I am very confident in the woman I am, but something about posting a makeup-less selfie on Instagram scared me. Social media is very hypocritical when it comes to selfies on the internet. One minute someone is shamed for wearing too much makeup, and the next someone is shamed for not wearing enough.
This week I broke the golden rule of selfies: I posted one with no makeup. None at all. I just woke up, put on clothes, stood in front of a wall, took a picture of myself and posted it on Instagram for all of my 361 followers to see.
I not only posted a makeup-less selfie with no filter, but also a selfie with a full face of makeup as well as a filter.
this…
… is just as beautiful as this.
I had no idea what to expect from this experience, but the results were unbelievable.
All the moments leading up to my sharing my pictures on Instagram, I was confident in what I was doing and was excited to see how everyone would take it. However, as soon as I pressed share, I became overwhelmed with a sense of absolute horror. What had I just done? Why did I think this was a good idea? What if everyone hates it and doesn’t understand the message I am trying to get across?
These feelings soon went away mere moments after posting the pictures.
Instagram notifications began to flood my phone. Not only likes, but comments as well. “Love you and the great message you are posting!” “You are amazing.” “You’re so beautiful.” And my personal favorite, “YES TINA!!! Love the message you’re sending!”
My phone not only contained notifications from Instagram, but many texts from my friends saying how proud they were of me to post such a powerful statement on social media for everyone to see. This made me not only feel good about myself, but also made me feel as though I had made someone else think about following in my footsteps and being proud to flaunt a makeup-less face.
There should not be a “selfie standard.” Why is it that people feel the need to spend hours doing their makeup and then spend so much time editing pictures to make themselves look presentable enough to share on social media?
I am in no way saying that selfies with makeup should be shamed. If you think you look good, go for it, post a selfie, makeup or no makeup. If you feel good about yourself at any moment of the day, you should be able to post a selfie, whether you are not wearing any makeup or if your face could be a catalog for Sephora.
I have days where I sit in front of a mirror in my room for an hour and do my makeup just because I feel like it. Not because I want to feel better about myself or because I want to hide that stubborn pimple on my chin that just won’t go away, but for the sheer fact that I feel like wearing makeup that day.
When I do wear makeup, I do not wear it for others, I wear it for myself. I wear it because I can show how creative I can be with 12 different colors in a palette. I wear makeup to see how the right combinations of colors can make my eyes bluer and more vibrant. I wear makeup to tie together an outfit. I wear it for myself and not for anyone else.
So do something crazy. Post a selfie without any makeup, or post one with your entire face done. I promise you will feel liberated after posting something that makes you feel completely confident. The response you will get is something I think everyone should experience.
My makeup-less face is just as beautiful as my face with makeup on, and so is yours.