Makeup is something you see often. Go to the mall and you see the store Sephora or Ulta. Go into Target and Walmart there are the cosmetic sections that have endless aisles filled with brands of foundation and eyeliner.

If you look around, I’d bet you almost every girl you see has some kind of makeup on. It could be as simple as some mascara on the eyelashes to having almost a full face of makeup on. Yet probably every girl has been told by someone at some point that she’s wearing too much.

Why must makeup be a controversial topic?

I’ve been wearing makeup for a while. When I danced when I was little, I would wear some for dance recitals once a year. I would always have fun watching my mom put on the bright red lipstick and pink blush and wish to put it on myself. When I was older, probably around 13, I slowly made my way into makeup. I would sometimes put on concealer and mascara. Then, as I’ve grown older, it has turned into foundation, concealer, setting powder, eyeshadow, mascara, blush, bronzer, highlighter, and setting spray when I feel like it.

For a while, I guess you could say I felt ashamed to say I put on that much makeup because of what people may say about me or even the looks I would get. I don’t think I’m the only one who may feel this way.  Even seeing a person of a different gender wearing makeup can draw curious looks. But I’m slowly learning that as long as I’m comfortable I don’t care what people may say. As long as I feel confident and comfortable, I will wear as much as I please.

Something that I’ve learned everyone has trouble with is the right age to wear makeup. Honestly, is there a right age? Yes, you don’t want a five-year-old putting on mascara, but what’s wrong with having a 12 or 13-year-old putting some on? Trying to keep someone from wearing makeup makes it feel forbidden or wrong, so when they finally pick up a blush brush, will they feel like it is wrong?

But so many times I’ve been told I don’t need makeup to feel beautiful or pretty. Sometimes, I have one of those days when I do want to cover up a pimple or I don’t feel right, so I put on makeup to feel a little bit better. Doesn’t everyone have those kinds of days? And if you have the option to hide it, wouldn’t you use it?

Of course, there are probably many women, whether they will admit to it or not, that put on makeup because of the millions of beauty standards that are thrust before us. But on top of all the beauty standards, anyone who wears makeup gets accused by others that wearing makeup means you’re hiding something, that you’re not comfortable in your own skin, that you are trying to trick people, or that you think real beauty is fake and made from makeup. If you don’t wear makeup you get accused of not caring about how you look, or you’re asked if you’re sick. I’ve heard it all. And at that point please tell me, what am I supposed to do? Do you want me to wear it or not?

For me, makeup is one of my creative outlets. I can look very natural one day and the next I have a cut crease and bronzer on. Some days I like to have nothing on my face and other days I love to add something to my look. I like to pretend I’m James Charles for a day and follow tutorials, even if I completely fail and I look nothing like what I have seen on a screen.

In the end, makeup means something different to each person who wears it. It shouldn’t matter if you are a guy or a girl. It shouldn’t matter how you wear it. And no one should be ashamed for wearing it or not. Makeup is a creative freedom that every person has the right to wear, however they please.