(I’m doing a short “Cosmetics” series on my blog. Don’t miss the first post….Cosmetics: Intro.)

Before I start putting up posts about the makeup I use and like and want, I would like to post a disclaimer of sorts.

I wish that makeup had never been created. 

I think makeup is the fastest and easiest way to destroy a girls self-esteem. Girls start wearing makeup before they are women, and it doesn’t take long before they feel like they “need” it.

My father died when I was twelve, and within weeks of his death, I was piling makeup on my face in a very cringe-worthy way. This was something that I would NOT have been allowed to do if he had been around to enforce my actions. Nobody restricted my makeup wearing routine, and I quickly developed a self-esteem related dependency on the products I was wearing. As I started to get older, and significantly smarter, I realized that I would have given anything to have had somebody restrict how much makeup I was wearing as a kid. And while I am smarter now, and less dependent on cosmetics than I was as a teenager, I still heavily maintain the sense that I “need” to wear makeup. It’s not a good feeling.

So, what I’m saying is this:

I really like makeup. Always have. I have a far more healthy relationship with it now than I used to, which is nice. But I truly wish it had never been created. I wish women could look at each other without thinking things like, “Geez she is so pretty….. her makeup looks sooo good”, or worse, “Holy crap she looks soooo different without makeup! I feel so much better about myself now!”

I think that these thoughts, which are normal and natural for women to have, are terrible. I wish we could be completely relieved of the mental and emotional pressure the existence makeup has put on us as a gender.

I am suddenly reminded of something that happened several years ago. Forgive me for diverting a moment to tell a story…..

It was around Valentines Day, and the Hub and I were in a large store, looking at all the Valentines Day junk that was being sold. There was a man-looking doll available for purchase that said several different sarcastic phrases. One of the phrases he said was something like this, “Oh yes honey! I really DO love the way you look without your makeup!!”

This statement was clearly meant to be sarcastic and funny, but I was appalled, and I suddenly felt miserable. Do men really feel this way about women with “bare” faces????

They say they don’t feel this way, and for my own personal sanity, I choose to believe them.

So, while I would love for makeup to not exist for women,I would also like for men to have no idea of what a woman’s face looks like “painted”. I wish we could walk around with the faces God gave us, and be completely confidant with them, with no inclination or thought of making ourselves or others “look better”.

But this is not the society we live in, and it most likely never will be. And as it stands, I absolutely can not bear the thought of leaving my house without gunk on my mug. In fact, the mere idea of that appalls me. The thought of being without certain products literally makes me very anxious. And I find that sad.

There you have have it. That is how I feel. My next post will be something entirely different than this post. It will focus on products I use and like, but I would really like for readers to have these thoughts in their mind as they read other superficial cosmetic posts I write.

I want to leave you now with some information and a link.

Caitlin, who is my most favorite blogger ever, has committed herself to an amazing project that is of her own creation.

She has committed to 60 days of no makeup, no shaving, no hair-styling, no primping of any kind. She will not wear jewelry, or uncomfortable women’s clothes (i.e. high heels and such) and will not even wear deodorant.

She has titled it The Naked Face Project, and I believe it is positively brilliant.

So go check out the site devoted to the project, and read about Caitlin. Her reasons for starting this project are intelligent and impressive. Also, her idea for this project sprung from coaching 8-10 year old girls and the impression they had about makeup and self esteem.

When you think about the effect our society must have on pre-teen and teenage girls, it’s really, really sad.

And if you’re wondering why I don’t do something similar to this, or simply join Caitlin’s project, since I have such deep feelings on the effects of makeup, it’s because, to put it simply, I DON’T HAVE THE BALLS TO DO IT. Nor would I want to.

More posts coming soon.