I’m not sure if it is just me, but does anyone remember when we were told to love ourselves and the way we look? We were told not to worry because no one is perfect. We were told to own what we have and be proud! I can’t be the only one confused by the contradictory message being thrown at us from these contouring and other new makeup trends attempting to achieve this previously said ‘impossible perfection’.
Contouring is a new makeup trend which creates an illusion of sculpted cheekbones and chiseled chins by enhancing them with bronzer and dark makeup in the shadows. It’s almost scary to see the layering and blending steps of the ‘clown like’ makeup that must be applied to the face. There is also a new trend of thick, perfect eyebrows, in which you more or less draw in most of your eyebrow. I would like to clarify that I am not in the slightest against makeup; there’s nothing wrong with a little highlight here and there. However, this attempting to sculpt yourself into a different person thing is starting to make every day feel like Halloween.
It is bizarre how many magazines, websites and do-it-yourself videos are promoting such trends. They give tips and how to’s to create the “perfect brow” or “perfect cheekbone.” These girls are all attempting to achieve the same look.
These trends are throwing away originality and making women all strive for the same exact look. It is so confusing to hear that nobody is perfect and to be happy with yourself, but then also to cover your face with a couple layers of make up and you’ll look “perfect!” What happened to the aspect of original beauty? Makeup artist Bobbi Brown spoke out against the popular trend.
“As a beauty expert, I believe in individual beauty, and it’s just not my aesthetic. We don’t need to be contouring like the Kardashians,” Brown said. “The contouring trend is so wrong because it tells women there’s something wrong with their face. There’s beauty in a full face, so I don’t like to paint in a cheekbone that doesn’t exist.”
Last summer, I went cabin camping in upstate New York with a group of friends fromhome. My friend’s girlfriend has always been good with makeup so she really got into the contouring trend. However, it was almost sad to see that she wouldn’t leave the cabin without her full face of makeup done. She did not feel comfortable enough without her face being all done up in front everyone. This is an unfortunate example of the negatives of this romanticized trend.
All in all, makeup should enhance your best parts, not make you look like a wax figure. And, besides, what’s so bad about all our faces as they are anyway? High cheekbones are nice, but if you don’t have them, I’m sure your eyes are stunning, your lips are fabulous, or some other great thing is worth more of your energy than stressing out about creating something that isn’t there naturally.
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