I'm 39 and never wear makeup. I want to be accepted the way I naturally look.
Shubhangini Prakash is a 39-year-old whose mother never encouraged her to wear makeup.
She dabbled with eyeliner and eye shadow in college, but has chosen not to wear makeup anymore.
She thinks that going makeup-free makes her feel like her real self all the time.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shubhangini Prakash, founder and CEO of skincare line Feather and Bone.
When I was around 6, my mom told me lipstick would stain my lips. I had asked her to help me put some on for the school play, and she refused. Instead, I asked my neighbor's mom to do it for me. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and remembered thinking my lips had changed color. I'm not sure whether they had, but it confirmed that my mom had been right.
I never wore makeup again until I left the UK to start college in the US. In the UK, I felt confident without makeup, but not in the States. To fit in at college, I started wearing eye shadow and eyeliner. It felt like I was becoming a different character, not myself. I also found the products irritated my eyes.
Since then, I've rarely worn makeup, including for my two weddings.
I didn't get much attention when going to bars
When I entered the workforce at 22, I stopped wearing makeup unless I was messing around and being silly with my friends. I wore nothing except a little lip gloss at work, out socializing, or on dates. I wanted to be accepted and respected for who I was, not because of the makeup put on my skin.
On nights at bars with my friends, I didn't get the same attention as other women with dolled-up faces. I couldn't compete, but I would not wear makeup — I didn't feel 100% like myself with it on.
I wanted to find a romantic partner who liked me, not some made-up version of me.
If men don't have to wear makeup to attract a woman, why should a woman spend hours on her makeup for a man? I wanted to be seen as equal to a man, and not wearing makeup has become a way to channel that desire for equality.
My now-husband never gave me a hard time about not wearing makeup
At 30, I was getting ready to launch my business, and a makeup artist offered to provide me with a full makeover for a commercial I was working on. I'd never had a full face of makeup in my life. Walking around afterward, with concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, I got all the looks from people I passed.
It confirmed what I knew to be true — that makeup could get me noticed. Rather than making me want to wear it more, the makeover made me want to wear makeup even less. That boost of confidence I had from a face full of makeup was the confidence I wanted with my natural face.
Shortly after, I met the man who would become my husband at a rave. He was attracted to me without makeup and liked me for who I really was. I was the first woman he dated who didn't wear makeup. He never gave me slack for it, even though he was occasionally surprised that I didn't wear it when we were going out.
At our Christian wedding, I barely wore any makeup, and even at my traditional Indian wedding, I kept telling the person doing my makeup it was all too much. I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself on one of the most important days of my life.
I'm OK with aging
As I get older, I know I won't change my mind about makeup. Antiaging culture takes away the beauty of aging, even though it is just a normal process of life. I am wiser now. I know more. I make better decisions. I am proof of a life lived, and my skin shows that. I don't have to accept what media and society tell me growing old looks like. My skin will sag and become wrinkly, and that's OK. We're not immortal.
I now have two sons, but if I ever have a daughter, I want to pass on what I inherited from my mom — a confidence and acceptance of my own, raw self, makeup-free.
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Yahoo
20 hours ago
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I'm 39 and never wear makeup. I want to be accepted the way I naturally look.
Shubhangini Prakash is a 39-year-old whose mother never encouraged her to wear makeup. She dabbled with eyeliner and eye shadow in college, but has chosen not to wear makeup anymore. She thinks that going makeup-free makes her feel like her real self all the time. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shubhangini Prakash, founder and CEO of skincare line Feather and Bone. When I was around 6, my mom told me lipstick would stain my lips. I had asked her to help me put some on for the school play, and she refused. Instead, I asked my neighbor's mom to do it for me. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and remembered thinking my lips had changed color. I'm not sure whether they had, but it confirmed that my mom had been right. I never wore makeup again until I left the UK to start college in the US. In the UK, I felt confident without makeup, but not in the States. To fit in at college, I started wearing eye shadow and eyeliner. It felt like I was becoming a different character, not myself. I also found the products irritated my eyes. Since then, I've rarely worn makeup, including for my two weddings. When I entered the workforce at 22, I stopped wearing makeup unless I was messing around and being silly with my friends. I wore nothing except a little lip gloss at work, out socializing, or on dates. I wanted to be accepted and respected for who I was, not because of the makeup put on my skin. On nights at bars with my friends, I didn't get the same attention as other women with dolled-up faces. I couldn't compete, but I would not wear makeup — I didn't feel 100% like myself with it on. I wanted to find a romantic partner who liked me, not some made-up version of me. If men don't have to wear makeup to attract a woman, why should a woman spend hours on her makeup for a man? I wanted to be seen as equal to a man, and not wearing makeup has become a way to channel that desire for equality. At 30, I was getting ready to launch my business, and a makeup artist offered to provide me with a full makeover for a commercial I was working on. I'd never had a full face of makeup in my life. Walking around afterward, with concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, I got all the looks from people I passed. It confirmed what I knew to be true — that makeup could get me noticed. Rather than making me want to wear it more, the makeover made me want to wear makeup even less. That boost of confidence I had from a face full of makeup was the confidence I wanted with my natural face. Shortly after, I met the man who would become my husband at a rave. He was attracted to me without makeup and liked me for who I really was. I was the first woman he dated who didn't wear makeup. He never gave me slack for it, even though he was occasionally surprised that I didn't wear it when we were going out. At our Christian wedding, I barely wore any makeup, and even at my traditional Indian wedding, I kept telling the person doing my makeup it was all too much. I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself on one of the most important days of my life. As I get older, I know I won't change my mind about makeup. Antiaging culture takes away the beauty of aging, even though it is just a normal process of life. I am wiser now. I know more. I make better decisions. I am proof of a life lived, and my skin shows that. I don't have to accept what media and society tell me growing old looks like. My skin will sag and become wrinkly, and that's OK. We're not immortal. I now have two sons, but if I ever have a daughter, I want to pass on what I inherited from my mom — a confidence and acceptance of my own, raw self, makeup-free. Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
20 hours ago
- Business Insider
I'm 39 and never wear makeup. I want to be accepted the way I naturally look.
Shubhangini Prakash is a 39-year-old whose mother never encouraged her to wear makeup. She dabbled with eyeliner and eye shadow in college, but has chosen not to wear makeup anymore. She thinks that going makeup-free makes her feel like her real self all the time. This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Shubhangini Prakash, founder and CEO of skincare line Feather and Bone. When I was around 6, my mom told me lipstick would stain my lips. I had asked her to help me put some on for the school play, and she refused. Instead, I asked my neighbor's mom to do it for me. The next morning, I looked in the mirror and remembered thinking my lips had changed color. I'm not sure whether they had, but it confirmed that my mom had been right. I never wore makeup again until I left the UK to start college in the US. In the UK, I felt confident without makeup, but not in the States. To fit in at college, I started wearing eye shadow and eyeliner. It felt like I was becoming a different character, not myself. I also found the products irritated my eyes. Since then, I've rarely worn makeup, including for my two weddings. I didn't get much attention when going to bars When I entered the workforce at 22, I stopped wearing makeup unless I was messing around and being silly with my friends. I wore nothing except a little lip gloss at work, out socializing, or on dates. I wanted to be accepted and respected for who I was, not because of the makeup put on my skin. On nights at bars with my friends, I didn't get the same attention as other women with dolled-up faces. I couldn't compete, but I would not wear makeup — I didn't feel 100% like myself with it on. I wanted to find a romantic partner who liked me, not some made-up version of me. If men don't have to wear makeup to attract a woman, why should a woman spend hours on her makeup for a man? I wanted to be seen as equal to a man, and not wearing makeup has become a way to channel that desire for equality. My now-husband never gave me a hard time about not wearing makeup At 30, I was getting ready to launch my business, and a makeup artist offered to provide me with a full makeover for a commercial I was working on. I'd never had a full face of makeup in my life. Walking around afterward, with concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick, I got all the looks from people I passed. It confirmed what I knew to be true — that makeup could get me noticed. Rather than making me want to wear it more, the makeover made me want to wear makeup even less. That boost of confidence I had from a face full of makeup was the confidence I wanted with my natural face. Shortly after, I met the man who would become my husband at a rave. He was attracted to me without makeup and liked me for who I really was. I was the first woman he dated who didn't wear makeup. He never gave me slack for it, even though he was occasionally surprised that I didn't wear it when we were going out. At our Christian wedding, I barely wore any makeup, and even at my traditional Indian wedding, I kept telling the person doing my makeup it was all too much. I wanted to look in the mirror and see myself on one of the most important days of my life. I'm OK with aging As I get older, I know I won't change my mind about makeup. Antiaging culture takes away the beauty of aging, even though it is just a normal process of life. I am wiser now. I know more. I make better decisions. I am proof of a life lived, and my skin shows that. I don't have to accept what media and society tell me growing old looks like. My skin will sag and become wrinkly, and that's OK. We're not immortal. I now have two sons, but if I ever have a daughter, I want to pass on what I inherited from my mom — a confidence and acceptance of my own, raw self, makeup-free.
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Iconic Champaign County native receiving posthumous award in Nashville
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — A woman originally from the Miami Valley is receiving a posthumous award in Nashville, Tennessee for her contributions to Christian and country music. During the 43rd Annual Sunday Mornin' Country at the Grand Ole Opry on June 8, Margo Smith will be posthumously inducted into the Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame. At the event, her daughter, Holly Watson, will accept on behalf of her mother. Smith was born in Mutual, Champaign County, as Bette Lou Miller in 1939. While in the area, she spent time as a kindergarten teacher and obtained a degree from Wittenberg University. Watson told that music came naturally to her mother. 'She always loved music and always sang in high school,' said Watson. 'She was in a little music group with a friend of hers and called themselves Corey and Sadie, the Apple Sisters, and they would wear like burlap sacks.' Smith believed she had more potential with singing after singing to her students. 'She would sing to her students, her little kids,' Watson said. 'When they would get really unruly, she would take out her ukulele and start singing and yodeling, and it just captured their attention and she kind of got them to behave and listen.' One of the places Smith started out with showing her talent professionally was at the Crystal Pistol on North Broad Street in Fairborn. When Smith was in her 30s, she headed to Nashville to try and make it as a singer-songwriter. She knocked on some of the agency doors, and eventually landed a recording contract. The artist had her name legally changed from Bette Lou to Margo when she signed her record deal, as she was told she couldn't use her own name in the country music world. 'Don't Break the Heart That Loves You,' 'It Only Hurts For a Little While' and 'Little Things That Mean a Lot' are some songs Smith was best-known for, according to Spotify. Smith has been featured on a number of national broadcasts of shows like 'Hollywood Squares,' 'Larry's Country Diner,' 'Pop! Goes the Country,' 'The Porter Wagoner Show' and others. In the 1990s, Watson joined her mother to become a Christian Country Duo called 'Margo Smith and Holly.' In 1994, they received Vocal Duo of the Year from the Christian Country Music Association. 'They didn't quite know what to do with our music because Christian country, it was a thing, but it hadn't become really popular,' said Watson. 'And so we were marketed in the Southern gospel sector.' Smith earned the name 'The Tennessee Yodeler' during her career, as she helped pave the way for music, especially yodeling. On Jan. 23, 2024, Smith passed away. Watson said she believes the award she is accepting for her mother would mean the world to her, as she adored her Ohio heritage. 'I think it would mean a tremendous amount to her just to be recognized by the people of Ohio, her home state, because, you know, we're all a product of we we are a product of our upbringing and and the places that we've lived and the experiences that we've had,' said Watson. According to Watson, receiving the award on behalf of her mother is something she is grateful to do to honor her mother's legacy. 'I'm just thrilled to be able to accept it on her behalf. And anything I can do to honor my mama and has people remember her,' said Watson. You can share memories of listening or even interacting with Smith here. To find various videos of Smith's performances, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
