Summary: Makeup doesn’t make a person more insecure. Society creates insecurities through
advertisements and media, then offers makeup as a solution. In terms of effectiveness, I would argue
makeup proves as effective as purchasing a brand name shirt—it masks your insecurities momentarily,
but the more you invest into it, the longer your issues go unaddressed, the more insecure you become,
and the more money you waste.
Makeup isn’t the problem
The problem lies in what society depicts to be major flaws: crooked teeth, thin eyebrows, tired eyes, dull
hair, a blotchy complexion, cellulite, an extra padding of fat, etc. As the dictionary defines a flaw to be
“a mark, fault, or other imperfection that mars a substance or object,” having any one of the
characteristics society dubs “flaws” causes females to feel there exists something inherently wrong with
the way they look. Why can’t my legs be longer? Why are my eyes so squinty? Why is my nose so big?
Why won’t my eyelashes curl?
Yet, why would society and media do such a thing if they understand it harms women’s self-esteem?
Think of a movie you’ve seen where the villain gains power through creating a shortage only to offer the
sole solution. Look at this image—beautiful and flawless. Hold it up to yourself. What do you want to
change? You want longer eyelashes? Well you could always buy eyelash extensions or mascara to fix
that small insecurity. You hate your nose? Why not get a new one with rhino plasticity? You hate your
skin, so try concealer, contour, blush, and bronzer. You hate your smile—get braces, get your teeth
whitened. You hate your lips—try lip liner, lip gloss, lipstick, lip injections. We live in a consumeristic
society. What this means is that we are manipulated and coerced at every turn to buy products.
Makeup is no different than any other product marketed. The only difference is the subject being
exploited.
Here’s an example. You have an old wood chair. Nothing is wrong with the chair. Everything functions
properly. You’ve sat in this chair numerous times. You enjoy sitting in the chair because it’s both
comfortable and familiar. Until you visit a friend’s house. You see she just purchased a cute,
reupholstered armchair. You then pass the home decorating section in Target as you head towards the
imaginings.