It's Not a Mask
Location
If you say makeup is false advertising,
you have never spent twenty minutes
drawing a perfectly smooth line along your eye
with a precise and unblemished winged tip.
If you say makeup is false advertising,
you must be so ignorant as to think
my eyelids are truly a glittery champagne color
and my lips are stained a crimson-plum mix.
If you say makeup is false advertising,
you are insulting my self-expression.
You turn my artistic form
into a way of covering up self-hate.
My makeup is not false advertising.
My makeup is not a mask
to cover up all of my insecurities.
My makeup is an expression of who I am
and what I have to offer.
That precise line I draw on every day
shows that I am dedicated and talented.
My unnaturally colored lips and eyelids
show I am adventurous and artistic.
If you say makeup is false advertising,
you claim the products are what make me flawless
and not the skill and dedication I have
for something that I love.