Every weekday morning yields the same routine for me: I shower, put on music, apply makeup and get dressed. I rarely deviate from this cycle, even if it means being a couple minutes late to first period. There are people out there who would probably tell me that I could save myself time by skipping the makeup part, but to me, putting on makeup is like choosing a shirt for the day. It’s a way for me to express myself and play up my appearance to fit my mood.

I’ve garnered an ample amount of commentary on my everyday makeup usage because a number of my friends wear makeup sparingly or only on special occasions. The conclusion a lot of people jump to is that my makeup wearing equates to insecurity. They assume that I have to wear it every day because I’m not comfortable enough with my bare beauty.

Though I do appreciate makeup for its ability to enhance my features, my rationale for wearing it has less to do with self-doubt and more to do with the color it offers. I own makeup in several shades of brown, gold and rose. My makeup arsenal even has purples, whites and blues.

This color range gives me the opportunity to match my makeup with my outfit. If I decide to go to school wearing jeans and a T-shirt, the easy addition of some gold eye shadow complements my clothes nicely. If I want to wear a white dress with black boots, applying purple eyeliner gives the outfit a lovely pop of color that would be hard to incorporate any other way.

The color in makeup assists my physical appearance, but the way I apply it can even influence me mentally. When I decide to keep my makeup simple, I feel simple. If I do something out of the ordinary with my makeup, I usually feel bolder.

Makeup application affects me internally but also has the power to influence what others think of me. Like clothing, the makeup I wear is a reflection of my personality. When I want to come off as fierce, I can rock winged eyeliner. On days where I want to look more girly, I like to wear more eye shadow. External perception incentivizes me to fit my makeup to my mood so that the way I feel and the way people view me go hand-in-hand.

The usage of makeup is common at South. According to an Oracle conducted survey of 180 people, 74 percent of girls at South wear makeup ranging in frequency from everyday to only on special occasions. From the pool of girls that do wear makeup, 77 percent of them wear it every day. With numbers this large, it is important for people to understand that girls do not only wear makeup to mask insecurities.

Too often girls are criticized for not embracing a more “natural” look or are put down for caring too much about their appearance. Though it is ideal to evaluate yourself more on your inner-values and less on your physical self, wanting to look good is normal. If wearing makeup helps a person’s confidence, they shouldn’t be criticized for that.

Makeup is a tool that is used for a wide range of things, from covering up acne to helping individuals express themselves. No one should feel bad about their reason for wearing makeup because it is a personal choice. Just like you wouldn’t go out of your way to question someone’s choice of outfit, you shouldn’t judge a person’s motives behind wearing makeup.