"Sometimes you want to dip your face in cosmetics": Schoolgirls on how they are painted
Make up and study cosmetics, most of us started still at school, and even in kindergarten - for many, the make-up or its “children's” version (hello to the “Little Fairy”) became an exciting discovery. How do today's schoolgirls find their style and products, and it is difficult for them to complain about the choice of cosmetics and the diversity of opinions about their personal care goals? Moore Sobolev asked modern teenagers how they are painted, what they think about makeup and its place in their lives.
I started painting last year, when I was fourteen, but stopped due to lack of time, energy, and - mostly - desire. A year later I became seriously interested in make-up, and even though I’m not painted very brightly, I love to create something new in the mood. I do not wear Smokey, very bright colors or sequins - I prefer more to me nude and brown maroon eye shadows, arrows or dark lipstick.
I do not consider make-up something mandatory, on the contrary. For me, makeup is just an extra touch of my image, a way of self-expression. Sometimes I make arrows, and sometimes I prefer dark lipstick, but sometimes I don’t want to make up at all - then I emphasize with jewelry or clothes. For me in makeup, the main thing is that I feel comfortable and that I like myself. I really like to highlight the eyes - in my opinion, they are unusual. Or I paint them with dark burgundy matte shadows, or draw long arrows. I like non-standard techniques - for example, over a thin black arrow, sometimes I add extra cream pearl shadows.
I have a lot of makeup, but basically it is quite bright and brilliant: I participate in dance competitions and stage makeup is needed there. In life, I use one matte palette, lipstick and a black eyeliner with a thin brush. I like it when makeup emphasizes the individuality of a person, and does not get a mask on top, beyond which the face itself is not visible. I can not say that I like it more - when there is a lot of makeup on the face or when there is little: it depends on the person’s appearance, his sensations, style and goals with which he uses makeup.
Makeup for me is a means of expression. I have never understood older women, who believe that girls are painted for men. Perhaps because in the days of the youth of these women, cosmetics were less accessible, and makeup, I think, was criticized. In my gymnasium, teachers almost never find fault with girls' meiks, which I am very happy about. And I'm not so happy that there are still schools whose administrations are convinced that makeup somehow prevents students from perceiving information.
For some, cosmetics is not only a way of self-expression, but also "self-defense." I often stumble on the Web on the history of girls with a rather bright make-up, which were subjected to harassment in school: thus, with the help of makeup, they create their own world in which there is no place for aggression directed at them. If aggression also comes from teachers, this world is damaged, as well as the psyche of girls.
Personally, I prefer to use nude palettes. Starting from the eighth grade, I use only one - the eternal Catric. Like most teenagers, I have two moods: when I don’t want to paint at all (I paint only eyelashes with Yves Rocher mascara and draw eyebrows with shadows), and sometimes I want to dip my face in cosmetics (then black, gray or dark go to battle) Smokey Shadows, usually NYX). In the past six months, discovered the lipstick NYX, which can be used for centuries. It’s almost impossible to go around with such a make-up all the time, but for a selfie on instagram, it is quite suitable for diluting your tape.
In that distant time, when for me the world of makeup ended with an assortment of a basement shop, the beauty of the face was emphasized solely with dirty black shadows around the eyes and layers of white foundation. Mom watched it with a smile, wisely giving the child time to "play enough." It seemed creative, but turned into a daily watch-making routine that kills the condition of my skin. I saw another girl in the mirror, but she looked almost like in magazines, which means she could be considered beautiful.
When I plunged into the feminist movement and began to study the history of the emergence of beauty practices and their harm for women, the first impulse was the desire to refuse makeup. But, on reflection, I determined my attitude to this. The task of makeup, hair removal, promoting a healthy lifestyle - pumping out money from consumers. This is a huge industry, which is beneficial to impose on us new and new products, forcing more spending. But I think it is possible to consume wisely. I do not feel comfortable using solid tonal means and changing the shape of my face. It is interesting for me to see black lipstick on myself, triangular arrows, to draw eyebrows of different widths.
Now my daily makeup takes no more than twenty minutes: Clarins eyebrow pencil, Lancôme gel on top, Maybelline or Urban Decay light concealer, unnamed Belarusian mascara, Bobbi Brown lip gloss and brown-golden or wine-silver eye makeup (using the NYX palettes, Sleek Makeup and Lime Crime). If you are in a mood or “noblesse oblige,” I paint an hour or more, use my entire arsenal and get the “right” version of myself. But it is tiring and does not bring joy.
I do not think that with the help of make-up one should “emphasize” the merits and “hide” the flaws, I don’t consider it necessary at all. For me, makeup is a way to express myself, I am painted by mood: sometimes I don’t do anything at all, and sometimes I create a whole image. I don’t always go to school: sometimes I just don’t want to, and sometimes I don’t have time.
Class in the sixth-seventh struck me on make-up. I stole Dior's shadows from my mother, and a friend presented me with a palette of eye shadows “L'Etoile”, which I have kept until now. Since this began my acquaintance with cosmetics. Now I always make a different make-up, according to my mood: sometimes I paint only eyebrows with Essence pencil and mascara and I use hygienic, sometimes I color eyebrows and eyelashes, sometimes I add a kind of "bronzer" (the role of which I play shadows). There are days when I want to draw myself some cool arrows or make up eyelashes and eyebrows with purple mascara. When there is a desire to do something more interesting, I make arrows of maroon-red lipstick Sephora, or I draw with an eyeliner some star or heart on my cheek closer to the outer corner of my eye.
I rarely use the head, as I have no special problems with the skin, but just in case I have Rimmel Match Perfection and even a couple of concealers in the main makeup bag: Sephora and Essence. I would very much like to buy something more bright - pigmented shadows or colored eyeliner. I heard a lot about Soda cosmetics, maybe there I will find something for myself.
Makeup came into my life about two years ago - along with feelings about my own appearance. Society, peers and ideal model faces have developed a real inferiority complex in me. I wanted to be beautiful, have long eyelashes, smooth eyebrows, thin figure. It was then that makeup came to my aid, very strong and bright in those times. Now the complexes have practically disappeared, but the habit of basic self-care has remained.
Makeup for me is an indispensable part of the morning routine, as long as it’s hard for me to go outside to people with my natural eyebrows or bruises under my eyes. My make-up every day begins with moisturizing the skin: Nivea cream, patches under the eyes - that's all, I'm ready for almost everything. Moisturizing is one of the most important beauty practices for me: if I neglect it, my skin will come in such a state that even doctors will not help. After moisturizing, I apply Essence concealer - it is fairly inexpensive, but ideally masks irregularities and redness on the skin. I always pay special attention to eyebrows, I spend the most time on them. Eyebrows - the first thing that I always notice in the appearance of others, and that I should look perfect. Ends my makeup mascara.
Going to school, I never do a noticeable eye makeup: there is still a dress code. But in general, I always paint myself for myself, so that, having looked in the mirror, I feel good, and not be frightened. The main thing is that you look the way you like - the rest is not so important.