World · East Asia & Pacific · 3 hrs ago
Japanese teen spends up to 2.5 hours on makeup to feel confident
A 17-year-old in Japan spends up to two and a half hours on makeup before facing the day.
Misaki, a pseudonym, lives in Hyogo Prefecture and says makeup helps her feel confident around other people.
She uses eyelid tape, concealer, eye makeup, face-shading and colored contact lenses to get closer to the look she wants.
Social media selfies first made her question her appearance when she was in sixth grade, though she knew some images were edited.
She says teasing by classmates about her height later made her feel that everything about her looked strange.
She stopped going to school during her second year of junior high, then returned the following year with high school entrance exams in mind.
Her experience shows how idealized beauty can undermine young people's confidence, but no further developments are given.
A 17-year-old high school student in Hyogo Prefecture spends up to two and a half hours on makeup before facing other people.
Misaki, a pseudonym, says makeup helps her feel confident.
She says exposure to beauty ideals on social media first made her worry about her appearance in sixth grade.
She uses makeup and other techniques to create features she sees as closer to the popular ideal of beauty.
She stopped going to school during her second year of junior high school after feeling mocked and self-conscious.
- Who
- Misaki, a 17-year-old high school student in Hyogo Prefecture.
- What
- She spends up to two and a half hours applying makeup to feel confident around other people.
- When
- The article was published on Oct. 31, 2026. A photograph shows her applying makeup on Aug. 25, 2026.
- Where
- Hyogo Prefecture, Japan.
- Why
- She says makeup helps her feel confident, amid pressure from beauty ideals she sees in media and on social media.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Misaki says she first became conscious of her appearance after seeing selfies on Twitter, now X.
Classmates teased her about her height, and she began to feel that people were watching and laughing at her.
She stopped being able to go to school.
She returned to school with high school entrance exams in mind.
A photograph showed Misaki applying eye makeup in Hyogo Prefecture.
- Age
- 17
- Makeup routine
- Up to 2.5 hours
- Location
- Hyogo Prefecture, Japan
- Photo date
- Aug. 25, 2026
- Publication date
- Oct. 31, 2026
1 source
What people are saying
Makeup is like equipment for appearing in front of people with confidence
I'm trying hard to get closer to what everyone calls 'cute'
There are girls this cute?
My eyes are small and slant upward; my nose isn't sharp; and I've got a long midface (the central part of the face)