I went around Stamford High and asked students from various grade levels and some teachers to fill out a questionnaire containing the following questions.

1. What grade did you start wearing makeup?
2. How often do you wear makeup currently?
3. How much makeup do you wear?
4. What age do you think it is appropriate to start wearing makeup? Why?
5. Do you feel like it is necessary to wear makeup to school? Why or why not?
6. Why do you wear makeup?

Before you continue reading, think about how you would answer each of those questions.

While most people said they started wearing makeup in middle school (specifically seventh and eighth grade), the actual age/grade of when it is appropriate to start wearing makeup is up for debate. Senior, Manshi Bhavsar, answered “Probably around the end of middle school/beginning of high school because that’s when most girls mature”. On the more extreme end of the spectrum, senior Kennychard Lafontant answered, “I feel like 17/18 because at that age your wearing makeup for a specific purpose (expressing yourself), while when your young, you’re trying to hide insecurities of trying to fit in.” Quite a few even went as far as to say that there is not definite age, sophomore Mariel Barocas answered “Whatever age you want, it can be an expression of creativity as well as a way to feel comfy in your skin.” While the actual age varied quite a bit, the majority believed that makeup is a form of expressing yourself and creativity. In other words, you should start wearing makeup when you’re old enough to be wearing it because you like to, not because you feel pressured socially to do so.

How often people wear makeup and how much makeup they wear varied quite a bit, and grade/age didn’t seem to be a factor in the responses. Teacher, Ms. Novitzky, wears a “light amount” of makeup “daily”. Junior, Hannah Davis, wears “not much” make up “a few times a week”. Freshman, Brianna Jean wears makeup if she has time in the morning. Sophomore, Julia Zaleski, answered, “Every now and then, when I feel like it or on a special occasion.”

While no one said that they feel it is necessary to wear make up to school, some acknowledged the social pressure in a school environment to wear makeup is real. Sophomore, Mariel Barocas wrote, “Although there is a social pressure to wear makeup, it is 100% not necessary because you should be able to do whatever you want to do with your own body”. Furthering that concept, senior Charlotte Gage, wrote, “No, because school doesn’t have to be a fashion statement that everyone makes it out to be.”

The most interesting responses came form the question, “Why do you wear makeup?” A common theme in the responses was that makeup helps cover up blemishes and helps you look less tired. Senior, Nijly Vilme wrote “To hide blemishes, and just feel set and ready when I’m going somewhere special. Or sometimes for a costume”. Senior Meghan Rowley took a slightly different take, writing, “ I wear makeup because I enjoy putting it on and it gives me some confidence. It makes me feel good about myself.” Similarly, freshman Isabella Viggiano wrote “to look awake in the morning and to feel confident and pretty.”

The recipients of the questionnaire were all female, but if you are male and choose to wear makeup, all the power to you. The most important lesson I can draw from people’s responses is that if you are going to wear makeup, wear it because it makes you feel good, not because you think other people want you to. To add my own quote to the mix, in short, “you do you.”