Winged eyeliner, pink blush and highlighter are the few things that sophomore Elena Gary values. Gary loves Benefit’s ‘They’re Real!’ eyeliner, Urban Decay’s All Nighter Primer Spray, Cody Airspun powder or any Maybelline lipstick. When it comes to makeup, Gary believes it is art in and of itself. She typically wears makeup five times a week and enjoys how she looks.
“Makeup is another form of artwork, because when you think of art, you think of sculpture, painting, ceramics and stuff like that,” Gary said. “To me, doing your makeup is just like painting on a 3D surface.”
Gary’s obsession with makeup goes back to her roots. She used to have her mother do her makeup for her passion at the time, ballet.
“I would do ballet, so I had recitals,” Gary said. “My mom would do my makeup for me and do my really intense blush and mascara. My mom has so, so much makeup in her collection and I’m probably surpassing her now, but I just liked to play with it when I was younger.”
Gary said she feels powerful in makeup, but she accepts herself without it. When she is tired, she feels comfortable with just wearing lotion on her face.
“Sometimes I get anxiety without makeup, but most of the time I say, ‘This is my face, I have acne. I’m a teenager,’” Gary said. “‘You caught me in the act. Oh boy, you’ve found my biggest secret; I have acne.’ If you’re feeling down, it can definitely get to you.”
However, Gary sometimes needs a break and will decide whether or not to wear makeup depending on how she feels on a particular day.
“If I’m really feeling myself, then I will definitely come to school some days without makeup when I don’t want to [apply it],” Gary said. “It just depends on how I feel; it doesn’t depend on what other people think of me.”
She strongly believes makeup is used as a form to express herself. She said she does not care whether someone likes her makeup, because she does it to please herself.
“I’m not gonna lie and say I don’t spend my paychecks on makeup,” Gary said. “It’s really not consistent, but I’d say I spend probably like 30 to 50 bucks a month. It makes me feel good, and it helps me express myself. It’s not really for, ‘I hope so-and-so likes my blue eyeliner today,’ or like ‘so-and-so likes the dots under my eyes.’ No, I like the dots under my eyes, so I’m gonna keep doing that.”
Gary is confident and finds beauty in herself, even if she does not have makeup on.
“I think I’m beautiful with makeup and even more beautiful without it,” Gary said. “In makeup, I feel amazing. I feel beautiful, empowered and self confident. It’s like another form of self expression to me. It’s just like getting people to see the truest version of me that they can.”
Gary supports other girls who wear makeup, but said she would never force anyone to wear makeup.
“I don’t push anyone to do anything that they don’t want to do,” Gary said. “Some people are just naturally beautiful. If you’re not comfortable wearing makeup, you don’t have to. If you’re comfortable in your own skin, that’s great because makeup takes up a lot of time and it costs money, so really you’re saving yourself money. If you’re really passionate about it and you love the way it makes you feel and it’s worth it, then go for it. It’s definitely not an obligation.”