Growing up, I saw girls my age putting on makeup, talking about boys, and wearing dresses and skirts. I would look at them, thinking I was broken for not wanting to do any of that girly stuff. Later, I realized that I hated it; my friends would always want to dress me up, and the worst part of it was when they got really close to my face to do eye makeup or when they had the lights really bright in my face, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and then there were the smells, everything smelled different and hundreds of smells, all of this is just a sensory nightmare for someone with Autism.
I am Autistic as well as claustrophobic, having someone close to my face just to put stuff on my face to make me “prettier” was not how I personally wanted to live life. A young woman who enjoys it and is also autistic and doesn’t like people close to their face has to mask to seem like they are enjoying themselves because in the end they do enjoy.
Then there is the lighting, the bright lights that help the person putting your makeup on needs. You see it in movies, theater rooms, and other places. It’s bright, and another sensory nightmare that we have to face as people who enjoy wearing it.
Lastly, the smells, makeup has all sorts of smells. They can be fruity ones that smell good, but most makeup, at least for adults, does not have a fun smell. When you add all the smells from all the different kinds, you add lighting and having someone being so close to your eye that you think it’s going to be poked out, it’s just not fun anymore.
Beauty should not cost comfort; you shouldn’t have to mask to feel prettier. I think all people are beautiful just the way they are, natural beauty does not cost a thing, and we shouldn’t have the media, friends, and family make us feel that they need it to feel beautiful. Everyone is beautiful.
