Madame Au Naturale

I've got to be honest: I feel just a little defensive when people say makeup is for those who aren't confident enough in the way they look naturally.

Because it's not true!

Dear Madame Au Naturale, here are some reasons I like makeup:

1. It is fun-- I feel artistic and creative with my palette of many colors. 
2. It is even expected; imagine going in for an interview to get a fancy job...you'd have better results from wearing makeup, even if you only wore foundation. Because it's quite similar to wearing nylons instead of going around with bare legs. It's dressed up. It's a woman's way of adding to the dress like a tie adds to a button-up shirt. It looks finished. And therefore, it impresses. Whether or not you are stunningly beautiful.
3. It builds confidence. This doesn't mean you lack confidence otherwise. Call it a mask if you insist on being an au-naturale-snootypants, but this mommypants appreciates a way to put my best face forward when my best face is kind of missing. This happens to mommies a lot. And if a lot of us mommies went out au naturale all the time, people would think we were ill or something because the tiredness and exhaustion of what we do tends to show up on our faces. 
4. When we look good, we can forget about ourselves. It's easier to pay attention to other people when we're not absorbed with thoughts of "Oh but my face is so nasty, why did someone have to knock on my door today?!"
5. It hides my zits (except for maybe the really vicious, volcanic ones that would take plaster for camouflage). Madame Au Naturale, I don't really care anymore that I still have zits. It doesn't plague my mind anymore the way it plagues my skin. But seriously, would you want to leave the zits hanging out and blaring like STOP signs if you really don't have to? Sometimes I do it more as a courtesy to others, I'm telling you!
6. Sometimes (heehee, want to guess how often?) I'd rather look more on the pretty side than the plain side. But guess what? My plain face? I can still find beauty in it. I know how to love my features as they are. I can love the look of ME, nothing but me. That doesn't mean I'm not allowed to enjoy sprucing things up. 
7. It can be a compliment to others-- I love it when my husband comes home to see that I've "dressed up" for him. There are plenty of days that he's the only one who will see that makeup. But he appreciates it. *Sidenote: He also loves my au naturale face, so don't you dare begin to think he demands that I wear makeup. My husband is above such pettiness. He understands the sacrifice either way--a day where I felt too busy or felt no need to dress up, he gets it. A day where I wanted to look especially nice, he gets it. And he believes I'm beautiful either way. THAT'S a good husband.*
8. And this is meant with as little bitterness as possible, but...Madame Au Naturale should probably wear makeup too, sometimes, because she can look rather haggard herself. (Here's where her argument really explodes because her point is why does she have to be pretty. Um, she doesn't. But what about looking healthy? Or at least pleasant? It doesn't have to be taken as a brainwashed desire to please the world's ideal of women. It's just kind of healthy to take care of yourself, you know. And that can ought to include the way you present yourself.

So yes. I wear makeup. Yes, I will swipe on some mascara before going to the grocery store. Yes, I will spend a few extra minutes to perfect the shading on my eyelids. 

Because I like to, not because I have to.

Me with no makeup. Oops! Nope, I have some crusty mascara on from yesterday. Sorry.
More sorry it's blurry.

(And that's today's baby bump: 16 weeks)

Want to hear an awkward story? I was doing a Mary Kay party, and one woman said "My husband doesn't like it when I wear makeup. He doesn't like the way it tastes." 

*awkward silence* 

The other ladies raise their eyebrows and say politely "Oh?" (not necessarily wanting an answer).

She said "Yeah, he likes to lick my face." 

...meuh...TOO MUCH INFORMATION.