Tracing back to ancient Egypt, where both men and women used cosmetics for cultural and religious reasons, to the Elizabethan age in Europe, where heavy makeup was a statement of wealth and position, makeup has always held a meaning beyond aesthetics. Today, it is a part of everyday life, with many using makeup to bolster confidence and express themselves.

Yet women are often faced with a double bind stemming from societal expectations around how they should look and act. Women who don’t wear makeup are often labeled unprofessional or unkempt, while those who do wear it are called fake or insecure. This impossible standard puts women in a lose-lose scenario, in which they are criticized and judged regardless of what they do.

Such sentiments have proliferated on social media platforms, with phrases such as “one wipe and it’s over” and “take a girl swimming on the first date” implying that women who wear makeup are inherently duplicitous. These posts show photos of women with and without makeup, urging men not to be fooled by their “heavy coverage.” Furthermore, when searching about makeup online, the importance of men’s opinions dominates the conversation: “What makeup do men prefer?” and “Do guys like girls with makeup on?” are frequent questions.

Beauty stereotypes are not unique to social media platforms. Despite gains made since the 1970s toward redefining women’s roles, the beauty industry has largely remained unchanged. In advertisements, makeup products are described as life-changing necessities for women. If a woman goes without makeup on the red carpet, it makes headlines: After the 2023 Fashion Awards, publications from Sports Illustrated to People Magazine covered how actress and model Pamela Anderson attended makeup-free. Furthermore, female characters in TV shows and movies are almost always wearing makeup, making female audiences believe that they too must wear makeup to look presentable and attractive. Women continue to be sold unrealistic ideas about beauty and success.

While these dynamics may seem inconsequential in the larger scheme of things, they wield significant impact in women’s work lives. An analysis from writer Valentina Zarya of a 2016 study by Dr. Jaclyn Wong and Dr. Andrew
Penner found that a “well-groomed woman of average attractiveness makes about $6,000 more annually than an average-looking, averagely-groomed woman. She also makes about $4,000 more than her better-looking, but less put-together coworker.” Another 2016 study by Dr. Viktoria Mileva from the University of Stirling in Scotland found that employers may be more likely to hire women who wear makeup to job interviews.

This phenomenon makes confronting the stigma surrounding a woman’s appearance imperative. Writer Georgia Sullivan, who went without makeup for a month in 2023, wrote in The New Feminist that the “psychological battles and daily rituals were simply not something most men have to deal with. Makeup for men does exist, and some people believe that normalizing men wearing makeup is a good way to fix this gender disparity. Yet I wonder if the most positive thing, the most radical thing, would be to rid ourselves of these insecurities altogether and to instead tell women that they are fine just as they are.”

Far too many women today are accustomed to cultural expectations regarding their appearance. The multibillion-dollar cosmetics industry is a stronghold that will likely remain, as it is profitable and beneficial for stakeholders. Raising awareness about these pressures, however, can help promote change.

Makeup- and non-makeup-wearers alike should be aware of the biases in their daily lives, educating and supporting one another to minimize harm. It is time to educate and support one another to minimize harm caused by the shame associated with makeup. It is time to break the mask and embrace the true beauty of individuality.

From the back, the 5 foot 2 inch sophomore blends into the bustling sea of students trying to make their way to class. From the front, however, it’s hard to walk past him without admiring his glowing skin and radiant aura: it appears as if a celebrity is walking among us. What sets Ben Truong apart from most boys are his wizard-like makeup skills—his extensive daily makeup routine includes foundation, bronzer, blush, highlight, brows and mascara.

Truong’s interest in makeup started with a rejected gift he gave to one of his friends at the end of eighth grade. “I got my two friends Kylie Jenner lip-kits and then one of them didn’t want her lipstick; she only wanted the liner, so then she gave it to me,” he said. “I started wearing it sometimes and that’s how I started getting into makeup.”

The experimentation with lipstick sparked his interest in trying new products, and led to a trip to Sephora with his mom. “My mom got me brushes, and then I also got contour,” he said. “At first I thought, ‘I don’t need contour or fake eyelashes’ but then I tried them and really liked them, so it kept building.”

Although Truong makes his natural-looking glow appear effortless, it can take him multiple tries to perfect the look. “Sometimes it’s a good brow day, and sometimes it’s not, so it’ll take me longer to clean them better with concealer which can be very frustrating,” he said. While some teenagers wake up with barely enough time to make it to school on time, Truong makes sure to set time aside for his makeup routine. “When I actually want to do my makeup, it takes around an hour or an hour and a half in the morning,” he said. “But a daily routine is more like 45 minutes so I wake up around 7 a.m. and then rush.”

Initially, Truong turned to YouTube for inspiration and tricks to perfect the art of makeup. “I just watched a lot of videos to improve my technique,” he said. “I really like Michael Finch, he’s my favorite YouTuber.”

Truong has had the opportunity to meet various famous YouTube stars, including Patrick Star, at a makeup convention this summer called Gen-Beauty. The convention consisted of multiple meets-and-greets and booths that gave out free or discounted makeup.

For Truong, makeup serves as a unique form of expression. “I see makeup as an art form where your face serves as a canvas,” he said. “It makes me feel a lot more confident.”

I woke up with a jolt. Senior year has taught me that when I sleep late, I wake up even later. “Shoot,” I thought, “I need to get going.” Chugging water, I wolfed down a bowl of oatmeal, then proceeded to rush into the bathroom. It was 7:45 a.m. and I needed to be out the door in 10 minutes. “Alright, I got this,” I said, looking in the mirror. As I hurried through washing my face and brushing my teeth, I couldn’t help but contemplate whether or not it was worth it to take the time to slap on some makeup. “Do I need it?” I wondered. Like most mornings, I didn’t have time for anything extravagant, so I swiped on a bit of mascara and swept my hair into a ponytail. It was 7:53 a.m. and I needed to go–I vacated the bathroom, grabbed my bag and dashed out the door.

This routine of hopping out of bed, disregarding my makeup routine and dashing out has become a typical morning for me. While it’s second nature for me now, this wasn’t always the case. It took a lot of time and self-reflection for me to become comfortable enough with myself to leave the house without makeup.

I first started experimenting with makeup when I reached high school. Starting out, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. My skills were subpar, but I wasn’t concerned–I knew that I was having fun and continued to learn the works of the art. As I continued to sharpen my skills, it was as if a whole new world had opened up in front of my eyes–my face became a canvas and I was testing the waters of the more complicated looks that I would constantly scroll past on Instagram or Youtube. I was almost surprised with myself; before makeup, I had never truly challenged myself creatively. I was in awe by the power of makeup–makeup had given me an outlet to visually express myself as a person.

As time went on, makeup became a staple part of my daily routine. Before school everyday, I allotted myself 10 extra minutes to apply makeup. I felt like the payoff of feeling more confident throughout the day was worth waking up those 10 minutes earlier.However, on days that I went without makeup, I found that I felt too bare, self-conscious and uncomfortable. For most of my life, I walked around with nothing on my face but the sunscreen that my mom mandated I apply before I left for school. So why was makeup such an integral part of my life now, when I was perfectly fine before I even discovered it?

Eventually, it dawned on me that I had based my confidence on how I looked each day and whether or not I was wearing makeup. While it wasn’t noticeable to others, I found that on days when I didn’t wear makeup, I felt more insecure about myself compared to the days when I did. I felt a little embarrassed to go to school without makeup on, and made an effort to keep up my “makeup-game.” I no longer put on makeup out of enjoyment, and instead found myself relying on it for confidence. As I quickly learned, this was destructive to my well-being.  

Realizing how volatile this mindset was, I decided that I needed to make a change in the way I approached makeup. I started by cutting back on the time I spent on makeup, and encouraged myself to wear minimal to no makeup out. Although it took some time to get used to, I began to feel comfortable in my own, bare skin again. I made sure to take care of my physical and mental health to build and ensure a sturdy foundation for my well-being. Eventually, my confidence stemmed from within myself, instead of how I felt I looked. Makeup became a positive part of my journey once again as I used it to empower myself instead of relying on it for confidence.

Society views makeup as a way to cover one’s flaws, essentially providing a mask for one to hide behind. As a person who enjoys wearing and experimenting with makeup, I see it as more of an art than a mask. I now wear it to empower and express myself–not to hide behind.

Now most days, I rock the bold look of “no makeup.” Sure, it’s partly due to my First-Semester-Senior nature of waking up late and racing against time in the morning, but I also feel empowered in a new and thrilling way. Walking around campus with minimal to no makeup makes me proud. I feel beautiful, with or without makeup, and the knowledge that I don’t need makeup to feel and be beautiful is refreshing. Some people feel insecure without makeup, while some feel insecure with it. It’s important to remember that with makeup or without makeup, you are beautiful. As cheesy as it is, beauty truly comes from within. Also, if I don’t say so myself, the payoff of those 10 extra minutes of sleep is so worth it.