“Suzi? Are you feeling okay?”
“Uh…yeah?”
“You aren’t feeling sick or something?”
“No, I’m alright.”
“Oh. Did you oversleep? Just got out of bed?”
“No? I woke up around 8.”
“You just look…well, different.”
“Uh…I’m not wearing eye makeup.”
“Oh…sorry.”
Apparently me without at least some amount of eyeliner or mascara looks sickly. So much for guys who prefer the natural look…take that Seventeen, Cosmo, and People!
I’ve never been one to spend excessive amounts of time on my appearance. Yes, I bathe and I do own a curling iron that I pull out every now and then, but I’ve never been the type of person to wake up at 5:30 to be ready by 8:00. I have dyed my hair twice (not excessive), had one spray tan in my entire life (within the realm of sanity and before prom so I didn’t look whiter than my white dress), and I do wear makeup (all purchased from Wal-Mart or CVS because I’m not hardcore and I’m kind of cheap). I’m not a pumpkin colored teen whose hair smells like an old toaster oven and face looks as if Picasso has been given free range over it.
With this being said, I didn’t think it would be too noticeable if I skipped a day or two here and there, but people notice. The magazine articles I referred to before say that most people would rather see the “natural look”, I’m arguing that maybe they would rather see what they think is the natural look. This in actuality is at least some amount of foundation, shimmer, or mascara. Enough to cover up flaws but not be noticeable; subtlety. At least that’s how it seems to work for me.
Or maybe it just depends on how often that person sees me. For instance, if they only see me one a week they might not have a set image of my face in their head, at least not every precise detail. If it is someone I see everyday, or at least several days a week, then they have an expectation of what my face will look like. Think about the people in your lives; the ones that pick up when something’s different. The people who ask if you’ve gotten a haircut even if you’ve only had a short trim. The people who ask if it’s a new shirt, or a new way of parting your hair. These people you tend to be closer to as well, so they’d be more likely to flat out say if you look “…well different”.
I do admire a girl who can pull off the more daring makeup looks. The people who have winged eyeliner, mix eyeshadow, or wear lipstick in a way that doesn’t make them look like a clown/hooker (Note: do not do all of these at once). But I also admire a girl who can pull off the absolutely no makeup look.
To each their own. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and whatnot.
Suzi Foltz is an AugustaFreePress.com intern and a senior at Wilson Memorial High School.
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