The concept “less is more” doesn’t really apply to me. I find it boring, especially when it comes to the way I dress and present myself.
I recently acquired an amazing, thrifted, Lil' Kim-esque, hot pink and red furry coat from my sister. While it is the most wonderfully obnoxious piece of clothing I’ve ever owned, I pair it perfectly with various shades of bright lipsticks that I wear on a daily basis.
The “less is more” concept doesn’t apply to a lot of people for a few key reasons.
We don’t want this label to apply to us. Who determines what is "less" and what is "more" and, more importantly, who cares?
It is more fun to celebrate my freedom to dress as I please than it is to limit myself to some made-up rule that uniform simplicity always triumphs authentically extravagant flamboyance.
I’ve watched this take new shape in the form of conversations regarding some women’s “overuse” of cosmetics. “Overuse,” as defined by men, is a determinant of how certain women should be looked at and treated. No one seems to be all that revved up about it.
We have all been exposed to the larger ways in which men unfairly make rules and regulations for women, but many of us fail to recognize the subtler ways in which we all participate in patrolling women's lives on a daily basis.
When things such as our sex lives, health, jobs and right to choose become regulated by people who know nothing about us, many of us become outraged and grow furious for positive changes.
Perhaps we’re approaching these things incompletely. Many of us fail to realize that our call to action begins on a much smaller scale. It isn’t completely fair to lose our heads over all of these things without truly practicing what we preach.
When women buy into the idea that there is a right or wrong way to be and feel beautiful, they create a completely invalid hierarchy of beauty. This perpetuates the unfair and incorrect notion that certain women are more deserving of respect and admiration based on whatever looks they were “naturally” born with.
To those who fight for a woman’s right to choose, realize that your battle is centered around every woman’s right to the pursuit of happiness.
A happiness that can only come from being free to make choices that create a world in which she can thrive in whichever way she sees fit.
The world of unfair beauty standards is hard enough as it is. The least we can do is show the same kindness to others as we’d like shown to our own faces.
The amount of make-up a woman wears on her face is in no way an indicator of how she should be treated, just as what a woman wears shouldn’t be an indicator of anything except her sense of style. A woman should never be deemed as less worthy because of the way she looks.
Ladies, men, make-up users of the world: Do whatever makes you the most happy, feel the most beautiful and have the most fun. Don’t let anyone tell you what “too much” is or isn’t.
At the end of the day, only you get to look in the mirror and find happiness and beauty in the choices you’ve made for yourself. Celebrate your freedom to go completely Ringling Brothers on your face if that’s what you love to do.
If women want to wear a whole cosmetics aisle worth of make-up on their faces, don’t guilt them for it.
We all need to stop telling women what to do with their bodies.
Let them eat cake. Let them cake their faces.
At the end of the day, the most beautiful people will always be the ones who support others’ rights to define their own beauty and live out their own idea of happiness.
Reach the columnist at andrea.c.flores@asu.edu or follow her at @BOWCHICKAFLORES
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