Dear Beauty,

Dear Beauty, 

The clean girl aesthetic: fluffy brows, glass skin, moisturized lips with a slight pink tint, dewy highlight, blushed cheeks, painted freckles…it has all become so exhausting, so extensive. One week thick, brushed-up brows are in, the next week they tell you if your face shape is “rounder,” perhaps plucking them back to 2010 is best suited. The “slick back” style was in for a second, but then influencers told you that “hairlines recede easily” and you “better be careful.” 

You thought using Drunk Elephant moisturizer was good for you. Still, you never questioned if anti-aging skincare is really necessary for a 20-something-year-old who has been forced to fear wrinkles and getting older since the day she got her first cleanser. Your freckles used to be disguised by a thick blanket of concealer, but now drawing them in under your dark circles is considerably more attractive than the blank canvas you have now. 

My point is it is all impossible. One day dewy is in, the next matte. One week your brows “need” lamination, and the next a few rounds of bleach. We are told to shave our faces, “dermaplane,” because it makes your skin smoother, but make sure you apply a $30 serum beforehand and do extensive facial massages to get a snatched jawline and “non-puffy” face the morning after.

Do you. Wear the makeup (or no makeup) that makes you feel and live-not just exist comfortably in your skin. Trends change, and your beauty does not falter based on the changing times.

I feel my best when I wear minimal makeup that enhances but does not cover things considered imperfect. But, I support and find beauty in folks who wear makeup in other ways than I do. Makeup is an art form, a voyage through expression, a way to tell your story through your very own canvas. 

My current favorite products are from Glossier. I love their Cloud Paint blush because it resembles paint in the way it applies and the formula tube, I quite literally I feel like an artist applying it. I use Boy Brow to thicken and fluff my brows in the shade clear, though I used to put a thick dark coating of brown when I felt my nearly invisible brows were falling short (they were in fact, just fine). I love using Ultra-Lip to line my lips, enhancing my cupid bow in ways I used to hide it behind concealer.     

Find art and joy in your routine, find the ability to be creative and experiment. Laugh, fail, and giggle as your eyeliner resembles sisters and not twins on each eye. 

Dear Beauty, I am you. We are you.