Makeup is not feminist
It's really not. Women don't wear it for themselves, they wear it for others. Makeup is not the "art" you think it is. If makeup is art, why do men rarely use their faces as a canvas? Using your face as a canvas for your "art" is interesting because it's a sign you know other people will be looking at you. It's like that Margaret Atwood quote, where women become their own voyeurs. I do not want to be in constant surveillance of my appearance and how I look to others. Do you? I know there are women who wear "crazy" or "experimental" makeup at home, but there are many more women who go out into the world wearing the same standard issue makeup that makes them look more "youthful" and "beautiful": mascara, lipstick, blush. Not so creative then, is it?
Why? Who does wearing makeup benefit?
What would happen if all women said no more to makeup? Makeup is toxic, makes men rich, uses child labour for cheap shiny minerals, and makes women look like clowns compared to men who walk around with their unpainted faces. I used to wear makeup all the time, and now I don't. Now, I feel so much more human and free. I save so much money. My skin is healthier. I LIKE MYSELF MORE. I look in the mirror and think, "That's me." I don't have to wash anything off at the end of an exhausting day. I can rub my tired eyes with impunity. No smudges, no smears, no stains.
So many women say "Oh, not wearing makeup is fine, but it's a choice I make because I like it." Do you really like it? Again, the desert island analysis: would you wear makeup if there was no one around to see it? If you had no mirror? If "Makeup makes me happy and it's my choice" is as far as your analysis goes, I wish you could go one step further and ask yourself: "When a little girl looks at me, what does she see?" I want girls and women to look at my unpainted face and see "Oh, I can do that, too!"