The pressure to be beautiful grows immensely once a girl reaches a certain age. Girls grow up seeing the women in their lives wearing makeup, making them feel like they should too. Flipping through magazines, girls see female celebrities being criticized for going out without makeup. Even walking through a Target, it is hard not to notice the rows and rows of products made to alter a girl’s appearance. From a young age many girls feel like they should change the way they look, and the easiest way to do that is with makeup.

“I started wearing makeup in sixth grade,” sophomore Tina Ramirez said. “I didn’t have very high self-esteem, and I wanted to be like all the other really pretty girls. I guess when I started wearing makeup it was to fit in.”

Others feel like they need to cover up their blemishes.

“I used to get bullied when I was younger because all my flaws where shown,” junior Madeline Underhile said. “So in seventh grade I started wearing makeup to please people.”

Another student had a similar experience.

“I used to really love my freckles,” sophomore Jordan Miller said. “My mom told me they were where angels had kissed my face. But my grandma told me they were ugly and one year for my birthday she gave me some makeup that was supposed to fade freckles. After that I didn’t really like my freckles and started covering them up with foundation.”

Many young girls are pressured into wearing makeup when they are young, but as they get older they begin to understand cosmetics are meant to augment the beauty they are born with.

“I dialed it down once I got more comfortable with how I looked,” Underhile said. “I stopped caring what people thought. My opinion of myself is the only one that matters.”

Ramirez has come to the same conclusion.

“I know now I don’t really need makeup,” Ramirez said. “But I like it so I wear it for me.”

There are many reasons people practice this cosmetic art, whether to hide insecurities or to emphasize perfections. Although girls begin wearing it because of peer pressure, most will eventually learn to be comfortable in their own skin.

“Makeup should be used to enhance beauty,” Miller said. “Not to cover up your unique imperfections. I know that now.”