The Meaning of Makeup

I was inspired to write this post after reading Celeste’s post on the meaning of makeup in a series she’s doing entitled: “30 Days of Makeup – My Makeup Story” and she asks someone close to her “What does makeup mean to you?” This got me thinking about what it means to me. I only became truly obsessed with makeup last year when I came back from the USA, I became addicted to beauty blogs until I decided to take the leap and create my own at the start of this year.

I was always a minimalist when it came to makeup. I would only put it on for special occasions and I had very basic skills. When I became a flight attendant I realised I would now have to wear makeup everyday and it would have to be good quality and long lasting for the kind of conditions I was working in. I had to learn along the way and work out what products worked best for me, how to apply makeup quickly and professionally. As time went on and I became more skillful at applying makeup I became bored of neutrals since I always had to wear them everyday at work and craved brighter colours, dark smoky eyes, bright teal eyeliner. This is when I began to start experimenting and trying to create looks that would stand out.

So what does this say about me? The makeup I put on for work is to show that I’m professional, confident. I can take care of people and lead others. I can walk through the airport in my uniform with my head held high and believe me heads turn when they see flight attendants walking through the airport. Off duty makeup is fun, it’s art, it’s experimentation from the mundane professionalism of the everyday.

Thank you Celeste for inspiring this post and I encourage anyone who reads to tell me “What does makeup mean to you?