Why I hesitate to dabble.

This notion has  been in my head for quite some time, but it recently surfaced again after a conversation with a friend. She got into a 'tiff' with her boyfriend after his seemingly contradicting comments regarding makeup. She was showing him a video about this average-looking-girl-on-the-street Korean girl who transformed into a pretty-and-can-pass-off-as-a-celeb girl. Her boyfriend said that should be against the law. But when my friend commented that she goes to school without makeup at times, he replied that that reflected a lack of manners (which, in this case, refers to social manners). So at the end of the day, what does he exactly want? Make-up or no make-up? In my friend's opinion, the boyfriend's view was completely contradictory and makes no logical sense at all. But I'm actually with him (for the most part) on this. If I were a guy, I would be really wary of girls who are good with makeup. There was this piece of news traveling across the net about this Chinese woman who had a different look every single day all thanks to makeup. My friend thinks it's a valuable skill. I think it's a skill, but not necessarily valuable. It's like reversible plastic surgery. The poor guy wouldn't know who he's are really marrying unless he manages to see her totally make-up free. "Marriage deception"? From a bigger perspective,  people can also use this 'skill' to disguise themselves easily to escape the law. In this case, I do think that this 'skill' is actually a vice to society. Yes, make-up is for beautification (so goes the saying that there aren't ugly girls, just girls who don't put make-up), but I think a line should be drawn somewhere. But I'm not advocating for girls to go without make-up totally. Make-up is not (only) for beautification, but also a form of respect when worn in formal occasions. So I agree with the boyfriend's opinion of having a lack of respect when SIMPLE make-up is not worn to certain places, for example the workplace or for functions, but I don't agree about the school bit. Teachers, maybe, but not so for students. Teachers have the obligation to make themselves presentable because it is their workplace after all but students? Japanese girls might feel differently on this matter but personally, I don't see school as a fashion runway. 

No, I'm not anti-makeup, I just think it's a double-edged sword. I know many girls who can't live without make-up. That's always the outcome, isn't it? When you dabble with something, you slowly become reliant on it until it totally integrates itself into your life. That explains my title in a nutshell. Yes, I do put on make-up but compared to many other girls, I put on only the bare minimum. Some people will say if that's the case I might as well don't put. Well, they are right, but I have to admit that I'm a tiny bit reliant. It makes me feel a little more confident because it covers my eyebags (or so I think). Of course I  know the attractiveness of make-up. Of course I want to look beautiful. But I'm not ready to give my freedom in exchange with a life of bondage to make-up. Which is why I do not dabble in fake eyelashes and heavy make-up, simply because I'm afraid. And this is also the reason why I hesitate to dabble heavily in fashion. Not only for the reason that it burns a hole in my pocket (especially over here), but also because I don't want to be controlled by the latest trends/fads. If I'm happy in my jeans/shorts and t-shirt then that's enough for me. Clothes were originally made to cover the shame of humankind when we sinned and knew Shame. What/Who are we putting out make-up/dressing up for? Ourselves? Others? If it's the former, I think it's sad that we need to psycho ourselves to  loves ourselves more through an 'improved' outer appearance - then what right do we have to criticize others for judging by appearance when we do this to ourselves?! If it's the latter, I understand that we normally make ourselves look good for the opposite gender. So following this line of argument, we should all quit after we've found our other halves. Because if our other halves don't love us for how we really look, is that true love? And it's not like we're trying to attract another mate while still being attached...

I recall the time when I commented to someone (can't remember who) that handbags were ugly and I would never buy nor carry them. Look what happened. So I'm very careful now when I make the statement, "I would never ________." because I never know when __________ will come back and haunt me. Never say never, seriously. 

Rather than dabbling with things like make-up and clothes that are temporal, I'd rather dabble in things that I know will enrich my life instead of robbing me of freedom and my money for the rest of my life. What really matters differ from person to person so I'm not going to comment further on that. But just a thought: we will all look the same when we are old and wrinkly so why bother so much! The important thing is to "keep our treasures in a place where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal." :D

PS: This post is NOT targeted at anyone in particular.

PPS: Would you rather have a boyfriend who nags at you for putting (too much) make-up, or one who nags at you for NOT putting make-up? Go ahead and satisfy my curiosity! :P