Miss Genevieve

I've never been one to wear make-up on a regular basis. Every now and then I'd give it a shot and realize before the day was over how much I couldn't stand having extra stuff on my face. I used foundation in high school during breakouts, but mainly stuck to chapsticks and only used lip glosses and lipsticks every once in a while.

I felt fine without a mask, and, for me, it was too much of a pain to go thru this extra step every morning. I take long enough to get ready as it is. Nevermind the cost for all these products.

Over the years, I've had plenty of offers from people wanting to do my makeup. A couple of times I let that happen and walked away feeling like I should be heading to a corner in Chinatown. One of those times was when a friend asked if she could take me to the M.A.C counter in the mall. When we approached the girl behind the counter, my friend starts with, "My friend is 25 and never wore makeup." From the reaction on the girl's face, I thought my friend just told her I have an incurable disease. Is it really that serious? Do I look that bad au natural? I've asked this plenty of times to always get the answer of "No, but makeup will bring out your features."

So, now in my 30s, I'm still mistaken for being younger than I am and it seems like my skin looks less worn than a lot of my friends who have been putting on their faces for the past 20+ years. Not that I'm knocking those who choose to wear it, I understand how it can bring out natural features when done right, but I'm ok with not being in to it.

However, as a performing artist, and just once in a great while, I enjoy putting color around my eyes & on my lips for effect and to accentuate. I only wish it wasn't people's reaction to look at me as though I committed a crime when they find out my secret.