A moment that changed me: I applied mucous-tinted mascara
I was 12 and it was the first makeup I had ever worn. While people’s responses ranged right up to genuine repulsion, they couldn’t quell my happiness
TL;DR
- The author's first makeup experience with green mascara at age 12 sparked an understanding of beauty as self-expression, not just prettiness.
- Beauty became a political tool for the author to express her refusal to fit into restrictive cultural and societal beauty standards.
- Experimentation with appearance, including tattoos and piercings, was a way to articulate identity and resist being palatable.
- The author experienced pressure to assimilate in professional fashion environments but eventually embraced her heritage on her own terms.
- Fashion and beauty are viewed as cultural mirrors and deviating from dominant aesthetics is considered a radical act.