Faking It

I have had a lot of things on my mind lately. And one that has been in the forefront for some time now has been physical appearance and societies current definition of beauty. I have to say, I’ve never been one of those people to obsess over the way I look. Don’t get me wrong, I care about my physical appearance. I like to look nice and I make an effort most days to put on a good presentation. But I worry that’s all it is, a presentation. I spend most of my prep time these days trying to cover up what I see as my flaws and project a more perfect appearance, one that I don’t possess, to the outside world. I’m trying to be beautiful, but what it really is is fake.

I would like to know when fake became the new beautiful? All I see around me are fake eyelashes, fake tans, fake boobs, fake noses. I spent an hour in front of the mirror the other night trying to look "natural". It seems like if you didn't spend thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours on your body you can't be considered beautiful by today's standards. And I’d like to ask, does anyone else have a problem with this?

All around us are ads, television shows, movies, magazines, and even other women on the street flaunting their perfect appearances. I know I’m not the only one who looks at another woman, who I believe to be more attractive than me, and think, “man, I’d give anything to look like her.” In today’s world there are certain parameters to being beautiful and most women would do anything to fall into the mold. And I am no exception. Plastic surgery has been suggested to fix one of my most disliked physical aspects and I have seriously considered it. 

It seems that all this obsession with my outward appearance has been a recent acquisition. I never used to spend hours primping and preening unless I was going to a dance or on a date. Now it seems like I can’t even go to a Sunday night game night with my friends without looking runway ready. And I know I’m not the only one. Let me walk you through my makeup routine (one step in my process) and see if any of this sounds familiar:

1.  First, foundation is a must, and usually more than one layer is required to do the trick.
2.  Concealer for those stubborn spots that the foundation alone can’t hide.
3.  Powder to give a matted finish and help control shine.
4.   Bronzer just above the jawline, on the bridge of the nose and the temples.
5.  Blush on the apples of the cheeks.
6.  Draw on the black eyeliner with an angle brush.
7.  Curl the eyelashes.
8.  Put on mascara.
9.  Curl the eyelashes again.
10.  Eyeshadow if I’m feeling particularly glamorous.
11.  Lip liner (usually only if I skipped out on the eyeshadow).
12.  And finally, chapstick. (Anticlimactic I know but I do have dry lips)

 Wow, just reading that I’m exhausted. Altogether this process takes about 20 min. Now the big question? Why? Ladies, why do we do this to ourselves? I have been told on multiple occasions by multiple people, some of them being boyfriends, that I look just as beautiful without makeup as I do with. My response every time is, “I don’t believe you.” Why? Because I really don’t. And I don’t think the majority of women will or do ever believe this statement if, and when, presented with it. We don’t believe that we can be beautiful without 20 min. of faking it. And I think this is a crying shame.

Now, I’m not proposing another feminist uprising with boycotting makeup companies, burning our bras and quitting all forms of hair management. But I do admonish us to embrace our natural beauty, because it is there. Instead of hiding under our layers of cosmetics we should let our true selves shine through the fake that surrounds us. Be a beacon for those who think they are nothing without their alterations. The world would be a better place if more women would stand up and say, “I may not be perfect, but I am still beautiful. And better yet, I am real.”