By Jackie Brubaker, Lipstick and Politics Contributor
As a professional makeup artist I was recently intrigued watching singer-songwriter Colbie Calliat’s new music video,“Try.” In it she sings about women and the pressure to look beautiful.
The video begins with a number of women and girls ranging in age from their mid-teens all the way into their 60’s being filmed with full hair and makeup on. They begin to lip sync the words to the song along with Colbie, “Put your makeup on, get your nails done… Run the extra mile so you stay slim so they like you… Do you like you?”
As the video continues Colbie, along with the other women, slowly pull out their hair extensions, fake eyelashes and wipe off their makeup until their faces are completely clean. One woman pulls off her wig to illustrate that losing her hair from cancer doesn’t mean she needs to hide who she really is, regardless of how she might look right now.
Colbie collaborated with songwriting master Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds who encouraged her to write about the incessant need women seem to have to become something they’re not.
Being a celebrity makeup artist I know all too well the pressure placed on artists to look amazing even when they’re fighting the flu, going through a divorce, a death in the family or simply suffering from lack of sleep from a late night of shooting.
Then again, isn’t that every woman? Aren’t we always expected to give our all no matter what’s happening in our lives? We’re all expected to be beautiful and if we’re not, we’re somehow not enough.
Yesterday, as I started filming a series of beauty tutorials and I started the first video without a stitch of makeup on my face. Nothing. Some could say that’s “brave.” Some would say they could never do that for anyone, much less a YouTube audience to see. But, I didn’t see it that way. Just like Colbie, I believe we don’t have to try so hard.
Women radiate when they’re happy. They glow and no amount of makeup used as a security blanket is going to change everything going on inside. We all have personal issues and struggles that we’re dealing with regarding our appearance. But, when you understand how to better enhance the features of your face, the texture of your hair and the shape of your body it can certainly help to quiet that inner critic in all of us as time goes by. Sometimes a little guidance with the outside can be just what the inside needs.
With that said, I’m so excited to share with you my new beauty tutorial series that I’m calling Shine Tutorials. I’ll teach you everything from how to choose the right foundation to how to create a fantasy halloween look. In every tutorial you’ll ultimately learn how to do your makeup while becoming inspired to let the real you “shine” through.
Check out Colbie Calliat’s video, “Try” below and keep checking back for my Shine Tutorials which are coming soon!
Jackie Brubaker is a L.A. native residing in West Hollywood. She is a songwriter for other artists including herself having released two records, Jackie Brubaker and The Ex-Boyfriends and her latest, Home in March 2013. She has currently finished her first novel which chronicles the 30-life-crisis of the Generation Y. She openly admits she may know a thing or two about it.
You can read more about her www.jackiebrubaker.com