Appearance.

BEAUTY STANDARDS. Since I’m going back to school tomorrow it often makes me wonder why we are so influenced to look quite certain way by the media and our peers. Many teens these days are expected to have thick, luscious eyebrows and large, pouty lips when really that’s only the 1% of the people you know in real life. In the past teenagers neglected their lips by just shoving nothing or concealer on them to give them a ‘distant’ look and they plucked their eyebrows into little sperms. Now you see everyone doing fascinating makeup everyday without room for flaws and it seems like if you don’t go all out, you should go home.

However, what bothers me is not the actual makeup but who these trends are affecting. If I walked down a street I would probably see a 12 year old wearing the whole lot of contour and foundation when their skin is probably crystal clear. And don’t get me wrong, I love how makeup can give you confidence but I just don’t think it should be used to cover up “flaws” and the fact we’re growing up! No teenager is going to have perfect skin, perfect hair and we are definitely are not going to have chiseled cheeks as that’s what defines an adults face from ours. We try to grow up too quickly and then we get insecure as to why  we don’t look like Kylie Jenner or whoever you want to look like. Social media has made us more concerned about things that we can’t change about ourselves by promoting products like teeth whitening strips and false lashes.

One video I feels really highlights the impact the media has is Rclbeauty101. Her videos called Makeup Evolution and I am ugly are very powerful.

Makeup Evolution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbBOIQK8DEw

I am ugly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFvFEOXkvMA

I’m affected in a few ways by these beauty standards. I often feel obliged to leave the house with mascara and eyebrows filled in because sometimes i like wearing it, other times because i feel pressured. This shouldn’t be a problem affecting teenagers, and i honestly don’t know why its become one. Everyone just accepts this as normal but putting yourself down for not looking like a model is not. We should be concentrating our time on other things like getting good grades, hanging out with friends and just enjoying our lives before we all have to work. Instead, i’m seeing girls in my class run into school and apply their foundation and STRAIGHTEN THEIR HAIR otherwise they “look ugly”. Seeing these popular girls saying these things can make people feel insecure about themselves because if these girls who are very pretty think they’re ugly. What am i?

Feel free to comment your opinion on this subject. I would love to hear what you think.