The confessions of a makeup addict

As much as I am an addict for watching YouTube Makeup Gurus, and their tips and tricks as well as reviews of products, I am forced to point out the negative consequences of the growing number of these videos and their implications.

I started watching panacea81 when I was 17 years old. I started experimenting with makeup when I was probably 15. That doesn't mean I started wearing it at 15, but I started looking into things. I bought my first foundation when I was I went to university, first year. I bought my first blush then too. The only makeup I remember I wore in high school was probably eye liner and mascara. And on special dances and occasions, eyeshadow.

So.. apart from the great reviews we get from these makeup Gurus (I must say that I literally follow some Gurus obsessively) but that is to watch them, and learn tricks and tips from them. But somewhere, subconsciously.. it creates a little thing in you, where you think you are not wearing enough makeup or not doing all the things that you are supposed to do to look "beautiful." I thought I would write this blog right after the one I just previously posted because they are interconnected. Again, it's about the distorted and modified definition of beauty.

When I was a teenage girl, I was highly influenced by these videos and I felt like going and buying so many products that I shouldn't have bought. They go beyond the necessities and basics of makeup to show you products that are pretty much useless and I am talking $40 for a touch-up product like a highlighter to slide it down your nose to make it look sleek. Even though there are many gurus out there that use drug store products because not everyone has that kind of money, then there are gurus that use only high end products and demonstrate it according to their style. Again, there are audiences and consumers for both types of videos and it's great that they are our means of awareness for products. I would have never bought some things unless I found out about them through these gurus.

BUT, the kind of message some teenagers get from these videos is just WRONG. I am seeing girls younger and younger, with full on makeup, even fake lashes! I am sorry, but if I had a daughter the age of 13 wearing foundation, I would have slapped her across the face. You do not start using all these chemicals on your skin at that age. It's just wrong. Parents also need to think about the liberty they give their children, for allowing them to become more plastic and plastic every day. I LOVE makeup, and I wear makeup 3 out of 7 days of the week, when I go to school. And sometimes, I go without ANY makeup, without hair done, in my tracks. Am I ashamed to walk around without it? NO. Do I consider myself equally beautiful? FUCK YES! Makeup is about enhancing your beauty, not hiding and masking yourself in cake batter, and drawing cartoon eyebrows with 10 cm long eyelashes. I didn't think twice about my appearance in high school, until I graduated and came to university. I see young girls buying CONCEALERS at drug stores. Even I don't use a concealer regularly! I use it when I look like a zombie or when I am sleep-deprived. I feel like the beauty community is sending out the wrong message to teenagers. Instead of spending their money on ice creams, movie tickets and school supplies, these girls are spending money on lipsticks, foundations and blushes.

Believe it or not, but it is these videos that make these girls believe that they need to put on an eyeshadow PRIMER before they apply an eyeshadow. Then they tell you, that you need like 11 products to make your face look flawless, i.e. moisturizer, pore minimizer, liquid foundation, loose powder, highlighter, blush, etc.
Have you guys considered that some beauty gurus, film in perfect lighting and in such a manner, that their skin looks absolutely flawless! They film in a place with natural light. I can do that tomorrow and look like my face has no pores. We all fucking have pores. Get real people!

This is a hard post to make, being a makeup addict myself. But I am addicted in the sense.. I feel weird after not having makeup on for like a week. For me, dressing up means makeup and hair. For another girl, it might mean buying a new pair of shoes or rocking her outfit. But I am going to be TWENTY-TWO this year. I am talking about these little girls, from high school and some from middle school too! They are using insane amount of hair products, blow drying, straightening, curling, crimping and doing lord knows what! Because it is all easily accessible on YouTube. There are thousands of TUTORIALS on how to do one thing or the other. Most of the brown girls that blatantly watch these "white" women perform these tutorials sometimes forget that we have a different skin tone and not all the products that they are promoting or using might be fit for us. I have seen people with drawers and drawers of makeup, but they use none. The shopping is a result of the videos and the urge to have all the best products out there.

These videos bring forth the un-achievable dream of having a life of glamorous hair and make-up, beautiful gowns, and sparking tiaras and what not. Not only is it the make-up, but what is increasingly popular is the outfit of the day (also known as OOTD). These people are showing off not only their clothes, shoes but accessories (handbags, jewellery and more) and it makes you think you are definitely missing the right fashion sense. I know I have seen nothing faster than school bags disappearing from young girls' lives, with these trendy Guess or other faux bags coming in. And there are sooooo many other things I can list, but given the shortage of the time, and the length of the material.. I won't.

It is absolutely okay not to wear makeup. Girls with low self-esteem tend to look more towards these videos and treat themselves with retail or makeup therapy, which really isn't doing anything to re-build their self-esteem. They are just building a wall of delusions around them, again. "Beauty" once again, is distorted and lost in the meanings of people of the upper class. Let's face it, I cannot afford 20 products on my face to look flawless and I am sure, the average girl cannot either. But these videos are an attempt to make these notions acceptable. And I am against them (yes, despite being a makeup lover myself).

You know what sells? These products. And the message sent out there. These naturally beautiful women.
What does not sell? Your true self. Your personality. Your sense of humor and all those important things in life, that people must have forgotten about. Life is really not about Victoria's Secret's Bra Collection, beauty is not what you see in these videos. At least, that's not all of it. You must find the true definition of beauty in yourself, rather than looking towards these gurus to find new definitions, that fit with the societal norms these days. Stay beautiful, the way you are! Cheers to girl power.