Recently, Annie Garau, a 20-year-old college student from Indiana, shook up the internet with her bold vow to abstain from makeup for a year.
Upon first reading about her mission, we were shocked by her expressions of distaste for aspects of her appearance. She is, in every aspect, an almost perfect embodiment of conventional beauty. What are we doing incorrectly as a culture when an intelligent, gorgeous young woman picks apart her “thin lips?”
We recently contacted Garau to get to the bottom of her project. And, of course, to give her kudos on being so fearless in the face of the judge-y world in which we live.
You can follow Garau's journey on her blog and on Twitter: @agarau6. Our large photo showcases Annie with makeup, the ones below illuminate her beauty sans products. With all that natural beauty—we can scarcely see a difference!
Where are you from originally? What are you studying?
I'm from Indianapolis. I'm majoring in journalism and international studies. I love to write and I hope I can incorporate that into some sort of nonprofit work. There are so many things I want to do that it's hard to decide!
What were your expectations and goals going into this project?
My initial goals for this project were personal. I wanted to build my own confidence and stop putting so much thought into my appearance. I have definitely accomplished both of those things in just the first 200 days. What I didn't expect was how much other women would relate to what I was thinking and doing. It's really been amazing to see how many women have had the same insecurities and feelings about the beauty culture in our society.
I have to ask: do you see physical differences in your skin?
Yes! I have gotten fewer breakouts and I haven't had any major zits since winter. Because I knew I couldn't use cover up, I started drinking more water and using moisturizer and I can definitely see the difference in my skin.
You note that people don’t focus on the appearance of others as much as you orginally thought. Why do you think this is?
Of course we all pay more attention to ourselves than anyone else does. I've always been my harshest critic and I think a lot of girls are the same way. When I started this experiment, I began asking other people what they noticed about my appearance. I realized how much I had over-dramatized my superficial flaws and their impact on how others perceived me.
“When women repeatedly look in the mirror and tell themselves that they are not good enough, how can we gain the confidence needed to become Senators and CEOs?” You wrote this in your blog. Why do you think this is the case? What can we do—nationwide—to assuage these doubts in our gender?
This is a hard question! There are so many different components that contribute to women's insecurities. I think the biggest steps we can take as individuals is making a conscious decision to spend less time worrying about our appearances, spend less time talking about appearances and also accepting compliments when they're given to us instead of arguing that we don't deserve the praise.
What are you perceptions of sexism in America?
I know that America is much more progressive than a lot of countries in terms of women's rights, but we still have a long way to go. When I Iived in Kenya I had men blatantly tell me that I was not equal to them because I was a woman. I was shocked when a friend of my boyfriend told me that he felt the same way. I think a lot of people don't realize how prevalent sexism still is in America because it's usually not obvious. But when we're getting paid less, harassed on the street and denied family planning methods, there's a definite problem.
How have your friends, family and co-workers recacted to your project?
It's kind of funny, my family didn't really think it was a big deal until the project started getting so much attention. They just thought it was another one of those weird things I do. Everyone who really loves me hasn't paid much attention to what my face looks like. And my editors at the paper had no idea until I told them. The only real differences I've seen in how people treat me has been with guys at big frat parties.
My girlfriends are all supportive of what I'm doing, but none of them wanted to try it with me, even just for a week. So many people have been commenting that not wearing makeup isn't a big deal and they're right! But it's a huge deal to a lot of girls and that's a problem.