Subtleties

It's a tricky thing going into the 'beauty' business. Initially I was hesitant to call myself a makeup artist because of the ways my work might both directly and indirectly further notions of 'beauty' which are not only untrue, but damaging and ultimately disempowering for women. If makeup artists were the ones who were partly responsible for proliferating the ubiquitous smoky-eyed, airbrushed and photoshopped-to-perfection images that inundate women all over the world and make them feel 'Less Than' every second of every day, then I wanted nothing to do with that label.

Don't get me wrong - I love me a good smoky eye. What self-professed (and still-in-the-closet) makeup junkie doesn't? Yeah I see y'all ladies frontin' like you go 'au naturale' pretending like you went to Target for a birthday card when you're really slinking around the Covergirl mascaras. Hey, no judgment here. No woman but the utterly superhuman can walk past Sephora without glancing with the slightest bit of longing and curiosity at their monstrously magnetic ads. I swear, they sprinkle crack in the eyeshadows there. Makeup will always be, through and through, just plain FUN to play with.

I'm concerned with the larger implications of my life work - what larger machine am I being plugged into as a makeup artist in today's world? Ultimately, what kinds of standards am I condoning or would I need to accept and advocate in order to become a 'successful' makeup artist?

My quest has always been to find a way to be a conscious artist, someone who understands how the art of makeup can enhance the inherent beauty of every woman, while being aware of the ways my role as a makeup artist might contribute to the massive media-induced movement towards self-hatred, impossible standards, and ultimately, an untrue notion of what it means to be beautiful. It's a thin line, but a necessary and crucial one nevertheless.

After watching this amazing initiative by the folks at Dove to rehabilitate modern conventional notions of beauty, and being inspired by maverick artists like K'naan, a talented Somali rapper who refuses to write lyrics which promote violence - a childhood spent in a war-torn country rife with child soldiers has gotta be externalized somewhere - I am reminded that I'm definitely not alone, and that there are others out there who I can align myself with in this industry.

But on to lighter fare! Here's a lovely bride who went for a subtler look for her big day.