This very idea contributed to junior Naomi Mhamunkar discovering her passion for makeup in middle school. Mhamunkar states how she had an obsession with art back then and began dabbling with makeup after realizing that because it was temporary and could be washed off, she had more leeway to experiment with it compared to other art forms like painting or sculpting. 

Both Mhamunkar and World Literature and Mythology teacher Megan Choate say that makeup can also be used as a way of self expression. Since Choate attended a Catholic middle school where wearing makeup was prohibited, her interest in makeup only began in high school. 

“I went to high school, and then I had all this freedom of what I could wear, and I could wear makeup,” Choate said. “Even just putting on eyeliner and going to school was different than [what I could do] when I was in middle school.”

For Mhamunkar, makeup allowed her to connect more with her feminine side, particularly in the eighth grade. Mhamunkar, a trans woman, says that even before transitioning, she always believed it was important for men to be in touch with their feminine side.

“Back then, I did identify as a gay man, and I was really trying to show that men can wear makeup too — this isn’t something that only a woman can wear,” Mhamunkar said. “But I also did that by not wearing traditionally feminine looks because we need to break those boundaries of tradition. Makeup is so much more than just accentuating your beauty. [Because] while that has been what it’s diminished to, it can just so much more. And limiting it to one gender, that’s not helping and is constricting us as a society.” 

Mhamunkar’s makeup began as extravagant face paintings and decorative patterns across her face, but she soon began using it to complement her physical traits. 

“I like to do my makeup because I like to enhance my features,” Mhamunkar said. “Obviously, while I believe that my face alone is beautiful, I believe that there are certain things that I can do, like simply just putting on my winged eyeliner or putting on some lip gloss. [Those are] small things that can get me more noticed. It also can help with trans-dysphoria [since it] can just help make me feel more comfortable in my face, [and] that really helps a lot.”