Did Concealer Conceal Your Insecurities?

Today, some women are aware of the power of wearing make-up while others are not.

Some women see it as a complete transformation, putting them on a higher level of confidence, while others who wear it faithfully may see it merely as an everyday beauty regimen. No matter what the media may project, we are stunning without it! But, let’s be honest, why do we ‘beat our faces’ occasionally?

Some would say that wearing make-up is about enhancing what you already have and not to completely change how you look. However, many women wear it to apparently ‘cover up’ what they believe are flaws. As much as make-up is used as a ‘beauty enhancer’, it tends to cover up your distinct features. There is no need to cover up the features that make you unique: Freckles, beauty marks, moles and scars. Ladies, stop piling that foundation on so heavily that the person in the mirror appears to be someone else. If you’re feeling bold, use a light coverage foundation that will only partially cover up your beautifully distinctive marks and not take away from your beauty.

There has got to be something you love about yourself. Dear ladies, take a hard, long look in the mirror and identify your favourite facial features, and see how you can enhance those beautiful features of yours and make them pop.

Wearing a fair amount of make-up shows professionalism at work, but wearing too much can be a bad distraction. It’s a good move for a job interview, a meeting, class or just a day at the office. Wearing make-up is one way to show good presentation. So, why do we tend to wear make-up often, if not daily? A popular opinion is that wearing make-up improves your appearance, which if you think about it, it actually does. Social media has done such a lovely job in bringing out our insecurities, therefore enforcing the culture of making us believe that hiding our freckles, moles, scars or lightening or darkening our skin tone is the most natural thing to do.

Most people tend to believe that make-up is their way out. Truth is, make-up only makes you happy and gives you that confidence boost for a short period of time.

Are we so gullible that we can’t see how much power make-up actually has on us? It’s crazy to think that there are people in this world who won’t leave their houses without make-up on. Please, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying don’t apply make-up, all I’m saying is, don’t let make-up overpower you.

Here’s my unpopular opinion. You cannot improve what is already perfect. Yes, you are perfect even though the world has made you lose perspective on that fact. Make-up should be a tool for beauty enhancement and not be used as a means to hide your beautiful self to fit the so-called ‘standard of beauty’. Do not let the power of make-up consume your identity.

Learn to feel free in your natural beauty and feel more attractive without having to rely any artificial beauty mechanisms. A ‘beat’ face is temporary, but inner beauty is permanent. Remember, the idea of wearing make-up is to make it look as though you’re not wearing any – not to look and feel like a different person.

Vanessa Nghiikovali is a third-year law student at the University

of Namibia. Follow her on Instagram @vanessa_assenav1.

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