I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup before high school. So when I finally got there, I had some making up to do—literally. My look of choice was black eyeliner. I was too much of a novice to really experiment with anything like blush or eyeshadow or lipstick. Black eyeliner was easy, it looked better smudged around my waterlines and it pissed off my mom. It was perfect. But it was also my armour those first couple years of high school. It made me feel tougher, more confident, less likely to be messed with. Even today, when my makeup is more natural, black liner smudged around my eyes and in my waterlines makes me feel un-fuck-with-able.
I’m not alone. Most women have a look they turn to when they need an extra vote of confidence or want to feel in control. Some wear it every day. Some, like myself, pull it out for special occasions. But anyone who has rummaged through their mother’s, their aunt’s or their friend’s makeup stash, knows about the transformative power of makeup.
“For me it’s all[about] mascara,” says writer Kate Carraway. “When I put on mascara, I feel right in a way that I’ve never felt in, or about, any other individual product. It makes me feel confident because it exaggerates my best features, and powerful because it makes me feel like I have my whole look handled.”
