Teens Snub Makeup in Message Against Perfection

Colleyville High School students pledge to go without cosmetics every Tuesday

Hundreds of girls are Colleyville Heritage High School say that less is more.

Inspired by OperationBeautiful.com, senior Samantha Gibbs and some her friends decided help redefine beauty at their school by not wearing makeup.

"The easiest way, we thought, was to ask the girls not wear makeup once a week because at our school there's, like, this image of perfection that you feel you have to be," senior Caroline Tessler said.

The pact between friends is now a 200-member organization that continues to grow every day.

 Members wear shirts that say "redefining beautiful, one face at a time" every Tuesday and go to school with a bare face.

"It was weird, because some people were like, 'Are you OK? Are you sick?'" Tessler said.

"People in the hallway were, like, 'Why are you not wearing makeup? Ewww,'" Gibbs said. "But once there were a bunch of girls on board with it, it just became the norm."

Participants say the pressure to be perfect is too much for girls their age.

"You look in the mirror and you say, 'I need to change this, I need to change that,' but you don't," junior Nina Smith said.

The girls say their moratorium on makeup has become a testament of confidence and empowerment.

"You just have to be comfortable with yourself, because that's what really makes a girl beautiful," Gibbs said.

Tessler said she is getting to know new people through the group.

"I see that they are wearing the T-shirt on Tuesday and it just, when we lock eye contact, I have the knowledge that we both stand for something," she said. "It kind of has brought all the girls together that would never known each other otherwise."

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