I read Alicia Keys’ recent proclamation, on Lena Dunham’s website Lenny, that she will stop wearing make-up with some interest. I am an Alicia Keys fan. She always seemed more talented and more mature than many of her cohorts. But on this she reminded me of someone young and naive — and that someone was me.
When I was 18 and everything pointed upward, my face didn’t have a single crease and I got, at minimum, a full 8-hours of sleep a night, I made a proclamation that plastic surgery was gross and I would, definitely, never get any.
In the, ahem, 21 years since then, I’ve had 3 children, sleep more like 5 often-interrupted hours a night and sometimes google “Botox+what does it do.” I still haven’t had any work done but I’m not the same obnoxious 18-year old who simply couldn’t imagine why anyone would alter their body or face. I can very much imagine now.
Instead of pulling the trigger on botox or lipo or whatever people are doing these days, I watch YouTube videos about make-up. Did you know there is a $20 pink make-up sponge that all the pros swear by? I do because I own it and have watched several videos on how to use it. I’m unclear what makes it different than other make-up sponges but after having our third child my “I sometimes wear mascara” make-up routine needed an upgrade and this was one of the most recommended items. When I was 18, I’d say things like “I’d rather pour battery acid on my face than wear foundation.” But now, pushing 40, a light swipe of foundation evens out post-partum skin tone and makes me look, let’s just say it, younger.
Keys gets to stop wearing make-up from a very similar position that I was in when I was a plastic-surgery shunning 18-year old. Just like I didn’t need any work then, Keys doesn’t need make-up now. She’s one of the most beautiful women in the world. She was recently the face of a Givenchy fragrance. She didn’t get that gig because her make-up was well applied, she got it because she was born with a face that makes it into magazine ads.
So Alicia Keys’ “war on perfectionism,” as Vogue called it, is great — except for the fact that it’s being waged by someone who is already pretty close to perfect.
Keys is 35, so she’s not some 21-year-old deciding not to wear make-up. If she really sticks to being make-up-free, it’s still a (mildly) impressive decision.
But a beautiful celebrity giving up make-up has all the weight of Mark Zuckerberg refusing to wear ties. The majority of women couldn’t make the same decision as Keys, lest they go into work and have people ask them if they’re getting enough sleep, much like most men can’t just start wearing hoodies into the office.
Keys writes that she made this decision because “I don’t want to cover up anymore.” For many women, make-up isn’t about covering up, it’s simply fun. It’s the same as having a nice handbag or great shoes. It makes you feel more “put together.” Sure, it’s not for everyone, nor should all women feel that they must wear make-up, but the opt-out decision isn’t quite so black and white either.
I don’t see make-up as covering up, I see it as not giving up. I could slink into middle age with dark under-eye circles. But instead I’ve got my little pink sponge and I’m going to do the best with what I’ve got.
