follow your inner moonlight, don't hide the madness.

“You don’t need so much makeup.”

I was at the train station buying my ticket. After a stressful morning of writing, editing, and worrying about time, I was finally heading downtown to meet my friends. We had already bought our passes to see the Veronica Mars movie…and I was downright giddy. Even though I hadn’t had a ton of time to get ready, I was feeling pretty darn good about myself by the time I got to that ticket counter. Why? I had my Veronica Mars t-shirt on, my hair was perfectly straight, and my makeup was on point.

Then he said it.

I was waiting for the middle-aged male in front of me to pass me my train ticket. Then he paused, pulled his head back, cocked it to the side, and said: “You don’t need so much makeup.” Stunned, I grabbed my ticket and walked off. It wasn’t until I reached the platform that my blood began to boil. How dare he?

Here’s the thing about makeup: it’s expression, it’s experimentation, it’s fun. It is also none of his business how much I do or do not put on my own skin. What bothered me the most? His comment was completely unwarranted. At no point did I ask for his opinion. The fact that a stranger felt it was okay to say something about my appearance...I was downright offended.

I'll be honest: even when I think about it now, I get angry. But here's the thing...I’m not putting on my mascara to impress a stranger. I’m not rocking a berry coloured blush to get people to like me. The makeup I wear is for me and me alone.

Given my own experience, I want to make this a discussion post. So, I have a couple of questions for you:

Has anyone ever said something like this to you? What was your response? And more importantly – why do you choose to wear makeup? How does it make you feel?

xo Shannon