinking it was such a waste of time. I even remember saying to her, on a foggy winter morning, these exact words: "When I grow up I will never put makeup on!", and being so convinced about it. 

Then of course time passed by and I was a teenager, full of fears and insicurities, and so I went from an opposite to another: I couldn't leave the house without makeup on because I felt so insicure about me and my teenager acne prone skin. Foundation and black eye-pencil were my best friends and an everyday must have.

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As I was growing, a lot of things changed and even if I still had lots of insicurities about my face and body, I got to a point where I just learnt to embrace my natural beauty and not reject it as I used to.

I don't feel unconfortable without makeup anymore, even though I may not have the most porcelain looking skin. And, on the other side, I just love playing with makeup just because I feel like it. 

Some days I just feel like going natural and don't care, whilst some other days I really feel like staying two hours in front of the mirror, putting on high-coverage foundation, concelear, highlighter, smokey eyes and a red lip. There are two completely opposite sides of me but which cohabit in harmony.

What I want to point out is that we all go through phases in our lives and we never know which phase is going on in someone's life. I know it may sound trivial but we should all learn  to never judge someone just relying on the outside. I used to be that person and regret it so much.

"Why does she put so much makeup on? Where she thinks she's going?" or "She could have put some makeup on today because those acne scars look so bad. How can she go out like this?" 

That was me, always judging by appereances, not realising I was the one being insicure in first place. Maybe that girl felt as insicure as me and just wanted to hide her imperfections, or maybe she was just having fun with makeup; maybe the other girl didn't give a f**k about her acne scars and felt completely fine in her skin. Who am I to judge?

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Now, at the age of 25, I think I finally got to a turning point where I think makeup it's JUST FUN. It's a form of ART I adore bacause it can lead to infinite looks, it allows me to express a certain mood, transform my face and, why not, hide some imperfections!  The most rewarding part of being a makeup artist is seeing my clients' reactions whenever I do their makeup. They feel confident, powerful, sexy, beautiful. This always gives me so much joy and satisfaction.

That's how powerful makeup can be.

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There are some days when I just feel like sh*t but then I start putting foundation, then add mascara and a red lipstick and bam!, I feel like a million dollars again. Does it mean I don't accept myself or my imperfections? Of course not. Moods like these just happen and that's what makes us humans. 

But learn to embrace your flaws as well. Don't be too mean with yourself..as sometimes we can be our worst critics. 

Makeup for me it's such a magical form of art and each and everyone of us can express it in so many ways. Have fun with it. It can lead to endless possibilities.