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I love makeup. I do. I don’t always have enough time to always put it on the way I want to, with a child in tow, but I do love it. It’s artistic and fun and character-changing, at least for me. I’m sure it sounds corny, but I feel like a different person when I go to a wedding wearing smoky eyes or bright lipstick I normally wouldn’t. I guess it comes from my theatrical background; when I would do shows, I would love tech week because we finally got to wear our makeup and costumes. I like playing another character, sometimes.
It’s also the act of taking the time to put it on and take care of your appearance. Most mornings, I slap on foundation and blush and run out the door so I don’t look like an Irish ghost. But when I have the time to get ready for a wedding, I feel…luxurious. It’s hilarious what motherhood renders delightful when it’s probably the norm for everyone else!
My dad, the guy you wouldn’t guess would be a feminist, used to yell at me every time I would put makeup on as a teen and young adult. ”You’re buying into a product,” he’d remark. ”Women don’t need makeup to look beautiful – they already are. You’re letting companies tell you what you should look like!”
He was right, sort of. He’d be surprised that his words would echo in my mind a long time after he said it. Did putting on makeup lower my self-esteem? Did it mean I was an unaware robotic consumer like everyone else? And worst of all, was it part of my bad body image?
It was almost like I had guilt for expressing myself, and that’s when I realized makeup and feminine things like jewelry and eyeliner were part of my self-expression, not part of a covering-up scheme I concocted to hide my true self. So, my dad was right – ads for things like makeup and clothes CAN affect your self-esteem, but different triggers affect different people. For me? I know I can’t read beauty magazines – I know I’ll feel like reducing my caloric intake after reading those. But makeup? So much fun. And I’m not going to feel guilty for my self-expression – that was part of my eating disorder, right? Reducing myself down to nothing so I didn’t have a voice.
And, being a cheap savvy mama, I shop at Target every weekend with the fam. This past weekend, I noticed the Sonia Kashuk line when I was glancing through the beauty department. I was excited to pick up a new shade of foundation which would highlight my Irish ghost fair fall look that I sport, and Sonia Kashuk had every shade imaginable. Check her out at http://goo.gl/SB1Qy6.
I’m excited to hear what you think about feminism and your self-care – does your enjoyment of “the extras” contribute to a positive body image or does it hurt it? Let me know.
#TargetBeauty#BH
