MAKEUP SHAMING

A universally acknowledged truth is that people, in general, have an opinion on absolutely everything. Opinions are annoyingly subjective, therefore rarely unanimous, and almost always leads to conflict and disagreement. This includes the subject of makeup: something society cannot decide whether to label as oppressive or liberating.

I personally, see no detriments in cosmetics and will attempt to (through this article and video) reduce negative connotations it holds.

The biggest misconception to do with makeup I’ve seen on the internet is the belief that it is exclusive to people who are vain or have low self esteem.

That is definintely not the case. For for many girls out there, makeup is a form of self-expression. It’s a non-permanent art form that you can experiment with. Generally, it's a lot of fun and since it's on your face, it has a relatively large audience.

preeeeettttyyyyyy

For others like me, I admit that I put on makeup to give myself a little more confidence. I feel prettier with makeup on as I can accentuate the features I like and hide a few blemishes I see. So what? Does that mean I have crippling insecurity? No. I can easily walk outside bare-faced and be totally cool with it. In fact, I have filmed all my videos make-up free (prior to this one) and it honestly is not a big deal for me.

Just because some girls like to feel pretty once in a while and see makeup as a method to achieve those means, that doesn’t mean they deserve to be punished by the rest of society for feeling that way. If might mean they're vain but all that means is that they're vain. Not a good trait to have but as it may be to fathom, that does not mean they are a horrible slutty bitch.

Making assumptions about people and verbally abusing them because of these assumptions is bullying and bullying is never, ever okay (even if they do turn out to be a skunk-ass hoe). 

Admittedly, there are girls out there who definitely have issues with self esteem and rely on makeup in an unhealthy way. This is something we should acknowledge and helping these girls is extremely important. But do you think constantly mentioning the fact that they’re self conscious is going to make it any better? Do you think you can shame them out of their insecurities? Oh look, there’s an insecure girl, lets go and remind her about her insecurities and tell her that they’re stupid so we can motivate her to stop being insecure!!!11 

No. Seriously, just no. 

The second reason people 'makeup shame' others is because they think it’s a behaviour that is antifeminist.  The fact of the matter is, feminism as a concept is extremely broad and people have many different takes on it. A universally acknowledged truth is that people, in general, have an opinion on absolutely everything. Opinions are annoyingly subjective...dejavu anyone? The ultimate goal of feminism however is something that most women can agree upon and it is the establishment of equal opportunities for women as there are for men.

Some feminists therefore, believe that women that wear makeup do so out of a desire to please men with their appearance and are supporting “unrealistic goals” of feminine beauty and therefore straying away from the path to equality as they are not opposing objectification and thus supporting the unfair, sexualisation of women.

The fact of the matter is, some people just enjoy wearing makeup for themselves. In fact, the confidence it brings empowers some women. Just like wearing a sweatpants and a large hoodie with a messy bun gives you one state of mind, a crop top, high waisted skirt and bright red lipstick can give you a different outlook on life entirely. Sometimes you want to feel one way, other times you want to feel the other. Wouldn't it be nice to live a dynamic life full of choices in how we want to present ourselves and knowing we can go back on it entirely the next day? It sure would, and I will do so by experimenting with wearing different types of makeup not to please others but for myself.

Finally, there seems to be a movement recently where women take a lot of pride in not wearing makeup and passively aggressively shaming women who choose or need to wear makeup for self confidence. With trends such as #nomakeupselfie there is perhaps a bigger appeal in going “au naturale.” For some, it is a challenge to take all the makeup off and props to them for having the courage to do so, for the majority, it’s no big deal as makeup is just an optional boost yet for a small, pitiful minority, it’s just another opportunity to cast the line and fish for some compliments.

Oh my gosh, I don't like wearing makeup haha, it doesn't do anything for me??? #nomakeup #fishin’

Could you be more passive aggressive? If you feel the need to  seek people's approval in your beauty at the expense of ridiculing others, I challenge you to look into a mirror that reflects your personality and tell me what you see. 

spoiler alert: it ain't pretty

I guess the point of this video/article is that if you don’t wear makeup because you don't like it or don't see the appeal, don’t feel pressured into wearing it. Rock the natural beauty but why not spice it up for Halloween this year? If you do wear makeup, don’t feel ashamed of it, rock on too. If you struggle with not wearing makeup, maybe challenge yourself to go out make-up free once this week whether it's to school or just a quick trip to the supermarket.

Finally, if you feel the need to criticise people's life choices which don't really affect you, please re-evaluate your priorities in life. 

After you've done so, I can re-evaluate our potential friendship.

REFLECTION: MY SECOND VIDEO

hola!

This is my second video. 

The concept behind it (lol what concept) was basically... #YOLO.

Just before you disown me, I'd like to state that I'm using that acronym ironically!!!11 (and the exclamation marks too)

I use it accurately though, in that I had no plan whatsoever for my video this week. I simply did not have the time necessary to research and film one of my stronger ideas so instead I had to just make something up on the spot on the sunday morning and hope it didn't fall to pieces because there was absolutely no way I was going to fall off schedule on the second week of making videos and I didn't!

+10 points for Maggy

I remember getting a question on ask.fm on saturday night enquiring about the worst pet peeve (in my opinion). I had trouble deciding what it was, which led to me googling a whole list of pet peeves.

(I have a whole ramble about why it's hard for me to be decisive and I'll post that up very soon!)

So, with that list already in hand, a rant on pet peeves and things that irk me about people? Easy. I could pull that off...or so I thought. 30 minutes of raw footage later, as I tried my best to piece together something that is mildly entertaining, I realised that I went completely off topic and talked mostly about how I was a horrible human being that embodied every single pet peeve under the sun. Whoops.

I guess I shouldn't have expected anything better considering I didn't script or plan my video at all although I do believe there is one message in there that is worth learning about: not expecting anything in return when you offer people sympathy and support which is actually a really important lesson I may expand on in future.

Side note: I really wish there was a youtube video out there from someone who has made it showing exactly how they plan, script, film and edit. Or, they can just teach me how to be them. I'm kidding (ish). It's honestly quite stressful trying to figure out if you're breaking some secret youtube rule. That video would be an invaluable start point for people with big ideas but lack logistics. If I make it big, I promise to make said video for the aspiring youtubers/bloggers out there!

Anyway, since what I said did not match the original title at all, I had to go re-film the section where I introduced my topic. It was slightly oh-so-very-obvious that it was filmed latter and shoved in but shhhhhh it can be our little secret, okay?

Overall, I'm pleased with the final result. I definitely was not as funny or entertaining as I'd like to pretend but hey, I got rid of the horrible "KENS BURNS EFFECT" in my intro and the music isn't as overpowering so good job me.

I do realise that I have so much room for improvement and growth and I'm so excited to do so :)

WHY NOT BOTH

Hello wonderful people of the internet.

By that I mean hello to that one friend I'll tell about this blog, that other person that somehow stumbled upon this page and will leave before reading anything and...that's it. Hi guys, it's so lovely for you to stop by!

I have always been an aspiring blogger and youtuber. I have hosted a multitude of blogs in the past but none really took off.

I wasn't really posting regularly because of my fear of delivering anything didn't pass my quality control which was set remarkably high. This was also what held me back from making youtube videos.

I have been viewing youtubers the likes of Danisnotonfire, Community Channel and Anna Akana so much (they are absolutely amazing) that the idea of making something without a professional camera, tripod, mic, hundred dollar editing software and natural wit was simply unthinkable.

Recently however I have invested in a DSLR due to taking a photography class in school this year which as a side note, I've found really enjoyable.

(sample of photographs I took recently)

No, I still don't have a tripod, mic, professional editing software and last time I checked I'm still not as funny as I'd like to believe (unfortunately) but one thing I do have an abundance of  feelings that I need to express/release. So why should I be holding myself back from something that appeals to me so much?

I shouldn't! And that's what motivated me to make my very first video named "WHEN ITS NOT YOUR FAULT"

It is a video where I talk about how I was unfairly treated and how I've decided to deal with it.

I know it's probably not on par with the quality content big youtubers put out, heck, it's probably less sufficient than most aspiring youtubers too but I gave it my best shot and it's a video I can stand by without cringing (too much). 

As I filmed and edited the video however, I couldn't help think about how much I liked expressing myself with the written word. Somehow, I felt like I enjoyed writing the description a little bit more than I should have. As much as I like videoing and taking photographs, I have always held the belief that "a picture speaks 1,000 words" but that is only a potential some pictures have whilst a thousand words always reliably speaks a thousand words and when you write, you can pick the exact thousand you want to convey your meaning perfectly.  

This led me to go into a wild state of panic. Should I start a blog instead and forget the whole youtube scene? I like the idea of vlogging though! That is, until the logical side of my brain decided it was time to release me from my misery and screamed: WHY NOT BOTH? 

Yeah, why not?

So here I am, fresh and ready to tackle the challenges of being an aspiring blogger and vlogger.

If anyone else wants to join me on the journey or can give me a boost in the right direction, I will be more than happy to give you a big internet hug.