Contrast as a noun often means “opposite”. Contrast as a verb generally means identifying and exploring differences. Many creatives describe contrast as “everything in art”. Zoomed out, we can also understand contrast as “everything in life”. We would not know light without darkness, good without evil, hot without cold. In art, as in life, much beauty comes in juxtaposition.
What happens when we flip the script to our makeup routines to better understand ourselves through contrast?
The opposite of wearing makeup is NOT wearing makeup. The opposite of not wearing makeup IS wearing makeup. Some people prefer to see themselves with a full face of cosmetics and feel naked without anything on. They want to feel enhanced, decorated or animated! Other people do not wear a drop because it feels mask-like. Although completely opposite scenarios, this contrast can be such a shared experience: People want to feel like their ever-evolving authentic selves. The desired end result is a positive statement of the value and inherent beauty in differences.
When choosing an extreme contrast, it takes time for the brain to recalibrate a new self-image. Sitting with this unfamiliarity is a wonderful practice of self-discovery. Several of us are on a sliding scale fluctuating in between these extremes. To me, wearing makeup promotes confidence, but without it I’m not necessarily insecure, but more humbled. I enjoy mixing things up to experience myself (and have others experience me) through makeup and sans makeup lenses. Both are beautiful. Paradoxically, this is Why You Don’t See Before + After Photos in my Portfolio.
REFURBISHED VINTAGE COMPACT
REFURBISHED VINTAGE COMPACT