her story

My mother finally let me wear makeup when I was in the seventh grade. She started me out slowly with blush and neutral lipstick. I was excited to finally wear makeup like all the other girls. However, the only makeup I owned was clown makeup from an old Halloween costume. But I didn’t let that stop me. I proudly used red to rouge my cheeks and light brown to color my eyebrows (like I had seen my aunt do once) and my lips. I was proud of my matching eyebrows and lips. I thought I looked pretty cool. But, the reality of this situation was that I did not look cool. I looked like I was wearing clown makeup — to school!

The following year, Mom permitted me to wear eyeshadow but not liner or mascara. Still, I snuck-wore those whenever I went to the mall (by the way,it was 1989 and blue mascara was all the rage). My mother noticed, but let me continue wearing them anyway. I always appreciated her allowing me to make those decisions. (The clown makeup? Not so much.)

In ninth grade, I finally could wear liquid foundation and face powder. I had a problem, though; I didn’t know how to choose the right shade of foundation and powder for my skin tone. I went to the mall with some friends and chose a shade that I thought would hide my acne. Instead, I chose a shade that was too orange for my skin tone. I am blonde, green-eyed and, in the winter, quite pale. I went to school looking like I had painted an orange circle on my face. The funny thing was, no one mentioned my mistake. NO ONE. I thought I had nailed the flawless makeup look and went back to school for a second day with my tangerine face. That weekend, my mother gave me a much-needed makeover. She showed me how to apply makeup and taught me how to choose the correct shades of foundation and powder for my skin tone.

In college, I stopped wearing makeup because I didn’t want to take the time to put it on. Sleeping until that very last second before class was more important. However, after college, when I started working professionally, I started wearing it again because I thought that’s what professional women do — wear makeup. I never stopped to figure out why I felt that way until after my daughter was born. When she was 4, she asked to put on some makeup. As I asked her why she wanted it, I realized I did not know why I liked it. So, I stopped wearing makeup again until I understood why I started wearing it in the first place. Nowadays, my makeup practices are best described as “whatever.” On any given day, you will find me with or without makeup. It truly depends on whether I feel like putting it on.

Wearing makeup is a deeply personal decision for most women. I enjoy the ritual of putting on makeup. I feel as though it is an act of appreciation. I want the feeling of glamor when I wear it. I also enjoy being natural when I do not wear it. This chapter is all about makeup. My goal is to provide you with all of the information you need to make the best-possible decision for yourself. You will find some history, notes for your parents, notes for you, and some fun makeup facts. I hope it will help you decide if makeup is the right choice for you. Are you ready? Let’s begin!

Side note: Several years ago, my mother started taking me on shopping trips to buy makeup for my birthday. I am not sure why or how this tradition started; perhaps it was to make amends for allowing me to wear clown makeup to school. Nevertheless, it has turned into a yearly outing that is more about spending precious time together and less about buying makeup.