Being taken seriously as a journalist when my hobby is anything beauty related? This takes some justifying. Showcasing my impressive cosmetic case full of high-end brands, shimmering highlighters and about 12 different shades of nude lipsticks whilst trying to portray my intelligence takes a lot of explaining as you can somewhat imagine. With the make-up caked on, and acrylics longer than route 66, I’ve received some strange looks from people who have asked me what I study at university.
I was skeptical at first, about theming a blog around my ‘pretty pastime’- but then I thought ‘I love Cosmopolitan, I Read Cosmopolitan!’, and surely if I am going to market myself, it would be in a field which I partake in everyday- beauty regiments! Just because I could tell you every shade from Urban Decay’s Naked 2 palette doesn’t mean I can’t engage in a debate about the upcoming EU referendum.
Being taken seriously as a feminist when I’m so wrapped up in cosmetics and appearance? Not one of the easiest tasks I have encountered- always feeling as if I’m required to justify my interests. The point is, I want to be taken seriously regardless of my overly highlighted cheekbones and pastel pink nail polish. Regardless of what people think, spending hours to get ready isn’t for the approval of guys. Makeup is FUN and your face is a canvas. Believe me, I didn’t spend 30 minutes contouring my face to be beeped at from a man in a white van.
As a women, one of the most ridiculous options you are faced with subconsciously is “Are you a shoe or a bag person?”(because if you didn’t know, a women’s brain is divided into two halves- one dedicated to totes and clutches, and the other has next seasons top styles of shoes circulating it). No no no and no. Brains vs beauty is always a concept which I’ve hated. When I was a young girl I thought that because I did well in school I must not be pretty.
It’s 2016 and society is slowly moving away from the aspect that a woman can only be one thing. I can only pray that the future will be more accepting of my spectrum of interests. And hopefully, if my love of false eyelashes is still prominent, they’ll be small enough that I’ll still be able to see through them well enough to read a broadsheet.
midnightinterlude 