I don’t wear make-up.

Sample Response #1 (fellow closet hippies): “Julia, that’s so cool.”

Sample Response #2 (more common): “Huh? Really?” I nod, the “responsee” gasps and promptly checks to make sure I’m not lying, then possibly faints and/or scribbles me the name of his or her favorite therapist with a navy blue eyeliner pencil (hint, hint, dearie).

Before I explain this decision, I’d like to make a disclaimer: dark green eyeliner is hot … HOTT. Seriously though, (although I am 100% serious about green eyeliner), there is nothing wrong with wanting to look good, and make-up (done right) often does look good. That said, I believe there are some significant underlying issues surrounding the use and production of cosmetics that need to be considered.

I am lazy.

This was the original reason behind my decision not to wear make-up: I was lazy. I had absolutely no patience for applying cosmetics. Please note this was after my rather short-lived awkward teenage phase, during which I embraced pastel eye shadow in copious proportions (stay away, kids, it does not look good), AND after my punk phase (not kidding — I have pictures to prove it) in 10th grade, which involved lots and lots of black eyeliner. I have not worn make-up since then (lies! I had to once, for a dance recital — my friends couldn’t recognize me). Now, I just stick to Stridex face wipes. They count as make-up, right?

I am a feminist.

A Sun columnist once told a story about a freshman orientation getting-to-know-you game (which we all know and love) in which participants walked across the room to identify themselves within certain categories. When someone called “feminist,” all the girls migrated, along with one lone ranger, who, when asked about his decision, innocently replied, “What? It just means you want equal rights for women, right?” Right, anonymous lone ranger! Equal rights for women! Equal pay too!

But actually, I think there’s more to it than that. Feminism, my brand of it at least, also involves questioning and sometimes rejecting dominant patriarchal social structures. And the cosmetics industry buys into — in fact depends heavily on — dominant patriarchal social structures.

Like I said, the original decision was not even conscious — the result of pure, unadulterated lethargy. However, as I got older, wiser and further into my Development Sociology studies, I began to realize that there were more legitimate reasons to reject make-up. More importantly, they were arguments I found myself largely agreeing with.

So, back to feminism. Cosmetics, and especially advertisements for cosmetics, are highly gender-biased. Think about it — besides Good Charlotte members, do you know any guys who wear make-up? Answer: no, you don’t. There is no aisle overflowing with men’s cosmetic products in your local supermarket (supermarkets themselves, by the way, are an issue for another day). There are no ads asking men to cover their natural beauty (yes, Christina, you are beautiful in every single way) with face paints, except for the occasional admonition about graying hair. I am happy with the girl (woman?) I am, and I choose not to cover myself up. Clichéd? Maybe. Heartfelt? Certainly.

In a satirical essay (which was apparently published in ‘the Utne Reader’ … I just stole it from a DSOC text) journalist Alison Walsh once said that she was “astonished to discover that most daytime TV commercials have one clear message: women leak, dribble and smell … Apparently women must buff, spray [sic], diet, gargle and primp constantly if they are to overcome their basic vileness.” I confess, I don’t really know who Alison Walsh is, but I think she’s right. Why do young girls today struggle so much with body image? It’s partly because a patriarchal society is constantly, subliminally telling them they ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH. I don’t buy it. I am good enough. You are good enough. Christina Aguilera says so.

I am healthy and guilt-free.

Okay, so I’m definitely not guilt-free, but I can feel at peace with the decision to not wear make-up. Blatant abuses of power by the cosmetics corporations are rampant and come in many forms: human rights, animal rights, environment rights (I’m coining this term) … Many products are produced in highly oppressive and exploitative factories in the third world, mistreating and impairing desperate workers and simultaneously cutting jobs in the United States. In the third world, many corporations are able to circumvent both wage laws and environmental regulations (dumping lots of nasty toxins and emissions anywhere they want). Many products are tested on animals. Many contain unacceptably high levels of toxins, especially carcinogens, like talc and nitrosamines. Through pollution, waste incineration and regular day-to-day use, these toxins get into groundwater and eventually into food sources — and they don’t taste very nice, does they precious? (yes, I am a LOTR nerd). Many products are packaged in plastics that, once empty, find their way to landfills, contributing to massive human waste pollution and leaching further toxins into the environment for the birds and the bees to enjoy. There is little negative media coverage of the cosmetics industry, presumably because they provide such huge ad revenue, but I think there is ample subject matter for such coverage. So, chew on this, Vidal Sassoon (nitrosamines!!).

That’s a lot of bad shit. To quote Bring it On, which is possibly the greatest movie ever made and definitely worth quoting: “Un-unh, not cool,” (wagging finger, from jerk wearing horrible sweater). Of course, cosmetics companies are far from the only ones to act in this manner (and what does that say about our society?), and I cannot claim at all that I do not buy products from such companies. But it’s a place to start and an issue I feel strongly about (in case you didn’t get that).

For some conscientious cosmetics (if you have the patience … I still don’t) check out Peacekeeper Cause-Metics (hehehe), which are fair-trade and organic, and donate 100% of profits to women’s causes. Essentially Yours, Green Baby and Simply Soaps, among others, are also good places to look, with standards about toxins, animal testing, sustainable production, fair-trade, use of recyclables and full disclosure of ingredients.

Be green, be fair, be beautiful. (Don’t be clichéd like me).