Made Up

I sat next to a woman today on the subway who spent the entire half-hour applying her make-up. Come on! How much powder can one person apply in one sitting? I was too close to her to actually see what the finished product looked like. Or rather, near-finished, as mascara application had just begun as I was getting off the train. Then, on one of my many celebrity gossip sites, I saw a photo of Heidi Klum sans make-up and she looked gorgeous. So young and pretty. Not a stitch of rouge. Just her, in all her glory. I appreciated that.

Now, in no way, shape or form do I compare myself to Heidi Klum, but I don't wear make-up. Once in a while, if I am attending a special event, I will "do my eyes", but on a daily basis lipstick is as much as I apply, if even that. I know plenty of women who do wear make-up (I know I am definitely in the minority) and I have no issue with them. But I do find it odd that men are as they are, and we love them regardless. We're lucky if men apply moisturizer. And if they do, it's definitely because a woman bought it for them. Why can they just show up, as is, and be accepted, but woman feel they must look younger, fresher, tanner, wider-eyed, puffier-lipped than they actually are in order to leave their homes? It's such a double standard.

I don't not wear make-up to prove this point. I just don't like how it feels on my face. Plus I itch my eyes too much so I'd be a raccoon before lunchtime. It's also not ME. If I were to wear make-up, it would be punk style. Kohl-lined eyes, red lips. That's more my style. Artistic. But it's too late to start that. Right now, I like to think that I have that whole fresh-faced California-esque pseudo-hippie (in high heels!), free-spirited thing going on. I like it when my hair curls in it's natural state and I feel FREEEEE. But I am probably really looked at as a girl who doesn't try hard enough. Who is lazy or indifferent. My manicure chips too quickly. My highlights need updating. My wardrobe is out of date. So maybe it is true. I don't keep on top of those things the way maybe I should. But I just want it to be okay to be a natural girl, living in a sometimes unnatural world.