Beautycon LA: The Antithesis to Beauty from Within
by Nadya Okamoto
When I first heard about Beautycon LA, I was both excited and determined because a convention center full of makeup tutorial stars, beautiful celebrities, and free samples, sounded like the epitome of what a stereotypical teen girl might be interested in. As an 18-year-old who has just recently started wearing make-up, and is constantly mocked by her younger sisters for the terrible job that I do with my eyeshadow, I was also interested in possibly learning new techniques to put their teasing to shame. As a correspondent for School of Doodle, I was also determined to attend a gathering of thousands of teen girls, whom I thought would be eager to learn from panels including our generation’s pop culture icons like Ashley Tisdale, Tyra Banks, and others. My heart sunk when I realized that the tickets for Beautycon were quite out of my budget, and I heard no response from their press and communications team. However, on the morning of Beautycon LA, July 9th, 2016, I received a text from one of my great friends here in Los Angeles, who had just secured two free tickets to Beautycon LA!
When I walked into Beautycon I had a feeling of wonder. I looked around this vast warehouse of the Los Angeles Convention Center and spotted the “80+ top brands” promised by the web page, including “Maybelline, Garnier, NYX, QVC, Tarte,” just to name a few. However, within ten minutes of wandering up and down the aisles of vendors, my optimistic feelings of wonder dissipated as I slowly realized that (1) there weren’t many free samples at all, and (2) it was so crowded with girls standing in line and rushing around that the atmosphere was quite overwhelming. We began to ask some of the girls what they were waiting in line for, and found that they were either waiting in line to take a picture with a special selfie light or green screen backdrop, or they were waiting to purchase more items (just for the benefit of a small discount in comparison to the retail prices). It actually made me sad because I suddenly pieced together that the majority of the girls who were waiting in line, had this look on their faces (caked on with make-up) like they needed that cosmetic cover-up to be or feel pretty. The advertisements around the room spewed messaging of being more beautiful, or more like the celebrity guests, if the girls purchase a certain item. It made me sad and scared for the present and future generations of girls who are terrifyingly committed to make-up because they can only feel beautiful with it, and hide their authentic appearances because of a lack of confidence.
When I posted on social media about my honest reaction to Beautycon, I was sent some angry messages by some of my followers who were expressing how they felt that it was unfair to make a statement about how makeup was used to cover up insecurity. However, that is not what I meant. I meant that the majority of the girls I met at Beautycon, felt and spewed this desperation for those products because to them, it defined their beauty. I am in complete support of makeup that helps someone express how they are feeling inside, or using it to complement certain features they love about themselves. I think that the danger comes when women start to define their beauty as what they look like with makeup, and only feel beautiful when they have it on. Attending Beautycon just made me realize that I, along with other teen girls, should be conscious of why you are wearing makeup. Before putting on makeup, when one looks into the mirror and sees their natural reflection, they should feel beautiful. Makeup does not define beauty or make beauty possible, it enhances and complements. As the chalkboard wall said at the front of the convention, “You don’t need lipstick, lipstick needs you.”
