Those who starkly protest that women who wear makeup are nothing more than vain, narcissistic, and shallow, have clearly never strolled a bookstore or a liquor mart. Quirky labels, glossy covers, and elegantly crafted logos undoubtedly draw shoppers in and often serve as front runners in the battle of bottles and bindings that make their way up to the checkout stands.

It is not to say that the less glitzy variety is of lower value, but the way the products are packaged often play an integral role in the purchasing decision for the consumer, or at least the first impression.

Perhaps those of us who scrutinize our face in the mirror every morning are doing nothing more than conforming to society’s demands. Maybe it is true that for those of us who won’t dare leave the house before camouflaging a blemish or darkening our lashes are giving in to an unwelcome, unrealistic standard we are forced to live up to.

Whatever.

I enjoy looking presentable and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel more confident in myself when I do. Both literally and figuratively, I think that putting your best face forward is part of being successful. I know that looking the part is sometimes just as persuasive as acting the part, and that sometimes the former powers the latter.

But the real beauty behind makeup? It doesn’t fall so short as to end with others’ perceptions. The power behind makeup is its ability to camouflage what we don’t like and to play up what we do. But most of all, the real power behind makeup isn’t to miss the point and live up to anyone else’s standards at all.

It’s simple: makeup increases our confidence. It’s about how we feel.

Telling someone they should put on makeup?

Offensive.

Telling someone they are shallow or superficial because they do wear makeup?

Also offensive.

I wear makeup for a variety of reasons and none of them are because I’m anything to do with vain. I wear it because I like how it makes me feel and if anyone were to judge me on that, I’d think it would symbolize a whole heck of a lot more about him or her than it would about me.