A Beautiful Mask

Ashley bit her lower lip, her brows creasing as she breathed heavily. She was anxious and her nails dug into the palm of her hand. She glanced nervously at the clock, which she had done over ten times in the last minute. She closed her eyes, trying to think positively.

The woman looked downwards at her child. She was looking at the baby she held with mixed emotions. Tears of joy filled her eyes, but the same was that of sadness and pity, for the child was a girl. But, the baby, innocent and untouched by the bias of the world, beamed at her mother, smiling.

Ashley wiped her forehead with her sleeve and kept the palette on the table. A smile formed on her face, as she admired her painting. She signed her name at the edge of the canvas, where the baby's blanket was.

Ashley was good with colors, but only on paper. She had mastered all the brushstrokes that existed, but she couldn't do even simple makeup. Even if it was just lipstick or foundation, she messed up in some way or the other. Even after a marathon watching thousands of beauty tutorials, her tries were in vain.

Makeup had started off as a product to enhance beauty. Nowadays, almost everybody wears makeup. Over the years, the use and definition of makeup have changed. It has gone from being a touch-up to our face to masking our face completely. It's as if our face is an empty canvas, and a face is drawn on it with the colors of makeup. This is the power of makeup; it almost creates a new identity. And in this world, where trends are the new fascination of people, anybody who doesn't follow trends, doesn't fit in, and is alienated by society.

Ashley had faced similar circumstances. She always got made fun of in high school and college, and though she tried her hardest to ignore them, she felt very embarrassed and self-conscious inside.

She always got one of her friends to do her makeup before she went out, but when they were busy and couldn't help her, she put on a hoodie and shades and went out only when she had made sure her face was not visible under the hood and the shades.

Ashley was naturally beautiful. She had crystal blue eyes, her brown hair framed her face and her smile made her even more pretty. But had no more confidence left to believe she was beautiful, society may have just teased her, but it had a big impact on her emotionally. She wanted to voice her opinions and the courage to do it in front of everybody and show them that you don't need makeup to look beautiful, and that makeup is not an escape from our self and our identity.

Ashley had made some wonderful paintings, and the 'Brush Strokes' was having an exhibition and she had been invited to the exhibition and her paintings would also be up on display with the others.

Prior to the exhibition, Ashley went to the makeup parlor. She wanted to look perfect for the occasion.

Just as Ashley was catching her breath, a crew member walked in. Ashley saw the clock said 7:33, and her speech was in two minutes. She told the crew member to leave the microphone with her, and that she would head to the stage shortly.

All the artists were supposed to give a speech about their paintings, as they were shown to the audience. It was Ashley's turn. Ashley sat there in a chair in the messy changing room; she took a deep breath and turned on the microphone.

"Good evening." The audience looked at each other in confusion as the speech began, "It may confuse you, why I am not up there on stage giving this speech, well we will find out soon enough." Ashley nervously cleared her throat. As one of her paintings was shown on the stage, Ashley said "The first painting, I call it perception." In the painting, it was a woman's face, one side scarred, and the other was covered with makeup. But as if the painting was magical, her eyes shined with pride and it made her look so phenomenal. Even the scarred side of her face now looked beautiful, as if they were war trophies and she was proud of having them as a mark of her courage. The audience looked at the painting in awe, that a painting looked so realistic in expressing emotion. "To this woman, her scars are her beauty. They showcase her courage and pride. Makeup does make her look prettier, but she finds her pride and scars more enchanting. It is just how you perceive it."

The spotlight shifted to her second painting. It showed a teenager, her face full of pimple marks, her hair cut short. Other children were visible in the backdrop, laughing at her. A lady was kneeling in front of the girl, smiling. The girl was smiling back, and as if an illusion, her smile made her look so bright that her bleak features were no longer visible. "Beauty begins the moment you believe you are beautiful. Nobody has the right to define you and your beauty except you. Don't let the words of others affect your thoughts about yourself. Your smile is precious and it is more beautiful than any makeover."

Footsteps sounded, as she said, "The third is…" and she walked onto the stage, a piece of cloth in her hand, which was soaked in makeup remover. Before the audience could give any reaction, she wiped her face clean and makeup-free. At the same time, a painting was shown, of her own face, unfiltered and unaltered. Tangles were visible in her hair, her dry lips were more than obvious. The unique thing about the painting was that her face was a collage of many other faces of people without makeup. Ashley smiled and said, "I call this bare. I was never too confident about how I looked. Through my teen years, I always had pimples and got made fun of. My skin tone looks kind of pale, also the reason my classmates called me a ghost. Beautiful, be-you-ti-ful . The last painting was not supposed to be shown today, but alas, my friend told the crew to show it and handed them the painting. Honestly, I was scared to come up on stage, knowing that you all would see my bare face, but I made it. I remembered the quote of a wise man, "be the change you want to see in the world." And without me trying I will never see any change so I decided to try. Everyone is beautiful, in their own unique way. And respecting them as they are is appreciating their true beauty."

The audience rose to their feet, as they clapped. Many were smiling, and some were emotional. Ashley looked at her face in the painting, smiling brightly. It was her aura, her personality, and her perception of the world that made her so much more beautiful now.

Makeup does not exist to mask your identity; it exists to bring out your inner beauty to light. Everyone is beautiful the way they are, we just don't appreciate them.

I'm still a budding writer so please excuse my clumsiness.