My Introduction

Growing up with two older sisters, makeup and beauty was no stranger in my household. Of course, as an impressionable young girl, all I wanted was to be as cool, pretty, and popular as my sisters were. I always thought it was so interesting how they would wake up for school, sit in front of the mirror, and do their everyday makeup routine. Everything they did looked so cool to me. It wasn’t long until I found some spare makeup in my mother’s bathroom and began my own literacy journey with beauty.

Many people can argue that 5^th grade is too early for a child to start experimenting with makeup. However, I don’t believe that is entirely true. Having parents who let me decide when I wanted to start dabbling in makeup evidently helped me form how I feel about beauty today. Since it was my choice to start wearing makeup, I never felt like I was wearing it for anybody else. Adults jump to the conclusion that people wear makeup because they’re insecure. That’s obviously not always the case. Makeup has such a negative connotation that it is sometimes embarrassing to admit I enjoy wearing, practicing, and applying makeup.
Read what these hit songs have to say about makeup....

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"What Makes You Beautiful"- One Direction

"You're insecure,

Don't know what for,

You're turning heads when you walk through the door,

Don't need makeup,

To cover up,

Being the way that you are is enough."

Inland Empire Weekly

"Try"- Colbie Calliat

"Put your make up on

Get your nails done

Curl your hair

Run the extra mile

Keep it slim

So they like you, do they like you?"

Though these songs are attempting to be empowering, they are completely stereotyping the makeup industry. Not everyone wears makeup to "cover up" or "make people like them". 

Even to this day I have justify my reasoning for my infatuation with the beauty industry. Especially if you are anything like my dad, you question what is the point. Why put so much time and effort into something that is so insignificant in the long run? Just like any hobby, such as knitting, basketball, drawing, or hiking, the end result doesn’t have to be life changing. That’s why it’s a hobby. Practicing makeup is just a way I like to spend my free time and it makes me genuinely happy. Similar to any hobby, makeup takes skill that not every individual possesses. It took hours upon hours to get where I am today in my literacy journey and should not be talked down just because of silly stereotypes people put on the beauty industry.