You Don't Have to Be Pretty...

A little background.. I grew up dancing competitively from ages 6-18 so makeup was heavily in my life. And for SO long I was the girl who wouldn't leave the house without makeup. No exaggeration, I wore it EVERYWHERE. I even did the typical 90's thing and went to glamour shots... For those of you too young to know what glamour shots is, let me tell you. It's a photo studio, where you showed up, they did your hair and your makeup and gave you some (awful) outfit to put on. Oh and don't forget the giant clip on earrings... You're welcome. 

Yikes, haha! So does makeup make me feel pretty? Sure. But by who's standards?

There's so many celebrities, makeup artists, companies and others who try to make you believe that you are only beautiful when you have a full face of makeup on. Which is complete and utter bullshit.

A full face of makeup every day isn't a reality for a lot of women, celebrities included. You've also probably seen that I'm a giant advocate for blowing the idea of "Ladylike" out of the water. This is one of the reasons why. People say wearing makeup makes you lady like, but what they don't understand is your makeup or lack there of doesn't make you any less of a woman. It also doesn't make you any less of a human who deserves kindness. 

Society is constantly telling you to wear makeup. With the countless ads for makeup products and how they say they'll make you feel. To the magazine articles or social media posts shaming a celeb for going without makeup. Hell, they even created that picture of Barbie! A fictional, doll, toy. So needless to say, I was hiiiiiigly entertained when I saw this article after the VMAs. If you aren't familiar, the beautiful Alicia Keys went makeup less. Gasp. Shock. Awe. And get this, she looked AMAZING!

Liiiiiike, drop dead gorgeous! The article said "other celebs who went without makeup" and if you scrolled down, it showed all men. It was AMAZEBALLS. I am all for changing societies standards like a crusader. I used to wear makeup every day and now, I don't really wear it ever. Only for special occasions really. Is my skin perfect? Fuck no. But do I give shit? Fuck no. Why? Because I am me and NO ONE can tell me how to be, act or look. You shouldn't let them tell you either.

Don't get me wrong, (little known fact) I used to work at MAC Cosmetics and I've got some pretty kick ass makeup skills. I know just how fun makeup can be, what it can do for a face, and the artistic ability. So by all means, if a full face every day is your jam, rock it. But it doesn't have to be, and that is alright! We need to be less concerned about how people look and more concerned with how they act. Because the sad reality is she got shit for not wearing makeup. She got shit for choosing not to put makeup on her OWN face. That is just sad. 

So I decided we all needed it as a reminder. I know I certainly do. On our desks, whiteboards, cars, fridge, anywhere it will stick. I made Badass Magnets (more to come later). This quote along with these: