Growing up brings many changes, especially for girls. These are much more apparent as you get into middle and high school. You start to notice things right? Your skin isn’t even, you start to break out, your eyelashes seem too tiny and straight and, oh my god, is that a hair on your chin? You vaguely wonder if these little flaws have always been there or if they’re recent. Either way, the paranoia of the flaw and compulsion to be pretty 24/7 sets in and you quickly start to look for a solution. Where do most girls turn? Makeup.

While I do acknowledge that some boys do indeed wear makeup (and have every right to do so), makeup and the self-consciousness that seems to come with it is predominantly a girl problem. As girls, we’ve been trained in a sense to strive to be called “cute” and “pretty” to achieve “beautiful” status, which seems to be the highest honor we could ever be bestowed upon. I admit that as a little girl, I played around with my mother’s makeup (didn’t we all?) and dreamed of the day I could paint my face to be pretty. When that moment came, it became a daily routine that seemed almost mandatory rather than a choice. Every day for the past 5 years I’ve worn makeup and I never really stopped to ask why or if wearing makeup somehow really does increase my worth. I looked around Alisal and, for the first time, I’ve noticed something I’ve failed to see for these past three years as a student: not every girl wears makeup. Honestly, it came as a shock. I never knew that a lot of girls choose to go au naturel. Most girls start to wear makeup between the ages of 12 through 16, well into the high school age. What is it that causes a girl to wear a full face of makeup, subtle and natural looking makeup or come to school completely barefaced?

“It gives me confidence” says senior Jessica Valdez “I love playing with it and finding pretty combinations.”

Valdez, like many of the girls I interviewed, enjoys makeup and feels positive towards it. However, many girls I asked don’t wear it and in fact, find it tedious and unnecessary and prefer to sport a makeup-free face.

“I just don’t think it’s necessary. And if guys judge me for not wearing make-up they’re not worth my time,” says junior Raquel Bernal “I’d rather get more sleep in the morning than waste time putting goop on my face.”

Girls seem fairly divided on the issue. They either like it or not. However, we’re all told that females as whole will fall into either one of two categories: 1. Will treat you horridly in a Mean Girls-esque fashion for being “plain” (ugly) by not wearing anything on your face or 2. Treat you equally terrible in yet another Mean Girls-esque fashion for wearing TOO much makeup and being “fake” (translation: not showing your natural beauty). Matters are definitely not made any easier by what we’re also told about male preferences, which are either “Guys like makeup” or “Guys prefer a natural beauty over a caked on face anyday”. What the heck? So in addition to the confusion of what we’re told girls think, boys are also apparently divided? Do they really care?

According to senior Alberto Topete, “It’s not necessary for girls to wear it. If they do want to wear it, they only need a little bit of it.”

Junior Leonardo Mabalot supports this idea, saying “I won’t put her down if she chooses to wear makeup or if she doesn’t.”

Most of the males asked agreed to the idea that everyday makeup isn’t necessary, stating they actually preferred fresh faces or minimum, natural looking makeup. As surprising and sweet as these answers are, were they true? Do boys really not care and prefer more natural looking faces? Do girls really not judge other girls that choose to go barefaced? Are people as a whole okay when girls decide to not wear anything? In order to find out, I decided to conduct a small experiment to find out for myself. As small as it was, it was a very daunting task for me to do something I hadn’t done since I was 13 years old; go an entire week without wearing ANY makeup.

It might not seem like much and it might seem like I’m being overly dramatic. I wasn’t. Not wearing anything on my face proved to be something I had to muster lots of courage to do. I started on September 9th. I didn’t wear any makeup and I spent the entire day looking down, trying to avoid eye contact with every single human, animal and frankly object out of self-consciousness. Whenever I did have to make eye contact, I’d look fiercely into their eyes, trying to find even the slightest sign of disgust. I found none. As the week wore on, every single person I interact with on a daily basis treated me just as they do when I wear makeup. Very surprising. Not a single mean comment was directed towards me, the only slightly negative one was a “You look tired” from a few random people. Not a single person pelted me with makeup brushes for my uneven skin tone nor accuse me of being a fake person for wearing makeup in the first place!      

After a week of no makeup, I can verify that what guys and girls have been saying to be true. Guys didn’t care what I looked like and girls frankly didn’t either. However, I can definitely agree with what lots of girls told me, such as Valdez. Wearing makeup does indeed give me a boost of self-confidence and this boost increases my boldness. After not wearing any, I realized that I’m not as brash barefaced as I am with foundation and generous coats of mascara. I never realized how uncomfortable I am with my own face.

Uncomfortable with the idea of anyone besides my dog seeing my uneven complexion, my short eyelashes and my unfilled eyebrows despite the fact that I was born with it and it’s not Maybelline (sorry not sorry). Luckily, as the week continued, I grew a little less self-conscious and started to care less and less what others thought. People won’t like me for multiple reasons, even with a face full of makeup. What should it matter if they don’t like me au naturale? It doesn’t and I never really realized it until I stopped wearing makeup. I went from dreading my face being seen by others to enjoying the feeling of freedom by not spending time in the morning putting on multiple coats of mascara and instead checking my Facebook, as well as enjoying an increase in my self-esteem when I realized that “expectation” of glossed, shiny lips and natural foundation isn’t something that should dictate my attitude towards myself.

Will I permanently stop wearing any? Of course not. Am I glad I didn’t wear any for a week and learned to appreciate my face, even with all its flaws? Yes. The whole beauty of makeup and going sans makeup is the fact that ultimately, the choice is yours. Whether you prefer applying foundation and lipstick or forgoing it, you should always do what feels the most comfortable for you. I still love the feeling of experimenting with colors and wouldn’t give that up, but I still learned that at the end of the day, self-worth is more important than self-consciousness. Embrace your loveliness, whether it’s natural or enhanced with makeup because ultimately, your face is what makes you unique and you must show it proudly.