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Bongiwe Nkomazana
There are two types of women. On one extreme, we have those that will not, come rain come thunder, leave the house without at least a dash of make-up on and on the other extreme we have those women who cannot be bothered to even own a labello stick. We women do not have it easy at all. If it is not our body it is our age, if not that it is our hair that is being zoomed in on and nitpicked. Like in every other article I have done, I am here to remind everyone to just allow us women to be and in today’s case, to let us paint our lips and fluff our lashes in peace.

There has been a lot of mayhem around whether make-up is deceptive or not so I thought that we could help clarify why most of us like to use make-up.

From the picture of me on your left you can already tell that I am for make-up all the way but on some days I do prefer to be bare-faced. This is not a beauty article but it aims to make people understand women in this regard and why those who do not like make-up should more or less be at peace with the fact that they will be seeing more of it for a long time.

Make-up is just part of womanhood culture. It dates back to the ancient Egyptians who, during the Cleopatra era, were the first women to wear makeup.

The affluent women of ancient Egypt wanted to look their best and saw the careful application of face-paint as a means to achieve that. What woman does not like to feel pretty? None, right? We all love to look good and make-up does that for us. I am not sure whether it is because the world has become vainer or more liberal but women have never been more comfortable with make-up as they are today.

There is everything from the shimmery eye shadows to the neon lip colours and the application techniques that sculpt your cheeks and snatch your nose.

The variety caters for those who like a more natural look, like me, to those who like to go full on glam. It is blissful for some of us and boy do women get major backlash for embracing make-up.

I read somewhere that a man sued his wife for fraud after he discovered what she looked like without her make-up. Is that even realistic? I mean first of all, he probably rushed into that marriage and secondly, did he really believe that his wife was born with cat-eye liner and purple lips?

I think to avoid such predicaments in future men should understand that make-up is an enhancer that makes a woman more attractive as does perfume, a pretty dress or a beautiful hairstyle…it eventually comes off. Hence, you cannot claim the victim position as if you are completely oblivious to what is happening. If she attracts you with her make-up and you wife her, make sure to keep her stocked up with lipsticks etc and then wake her up early and make her put on the make-up that you like.

On a more serious note, make-up has given us means to enhance our good features but also to cover up any of our insecurities like scars, birthmarks and the overall damage of some ailments. For example, more women are more likely to suffer from acne as adults and the psychological effects of acne include social withdrawal, low self-esteem and even depression. Foundation nowadays is created to hide such things.

The right foundation gives you creamier and healthier looking skin making you all that more confident. Let me break it down further. Both men and women have a vice, that one thing that makes you feel like you can take over the world. It could be a good tux, good shoes or the smell of a new bag. For most of us women, it happens to be make-up.

So as much as it may appear as though make-up is trivial or superficial it has also been the solution to some of women’s deep rooted issues of confidence and self-love and I truly believe that women are in love with it for especially how it makes them feel as compared to what it makes them look like, if that makes sense. If makeup helps us build such a positive outlook on life then why not wear it, you know?

Above everything else, makeup is fun. Most of you will get it when I say going into the cosmetics section of retails like Truworths or Edgars is the equivalent of a kid going into a candy store. There are so many products for different things and it is just exciting to find out how they look on you.

My favourite part of getting ready in the morning is deciding what lipstick to wear, putting into consideration my outfit, the weather and where I am going.

It is a tiny way in which I get to express myself. Erin Roche says that between millennials and Instagram, a makeup culture has developed. It is accepting of all ages and is particularly welcoming to experts and beginners alike.

This make-up is an incredible form of self-expression of which some may even consider an art. It gives women the power to choose what they want to bring forth to the world on different days, thus how you feel today and how you would like to be perceived. If you want to express how feminine and flirty you are for example you would wear pink-toned shades and if you wanted to be taken seriously or to exude mystery a dark palette would give that off.

I know that the common perception is that women who use make-up to whatever extent do not like their natural state. I would like, not to disagree per se with that notion that make-up is used to hide who you really are or to pretend to be someone else but to open up the idea that this is not always the case.

Make-up means different things to different people. That being said, note to my fellow make-up junkies. If we are going to go the make-up route let us make sure we are at least doing it right.

There are tonnes of online tutorials and beauty blogs that show and guide us on how best to use make-up to accentuate our natural beauty. Natural beauty remains champion and we should always love ourselves immensely.