24-year-old Melanie Murphy has struggled with acne for a decade. “Growing up with an acne problem was extremely hard on me,” she says. “I was bullied, I was insecure, and I felt alone … I felt inadequate.”
“I felt like I could not hide what was on my face. I wanted to be the confident girl.”
“And for me, I found confidence when I found cosmetics.”
By spending a few minutes putting on makeup before leaving the house, Melanie says, “I could alter the entire course of my day, and how I would feel about myself all day, which bled into every other facet of my life.”
And she doesn't see using makeup as a form of hiding, or of deceit. "It is there to enhance our natural features and to make us feel good about ourselves. That is what this life is all about.”
Makeup is empowering, says Murphy. And “we should do anything that makes us feel happy, confident, and beautiful.”
