Why wear makeup? 5 Beauty Panel members share the truths behind their regimens
With each season, new colour palettes and make up application styles emerge as latest and greatest trends. Whether it’s a dramatic smokey eye or a hint of lip, applying some makeup element is a common part of most daily routines.
Reasons for using makeup are as varied as the number of lipstick shades. Makeup can be used to enhance facial contours, cover blemishes, or intensify eye colour. For many, makeup is more than just another step in their personal care regimen, it’s a way to creatively expression themselves.
So, we put it to the Beauty Panel, “why wear makeup?” Maggie Ng told us that makeup is about having fun, while Shayna Wiwierski shared how makeup helped her heal. Read on for the many reasons behind primping.
Challenge 59: Why wear makeup? See the answers now! »
Have a beauty question you want to see the panel answer? Send it our way at [email protected]. Read on for the answers to this week’s challenge and for more goodness, get to know all contributors on our Beauty Panel hub page.
Jump to: ELLIE SOMFELEAN | LAURELLE ALEXANDRA | MAGGIE NG | SHAYNA WIWIERSKI | STEPHANIE LAU
Laurelle Alexandra
Toronto | Paint Me Pretty
With the “No Makeup Selfie” hype I found myself asking myself why I wear makeup on a daily basis. I know a lot of women have said that they do not wear makeup on a regular basis and don’t care if they are seen without makeup.
I wear makeup everyday but not because I care what people think of how I look without makeup on. I love Makeup. It’s as simple as that. I wear it because I love how it enhances my features and makes me feel more beautiful. Something as simple as mascara and blush makes me feel more alive. Makeup gives me confidence that I don’t normally have.
I don’t wear a ton of makeup on a regular basis, just the basics. When I’m going out for an evening I usually kick it up a notch and add a bright lipstick or create a more dramatic eye.
I wear makeup because it’s fun, flirty and sexy. I’m not saying that I’m not any of those things without makeup on. But doesn’t make up make you feel more alive? A bold red lip makes me feel confident, a dark smokey eye makes me feel daring. Makeup helps me express my mood and personality. Makeup is my career and a big part of my life. I’ll always wear makeup, not because I feel I have to, because I want to.
Products Used: One Love Organics ‘Skin Savior’, Make Up For Ever Face and Body Foundation, Benefit POREfessional, Cover FX Cream Foundation, Make Up For Ever HD Translucent Powder, Benefit Hoola Bronzer, NARS Guy Bourdin Palette, Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer, Bourjois White Eyeshadow, Kat Von D Liquid Liner, Smashbox Mascara, Annabelle Black Khol Liner
Stephanie Lau
Toronto | Fun Size Beauty
Makeup isn’t important in the “can’t live without it” sort of way. Some days I prefer the no-makeup look, while on others my face spends time under matte foundations and a smoky eye.To me, it’s more about experimentation and expression than trying to hide myself under a mask or make myself look “better” than I do without makeup. I could spend hours upon hours swatching 1,000 shades of red lipstick on my arm or attempting to recreate the Chanel Spring/Summer 2014 makeup look. It’s all in good fun.
I love how swiping a coloured bullet onto your lips instantly changes the way I look (and feel) – quirky, innocent, sometimes even mysterious. Take it all off at the end of the day, and I’m still myself underneath.
Products used: Maybelline Dream Wonder Powder in “Buff Beige”, Biotherm Aquasource BB Cream, Rimmel Stay Blushed in “Pop of Pink”, Etude House Drawing Liner, Rimmel Scandaleyes Mascara, The Body Shop Colour Crush Lipstick in “Coral Cutie”, CoverGirl LipPerfection in “Delicious”, Revlon ColorBurst Matte Balm in “Shameless”
Maggie Ng
Toronto | Beauty PhD
I think you can’t really define beauty. It’s subjective and depends how one is perceived. Just because you don’t wear makeup, doesn’t mean you’re not beautiful, inside or out. Makeup is meant to be fun. The colours you choose to wear on your face may depict the mood you are in. Makeup enhances. It can also be tranformative. It allows you to be creative. It can be empowering. Whether I choose to wear a little or a lot, makeup to me is “art”. And that is why I wear makeup.
Products Used : MAKE UP FOR EVER Aqua Rouge Waterproof Liquid Lip Color in #19, Deca Cosmetics Eyebrow Pencil in Dark Brown, MAKE UP FOR EVER Smoky Extravagant Mascara in Black, Shu Eumura Eyelash Curler, Dermalogica Dynamic Skin Recovery in SPF 30, Glo Minerals Pressed Base in Natural Medium, NYC New York Color High Definition Liquid Eyeliner in Extra Black, Red Cherry Eyelashes in #523, DUO Glue in Dark, SureThik Hair Thickening Fibers in Dark Brown, SureThik Thickening Mist.
Shayna Wiwierski
Winnipeg | A Pop of Colour
Although many people may think that wearing and having an interest (or in my case, obsession) with makeup can be vain, I have a bit more of a deeper connection with cosmetics.
At the end of summer last year I lost someone very close to me, and to this day I’m still very much affected by it. Yes, I love doing my makeup and testing new products just as much as any other beauty blogger, but for me, it’s really become an outlet of happiness. Not a lot of things excited me in those days and months after that loss, but for some reason, trying new products and creating makeup looks was my escape from the depression and sadness, that at the time, took over my life. Everyone handles loss in different ways, and for me I had to keep busy. Thankfully I had a beauty blog to manage that kept me occupied, whether it was applying makeup, swatching, taking photos, editing, or writing a post, makeup allowed me to feel like me again, even if it was only for an hour or so.
Yes, I have a lot of makeup. More makeup than any girl would ever need. And, I don’t wear it as a mask to cover up who I really am because I’m just as confident with a fresh face as I am with the whole shebang, but makeup has become a sort of healing remedy. Beauty products were the only things that would get me excited. It wouldn’t matter if it was a nail polish colour that I already have a ton of (everyone needs 10 baby pink colours…), or a new moisturizer, cosmetics were one of the only things that made me feel like me.
Makeup is a confidence booster in more ways that one. Yes, it can make you look beautiful on the outside, but for me, it’s a way for me to bring out that beauty inside that somehow got lost along the way.
Products used: CoverGirl TruBlend Foundation in “L4”, Bare Minerals Original Foundation in “Light W15”, Make Up For Ever 5-Color Camouflage Concealer Palette, Benefit Cosmetics The POREfessional, Sephora Light Storm Liquid Shadow in “Caramel Cream”, Sleek Makeup i-Divine Storm eyeshadow palette, Rimmel London ScandalEyes Waterproof Gel Liner in “Black”, Clinique Lash Doubling Mascara, Arbonne It’s A Long Story mascara, Tarte Amazonian Clay Bronzer in Park Avenue Princess, Benefit Cosmetics Boxed Blush in “Rockateur”, CoverGirl TruMagic The Luminizer, Maybelline ColorSensational lipstick in “Blushing Beige”.
Ellie Somfelean
Montreal | My Beauty Box
Makeup is so much more to me than make-up. Make-up helps me be more confident, make-up is a creative outlet and a coping mechanism for me. I was only allowed to start wearing makeup in my late teens but only learned to apply a few years ago when I discovered YouTube, blogs and the amazing online beauty community. That’s when I took it to the next level. I was in treatment for my eating disorder at the time, so I found an escape in make-up. I would spend the majority of my free time on blogs, practicing new contouring techniques, hunting the web for sneak peaks at new collections and so on. I replaced one compulsion with another, a much healthier one. Make-up helped and still helps me cope with issues of low self esteem. Yeah, I use make-up to give me a boost of confidence and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s creative and beautiful and makes me feel so much better about myself.
