Faces of U.Va

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University students craft their own facades through makeup and personal expression.

As they’re lounging on the Lawn, jostling their way down to the Corner, scribbling notes in class or letting loose on the dance floor, students at the University balance a multitude of selves. The balance of the individual and collective is a delicate case on a college campus. The University is often known for its respect for tradition and conformity to trends, but even at a prestigious, high-pressure institution, students at the University are always finding ways to express their individuality. 

Many students at the University express their senses of self through their faces. Some opt for the “clean” aesthetic, focusing on flawless skincare, while others go for a more grungey look — maybe with some smudged eyeliner and a dark lip. There are some students who go all-out with goth or clown makeup and many who practice a rotation of these styles depending on what scene they are visiting on any given day. 

Hoos Fits is the student-run group that searches for, documents and exhibits the fashion scene at the University. They frequent locations where students have been known to exhibit their most confident, creative selves to explore and take photos. Third-year nursing student Mita Ukani is the Photography Director for Hoos Fits and an avid participant in the alternative makeup scene at the University.

“I was really afraid to [express alternative style] at first, because I wanted to fit in as a first-year,” Ukani said. “But I just realized that it doesn’t really matter, that I should just do what I want.” 

Ukani went on to say that she has noticed more and more people wearing the same alternative style that she was apprehensive of expressing at first. She attributes this growth to students becoming more confident with style choices as they spend more time at the University and become more comfortable with themselves. 

“It’s been really awesome seeing that,” Ukani said.

An artist for over thirteen years, she says that she was totally unwilling to sacrifice her love for creative makeup just because she had moved out of a large city to attend the University here in Charlottesville. Now, not only does she curate her own makeup, but she also scouts fashionable Hoos to feature on the social media for Hoos Fits. As photography director, she is on the front lines when it comes to exploring and reporting visual trends around students at the University.

“We like to just take photos of people who are wearing stuff that makes them most comfortable,” Ukani said. “And that's not always going to be the most fashionable thing, but it's what the people at U.Va. are wearing, and we're trying to represent what people here are wearing.”

Noel Sierra Hernandez, fourth-year College student and Vice President of Hoos Fits, made it clear that Hoos Fits notices the more intense makeup trends of students creating a face for themselves as well.

“That's a huge thing for us, is just when people put on makeup, and they're not afraid to implement it with their clothes, or really just go all out with it,” Hernandez said. “It's always so awesome to see.” 

Hernandez is no simple bystander when it comes to expressive makeup, either. He is happy to get in on the action, especially on a night out with friends.

“It just feels like it's a bit empowering because I feel like it's not traditionally seen as something I'm supposed to do,” Hernandez said. “When people, especially men, go out and wear makeup, you get some looks either way. If you’re doing corpse makeup, regardless of gender, you’re going to get a lot of looks.”

While many students use makeup to create striking looks for night life and photoshoots, this is not the only way that the faces of the University present themselves. Second-year College student Sofie Niebuhr turns self-expression inwards. She uses makeup and mindful skincare to cultivate a more intimate, personal relationship with her skin.

“I'm not doing it for anyone else but me,” Neibuhr said. “I mean, I'm just doing it purely for me and to wake myself up and to feel put together and feel good about myself.”

One of her main uses for makeup is to create a routine for herself that makes her feel ready for her ever-busy days as a University student.

“I feel so cute and put-together when I do a full face,” Niebuhr said. “But even when I don't do a full face, I think it's less about the makeup aspect. Every morning, when I'm getting ready, it's just me signaling to myself ‘I'm getting up and ready for the day.’”

Niebuhr’s evening face routine is also a time for her to signal to herself that a transition is occurring.

“I think it's just a switch in my brain when I put on a face mask at the end of the night that the office is closed for the day,” Niebuhr said.

A “clean” look won’t cut it for students like second-year College student Libby Richey, though. 

“Whenever I have the most colors on my person, that's how I feel the most like myself in a way and the most confident,” Richey says.

Richey likes to tell a story with her face. She sees her face as a canvas and makeup as the means to create a piece of artwork. She has turned her face into a petri dish, a clown face and even once painted her face as an apple, inspired by the saying “apple of your eye.” 

For people with makeup this expressive, finding places where their faces will be accepted and celebrated can be a sometimes-difficult task. However, there is a resounding answer for any alternative makeup practicers out there: house shows.

As a Hoos Fits Vice President always searching for expressive students, Hernandez knows these spaces well.

“Places like 1ndieheads and like WXTJ, the radio station, it's those clubs where a lot of those smaller groups collect,” Hernandez said. “And it makes for a great environment for the purpose of thriving as yourself.”

Like Hernandez, Richey was quick to say that house shows, among other alternative spaces, are a go-to for people whose identities are best expressed with eye-catching makeup looks. She described why she feels that this is the case.

“I think, mostly the alternative spaces, or spaces with a lot of queer people, a lot of POC, people are used to feeling like they're different,” Richey said. “Especially at U.Va, where it's mostly white, straight people, they're used to feeling different. So when someone comes along and looks objectively a little bit crazy, they're like, well, this is kind of the space for them.” 

Whether it is for alternative looks — the clowns, the goths — or for simple personal care and pleasure, makeup helps University students to build and define themselves, either for their own benefit or to express themselves to others. Regardless of how it is used or what impact students are looking to have with the facades they create, makeup is a fundamental part of student culture and is here to stay. 

“You can bury me with my lip liner,” Neibuhr said.