Carlmont students love to explore their individualism through face cosmetics, nail art, perfumes, and other types of outward expression.
“I enjoy doing creative makeup looks because it tests my skill. I enjoy the instant gratification I get after doing art that only takes 15 to 30 minutes,” said Carlmont sophomore Elisa Luo-Wimmer.
Luo-Wimmer explained that she likes to do makeup called “graphic liner,” which involves using eyeliner to paint intricate designs on one’s face. Luo-Wimmer often comes to school with elaborate graphic liner patterns. Her inspiration comes from artistic friends and Carlmont’s Associated Student Body (ASB). Luo-Wimmer is in the ASB Publicity Commission, which entails lots of painting and creating art.
“Being in Carlmont ASB’s Publicity Commission motivates me to do more art and continuously better my skill,” Luo-Wimmer said. “When it comes to inspiration, I have friends who go to art schools, and I mostly know them through the things they post online. They inspire me because we all share the common interest of liking makeup, especially graphic liner. So we bounce ideas off each other online in short exchanges of comments.”
One of Lou-Wimmer’s makeup role models is María Valle-Remond, a senior at Carlmont. Valle-Remond gravitates toward dramatic makeup looks, similar to Luo-Wimmer.
“I get a lot of my inspiration from Pinterest and fashion magazines. I really like editorial looks that are bold, strange, and colorful. I can’t always wear those to school because they get ruined by the end of the day but I used to try to. When I want to do a really unique look, it takes me anywhere from an hour and a half to three hours,” Valle-Remond said.
Many Carlmont students wear and favor makeup, but the teacher’s perspective can be a different story. A few teachers think that certain types of cosmetics, like perfume, can be distracting in a classroom setting.
Carlmont Spanish teacher Jordan Webster said, “People can decide how they want to express themselves, but I feel that really strong perfume or cologne can be physically distracting because some people get sick from too much scent.”
However, students voiced that they think perfume is not too distracting in a classroom setting. “Perfume is a way of subtly expressing oneself when used in moderation,” Carlmont sophomore Lina Saleh said. “It’s fine as long as you’re not Axe-bombing the room.”
Other students apply makeup because of the weight of insecurities.
For example, Carlmont sophomore Giana Brown stated that she enjoys putting on makeup because it does a great job brightening up one’s face.
“I wear makeup every day because, without it, I feel less alive and not as good about myself,” Brown said.
Brown pointed out how social media can alter people’s expectations of beauty, which can be harmful because people often compare themselves to what they see online.
“I feel like social media has a negative impact on people because it gives them a false expectation of what they should look like, so it pushes them to do things to change themselves, like wearing makeup,” Brown said.
Ultimately, makeup is about expression – whether beautification or artistically oriented.
