For many young girls, makeup is more than just a dash of red on pale lips or a swipe of smoke that resembles a shadow above a bright eye. Makeup symbolizes the ultimate: maturity, elegance, and most of all, beauty; the vital things that many strive for in terms of appearance. The “pretty” people all wore makeup, and it always served to make them look confident and interesting.

However, Amy G’s radical piece, “Throw Away the Makeup”, is enough to change this long-revered belief. Amy rightfully points out that makeup is not only harmful to skin, but also gives people a twisted view of how a person should look, as it produces an image of “beauty” that isn’t even real, let alone what a person should become accustomed to seeing when they look in a mirror.

I fully agree with Amy. Makeup can be just as deadly a weapon as photoshopping models in magazines when it comes to damaging somebody’s self esteem and distorting their idea of what they should look like. Too many people view make up as a panacea for anything that they deem a detriment to an overall image of “perfection”, an image nobody should want to project simply because it isn’t real or even possible to achieve. In addition to this, makeup can become addictive: once a person begins to wear it, they can easily become absorbed in the “positive” change in their appearance and become almost dependent on it, thus leaving the person feeling inadequate without what is quickly becoming a staple to their appearance. This leads to an increased feeling of insecurity in one’s natural appearance, something that should be embraced rather than altered. As Amy points out, “makeup simply covers up and distorts the beauty of being human”; people should strive to be something other than a face that appears flawless. On the contrary, one should demonstrate their natural beauty regardless of any flaws. Nobody can be the epitome of perfection, and as humans, that is how it should be. We all look different in some way, and accepting these differences rather than trying to hide them away can lead to boosted levels of self-esteem and confidence, and a happier lifestyle overall.