Befriending the Game Changer

photo from: gyaru-loves-success.blogspot.com

“Beauty is the opposite of perfection—it’s about confidence, charisma, and character.”

“Good looks fade, but a good heart keeps you beautiful forever.”

“Embrace what you were born with because it’s beautiful.”

Can you believe how heartwarming these quotes from the net are? They’re all about self-acceptance, loving yourself, being yourself, nurturing your inner beauty, yadda yadda yadda.

Although those quotes are all true, let’s face it. No matter how beautiful you are inside, it’s still the attractive ones who have better odds in winning at life. At this day and age, looks definitely matter. Don’t believe me? Read: Attractive people are more successful. It’s UNFAIR especially if you have all the potential, but don’t belong to the more preferred gene pool.

Then comes along the game changer for the not-so-gifted like me: Make-up. With make-up, the possibilities are endless! And whether we young ladies (and even some gentlemen) like it or not, regardless of our attractiveness, the need for it will always arise in certain occasions. Think formal parties, dinners, weddings, and *dun dun duuuun!* job interviews. If you’re in college like me, congratulations! This is the best and most suitable time of our life to finally get acquainted with make-up. Now, I could go on writing about make-up hacks for you, but…what if you’re just not into it in the first place? What if you hate make-up?

photo from: http://fashion-kid.net/

 I asked girls and women, ages 16 and up, online why they are uncomfortable wearing make-up and why they don’t like it. I will counter some of the respondents’ answers in the following paragraphs in the hope of helping all you make-up haters out there realize that there is no reason to hate make-up J (maybe if it’s on the face of somebody you don’t like, then I’m not stopping you).

"I don’t like make-up because you have to spend so many hours in front of the mirror and spend so much [money] just to look pretty."

            Unless you’re going for the walker look from The Walking Dead, doing your make-up absolutely will not take you hourS. Girl, don’t exaggerate. And who says you have to spend a lot of moolah just to look pretty? There are affordable, local but good quality alternatives to expensive international make-up brands. Learn how to do your own make-up too. You’ll be saving hundreds of pesos in no time.

"Wearing make-up is for parties, events, glamour and the like only. You don't wear them everyday because people already know you are this and not like that. It's also against my minimalist point of view."

            Did God’s Ten Commandments contain “Thou shalt not wear make-up everyday”? I thought so. Most people wear make-up because it makes them feel better about themselves or it emphasizes their assets. NOT like a mask. How about considering the “no make-up” make-up look to go with your minimalist point of view?

"It doesn’t feel like me when I have make-up on."

           Here, take some of my make-up remover wipes. You might have too much make-up on.

"I don’t like how it feels on my face..."

-          "Blush on doesn’t look good on me"

It does and it will if it’s the right shade of pink or peach.

-          "Face powder is itchy sometimes"

If your skin isn’t super sensitive, maybe it’s time to check the expiration date. It’s also possible that you’re using the wrong brand of face powder for your skin type.

-          "Lipstick makes me conscious while I’m eating"

Of course it does when it’s not a matte lippie. You also have the freedom to go the restroom and remove your lipstick before eating. Don’t complicate things for yourself.

-          "Lipstick makes my lips dry"

You need to prep your lips with lip balm or petroleum jelly before you apply lipstick.

-        "I hate the idea applying and checking from time to time if your lips have their colors still...so better not wear them"

There are such things as waterproof and long-lasting lipsticks. No excuses.

-          "People are not used to seeing me wearing lipstick"

It’s their problem, not yours. Build them a bridge so that they can get over it.

-          'Foundation makes me feel like there’s three feet of mud on my face"

Eew! You’re probably wearing too much of it. You could opt for powder instead of wet or liquid foundation.

-          "Concealers are sticky and melt throughout the day"

Sticky? Yes, but that’s only for better coverage. Concealers don’t slide off your face when you set them with powder.

-          "Foundation gives uneven color to your face and neck if not applied properly"

Yup, especially if you’re using the wrong color of foundation. It has to be a shade darker than your skin tone.

-     "Mascara makes me feel uncomfortable because it makes my eyes feel heavy and makes my eyelashes feel stiff"

Invest in Maybelline mascaras if you’re a mascara-person. It’s the volumizing mascaras that make your eyes feel heavy, so go for the lengthening ones. You could also tightline your eyes instead. (You might want to Google that, you’re welcome). If tightlining scares the hell of out you, subtle falsies are your new bestfriend.

- "The Philippines is a tropical country, I'll just be sweating it off so why bother?"

Stay away from creams. Mineral and waterproof make-up, plus setting your face properly with powder, is key.

- "Make-up is gradually making you ugly. I swear."

Wrong. Make-up doesn’t make you ugly, it’s poor skin care that does.

Reacting to all of the above, I realized that there are no make-up haters, just unaware and (let’s be honest) lazy young ladies. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not forcing you to love make-up, I’m opening a door to a new world for you :)

Now to end this blog post, here’s a definition of beauty that I personally like:

“Beauty is being the best possible version of yourself, not only inside, but also outside”—even it means having to wear make-up!