Finding Your Own Beauty

This article is adapted from my post for Her Campus at Chapel Hill. Click here to check it out!

My beauty journey has been a long and, dare I say, an unfortunate one. From high school pictures with way too much blue eye-shadow to college pictures with not enough coverage, I’ve always struggled to find the perfect balance, and I’ll admit I’m still figuring it out.

Just a couple of years ago, any time I stepped out of the house, I felt as if I had to put on a full face of makeup like I was going to a fashion shoot or glam event. While there’s nothing wrong with doing your makeup to look glam and fierce, I had to step back and ask myself what the heck was I doing for a two-block trip to the grocery store? 

Fortunately, I did some soul searching, had a chat with my mom, and was able to figure it out. Changing my mentality was the next step, so I challenged myself to slowly decrease the amount of makeup I wore so I could- get to a point where I’d feel comfortable going out without my war chest.

I would start out with a full face, then lose my gorilla grip on blush, mascara, eyeliner, eyeshadow, foundation, concealer, and lipstick;  I did this until one-by-one I was left with a bare face, only adding tinted lip balm and a brush to my brows. Once you do this for a couple of days, it’s surprising how your whole disposition starts to shift.  

Not only did it open my eyes to see how much time and effort I put into glamming up to go somewhere simple, but it also showed me that I didn’t need all of those layers to feel deeply beautiful. I wasn’t putting on the makeup for me; I was putting it on because I felt like it was a look that was expected in this hyper environment of perfect faces. 

Nowadays, I save my “glam” face for when I actually go out. So now, it becomes something – I want to do, not something that I feel I have to do. Not only does this make it feel more special, but I know that I’m doing it for myself.

Whatever your comfort level with makeup is, whether that be bare-faced, full-faced, or somewhere in between, you should wear what makes you feel – most confident and most beautiful.

Don’t worry,  if you’re striving to find that happy medium, you’ll get to it. With a little soul searching and some experimentation, you’ll be able to rock any makeup look … finding your own beauty.

How have you found your beauty?