On January 19 of this year, I stopped wearing foundation. I was scared of how people would react - I work in a very image-conscious industry, and as someone who would prefer to be in a sweater and leggings all day every day, I worried that not wearing a full face of makeup would make me look less polished, less put-together, and less professional.
Everything came to a head in early January. When I'm just going into the office and not seeing clients, my typical look is dress pants, a nice shirt, and a cardigan or blazer. When I'm going to court, a deposition, or a mediation, I dress up more. At that time, I was going to two depositions a day. My limited number of matching suits were working overtime and I was struggling with the time it took to put on makeup every morning. I kept thinking of my male co-workers and felt this rage bubbling up inside me. While I was taking an hour or so to get ready every morning, all my male colleagues had to do was brush their hair and put on a suit. It felt extremely unfair, particularly as someone who wouldn't put nearly this much time into her appearance on a "normal" day.
