#NoMakeup #NoFilter

Makeup shaming has been an issue as of lately. It's as if using makeup is a shameful thing to do.

When was the last time you heard or read a negative comment made about the use of makeup or the people who uses them? For me it was just yesterday.

I stumbled on a female friend's comment on a video of a woman contouring her boobs. In her opinion (though not put very nicely), women should not be putting makeup on their boobs to enhance its appearance, rather they should workout to up the size of their twins. While working out should be encouraged, I don't see why a little makeup fun would be taken so negatively.

*This post is not written solely towards boob-contouring, but the use of makeup in general.

I've been tolerating similar comments on social media cz I don't like to pick a fight. But tolerance can only go so far and in my opinion, such discouraging words should be kept to yourselves as what you say is only meant to bring people down. Also, why should I tolerate such shitty behaviour anymore?

Make up is a form of art, it requires skills.

As much as you might think makeup is easy peasy, go on YouTube and type in "Husband Does My Makeup Challenge". You'll see them fumbling about, confused and stressed out.

Makeup skills are honed throughout years of trial and error. We make mistakes and learn from them, producing a very catty winged liner (which still sometimes fail us) and "naturally" contoured cheekbones. We learned what colours compliment our skin tones and which pink shade of eyeshadow doesn't make us look like we have an allergy reaction.

If you think using makeup to enhance or create features (i.e. bigger eyes, flushed cheeks, slimmer face, highlight on fleek, deeper eye crease, rounder boobs) is wrong, then you shouldn't be wearing any makeup yourself. Do you have naturally vampy red lips? No. Do you have naturally lined eyes? No. Oh, how about perfect brows? Maybe, if you're blessed with luscious brows that doesn't have strays lying around. I don't care if you only use a tiny amount of blush, or you only fill in your brows, or dab a little pink lipstick on your lips.

Makeup is makeup whether minimal or maximal (is that even a word? but you get my point).

Makeup is fun. Why so serious?

Do you know how much fun it is to walk into Sephora and swatch on all the shades of the latest Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint even if I don't end up buying a single thing?! VERY! I get to judge its colour payoff, formula and texture. It's like playing around with water colour when you were a kid, but even funner! And instead of a drawing block as your canvas, you use your face!

Makeup is fun because you get to change up your looks. Pretty and demure one day, edgy rocker chick the next. Don't bother saying we're cheating others into thinking that's how we look like because 1) Are you that dumb to think I have naturally purple lips? 2) Like clothing, you dress well to look good. Makeup is just another form of "outfit" or accessory.

My point is. So what if someone wants to contour their boobs? Maybe some days, I'd like to see how I look with fuller, perkier boobs. Or maybe I've done my workouts but my twinsies still don't look as appealing as I want them to be. Heck, maybe I just want to! Why do you care?

For brows, we can use the assistance of a concealer or a nude pencil paired with an brow pencil to change up the shape (to see which looks best) before bringing tweezers to them. Similarly, why can't we do the same for boobs?

Those who are able to contour their boobs well, all I can say is hey, they have great shading skills. You have?

Speaking of which, did you see Xiaxue's Photoshopped Instagram photo? She painstaking took time lightening and darkening areas of her boobs to contour, and she's not afraid to hide that fact. That right there is skills and talent. It's art.

(Source: Xiaxue's Instagram)

Not everyone is blessed with a voluptuous pair of boobies, or want to put in the effort of doing whatever exercises to enlarge their boobs (in fact, I don't think workouts can increase boob size, but only make them look perkier. Putting on weight in terms of fats does the job instead).

Then again, not every woman wants big boobs too cz bra sizes can be hard to find and many cute designs are only available for smaller cups.

That's besides the point though.

What's wrong with a woman who's wearing a low cut dress wanting to have an instant appearance of fuller boobs? Celebrities and models do it too. It's temporary, just like your lipstick and blush. If one day she decides to gain weight and do the appropriate exercises to get bigger, perkier boobs, good for her! But if she wants to continue carving out her boobs for the rest of her life, so be it.

Makeup is therapeutic. Makeup helps with confidence.

At the end of a stressful week, usually all I want to do is take some time slabbing my face with makeup, picking out eyeshadow and lipstick colours before going out looking pretty... even if it's just for lunch with a friend because for me it's therapeutic.

Confidence gained with the help of makeup is very much similar to wearing nice clothes.

Let's take an example of a really nice pair of shoes. Imagine your favourite pair.

You put it on and instantly you're put in a good mood, feeling great and confident...you're ready to take on the world (by world, I mean wherever you're heading to)!

Then someone (friend or stranger) decides to come along and say "Gosh, those shoes are ugly! You should take them off, I hate it!". How would you feel?
1) I don't care, I love it and I'm gonna keep wearing it no matter what you say. You ain't gonna bring me down (Great!)
2) Retreats into your shell and debate in your head if you should continue strutting or change into something else (Not so good)

Similarly can be applied to wearing makeup. When I put so much effort into creating a smokey eye, blending religiously so there's no harsh lines, resulting in a seamless gradient of silver to black, I'd feel so goddamn sexy like a creature of the night! Along with it comes confidence. Why would anyone want to take that confidence away by commenting that my eyes are too dramatic?

I can also vouch for those who gain confidence with makeup on. At times, I get self conscious when my chin looks like it's been invaded by acne army, doesn't help when insensitive people point it out. When I put on makeup, it covers most of them and I feel much better!

I'm sure many of you women out there experience what makeup can do for your confidence level too. I don't think you can deny that awesome feeling you get at a swipe of Ruby Woo. That right there, is the power of a red bullet. Makeup transforms you one way or another!

I'm all for feeling good on the inside, not just on the outside. But there are people who has low self esteem, who just feel way better with makeup on. For that reason, I don't see anything wrong with it if it makes them happy (so happy, sometimes they tear up!).

I don't get people who diss makeup wearers. The dissers are rather shallow, in my opinion. Makeup is more than what's on the surface, it affects a person so deep and you don't even have a clue.

Makeup is a form of expression.

In this day and age, some still think women wear makeup for men. Boo! Sometimes women do, but not definitely.

Long gone are the days when women do things only to please men. Yes, we may put some makeup on to look fresher in order to look more attractive. But no, we don't choose the different shades of reds or purples or fuschias to impress the gender who can't even tell what on Earth the colour mauve is.

Totally not shaming the male species cz we humans are programmed that way, we're equipped with different focuses and abilities. Now, that's a whole different story on its own (the never-ending debate on which gender is better. Imo, neither gender is more superior than the other. We just have different traits and characteristics to complement each other).

Oops! Off topic.

We live in an era where the freedom of expression is encouraged (to a certain extent). Makeup doesn't harm anyone, so I don't see why it should be limited.

Boys, don't give me the "I was conned into thinking she's pretty till she removed her makeup" nonsense. Did you really think women have gold eyelids? You're just being naive by thinking women look drop dead gorgeous without putting in the same effort (or more) you put in to appear presentable yourselves. Effort, y'all!

(Source: Makeup Ideas Mag)

"Au naturel" is what a many boys like to state their preference for, and girls like to pride themselves on by hashtagging on their barefaced selfies #nofilter #nomakeup. Is there really a need for me to know whether you're using a filter/makeup or not?

Demi Lovato created a hashtag #NMM (No Makeup Monday) that encourages people to not be afraid of going sans makeup. That's great cz it's encouraging people to do something good for themselves.

Hence, I'm not against it cz it's great to be barefaced as well. It's a matter of preference. However, many go all "Oh, I don't need makeup, my barefaced is pretty unlike yours" or "Hey, look! I'm without makeup and my skin is as clear as day! Such a natural beauty, I am! #nofilter #nomakeup" implicitly. And that's not nice.

I mean, if you're so au naturel...don't dye your hair, don't pierce your ears, don't shave your pits! Hell, don't even wear clothes! Now, that's au naturel.

Once, I asked a guy friend for his opinion on women's makeup. He's the kind of person who thinks before he says anything, which I found very attractive (but that's besides the point). He smartly answered "Since I'm a guy, I'm going to say something generic like, "I like a natural look" which is probably equivalent to 20 minutes of makeup doing because guys don't know shit about makeup. I like a minimal touch with makeup."

Very clever. His answer didn't made me wanna roll my eyes or put him in his place.

Unlike another guy friend who made a comment on how he doesn't like girls having much makeup on, very "natural". To which I asked for an example and he said Taylor Swift, complete with showing me a photo of her perfectly even-toned skin (with the help of foundation and concealer), lengthy flirty lashes (with the help of mascara and maybe falsies) and a classic red lip (red lipstick- no brainer). Tell me, how's that natural?

Do you actually know how many layers of makeup she has on?! Might I add that photos taken doesn't equate with real life appearance? She may look like she doesn't have much on in photos, but in real it's probably more dramatic. Cameras are very forgiving, unlike people.

But as I was saying about freedom of expression. I'm all for wear makeup if you want, don't wear makeup if you don't want. Do whatever pleases you and don't butt into people's affairs.

There's no need to bitch about someone else wearing makeup just because you can. The world has enough issues, we don't need people bringing each other down. Just like how you shouldn't force someone to accept your views just because you have an opinion different than theirs or you participate in a certain doings, you shouldn't diss people who wears makeup either.

I do feel confident in general and I don't feel insecure stepping out of the house without makeup on. But do I want to paint my face with colors? Yes. Do I want to feel pretty? Yes. Do I care if you think I have too much makeup on? No. Do I give two hoots if you think I shouldn't wear purple lipstick cz it's not "natural"? Hell no. I do it because I want to, because I feel like it. I do what I want because as far as I'm concerned, makeup is not doing any harm.

Newsflash: People who diss makeup wearers are the ones doing harm.

Let's just say to each his own, okay?

The worst case are those who disses the use of makeup when in actual fact, they use it too. Such contradiction. Bitch, please.