Women and men should feel allowed to express themselves without being shamed by society’s unreal standards for almost anything that concerns appearance. Some examples of the ridiculous expectations: if you don’t wear makeup you need to have perfectly clear skin, but if you do wear makeup you need to “take off the mask” or not be so “fake.” Please, make up your mind! I’m tired of buying expensive beauty products only to find out that it’s “so last year.”
Every year, new trends come out. Some are more effective than others, while others aren’t. 2016 was riddled with Kylie Jenner products, colourful highlighters, and Snapchat filter inspired looks. What really baffles me is the extent people went to with the highlighters: pizza-esque, galaxy-resembling, and mermaid-like were very popular. In case you didn’t know, a highlighter is used to accentuate the areas where applied. When contouring, it creates the illusion of brightness along the places where light wouldn’t normally go on your face. Creatively designed highlighters are acceptable because most individuals have the knowledge that no one has rainbow coloured skin.
If someone decides to believe that humans naturally have (for example) sparkly eyelids, it really isn’t the fault of whoever is wearing it. It’s not fair to place the blame on them for doing what makes them feel good about themselves- confidence is after all one of the many reasons people use makeup. People in general should feel allowed to express themselves with cosmetics, but the expectation that everyone is a professional holds them back. This is sad because sometimes the right lip gloss or eyeliner can make you feel like you can conquer the world.
