What makes women beautiful?

Perempuan harus cantik?

Women should be beautiful?

Perempuan diukur dari keindahannya?

Women are valued by their beauty?

Perempuan diharuskan selalu tampil cantik?

Women are required to always appear beautiful at all time?

Keindahan identik dengan wanita?

Beauty is identic with women?

Bagaimana menurut kamu?

What do you think?

Setujukah dengan opini tersebut?

Do you agree with those opinions?

*  *  *  *  *

Setahun lalu saya pernah memotret peralatan makeup saya dan kemudian menjadikan foto itu sebagai status di beberapa medsos saya.

Last year I took picture of my makeup stuff and made that picture in few of my social media.

Saya juga melemparkan pertanyaan "Apa sih yang bikin perempuan cantik?".

I also gave this question "What makes women beautiful?"

Saya ingin apa kata teman-teman saya.

I wanted to know what my friends would say about it.

Jawaban yang masuk berbeda tapi intinya sih sama.

They gave me different answers but basically it's about same thing.

Perempuan cantik dari hati dan jiwanya

Women's beauty comes from their hearts and souls.

Kecantikan dari dalam yang memancar keluar dan terlihat dari wajahnya.

Inner beauty that shines out and it can be seen from the face.

Betul. Saya setuju.

That's right. I agree.

Perempuan bisa saja membuat siapa pun terpesona melihat wajahnya yang cantik jelita dengan atau tanpa riasan tapi janganlah lupa kalau ini hanyalah kertas pembungkusnya.

Women may make anyone spellbound by their beauty with or without makeup but let's not forget that it is just the wrapper.

Saya mengenal banyak perempuan cantik yang mukanya bisa bikin laki-laki tertarik dan perempuan jadi sirik habis-habisan.

I know many beautiful women whose face can attract men and make women jealous.

Tapi...

However...

Setelah kita melewatkan waktu dengan mereka maka akan terlihatlah bahwa kecantikan itu tidak lebih dari pembungkus luar.

Once we spend more time with them then we can see that beauty is nothing but wrapper.

Apakah yang ada di balik pembungkus itu?

What's underneath that wrapper?

*  *  *  *  *

Saya kenal seorang perempuan.

I know a lady.

Cantik. Tinggi. Langsing. Senyumnya manis. Suaranya lembut. Feminin. Pendidikannya baik. Mengajar satu kelas di tempat dia beribadah.

Pretty. Tall. Slim. Has pretty smile. Soft spoken. Feminine. Well educated. Teaches in a class at the place in a worship place.

Tidak sulit baginya untuk membuat orang menyukainya (terutama laki-laki).

It's not hard for her to make people to like her (especially men).

Tapi...

However..

Dia tidak suka pada saya sementara saya sama sekali tidak menyadarinya sampai suatu insiden terjadi...

She didn't like me and I wasn't aware of it until an incident happened.

Saya pernah membicarakan suaminya dengan orang lain tanpa menyebut "bapak". Saya hanya menyebut namanya saja.

I once talked about her husband with someone without inserting "Mr". I just called by his name.

Lalu ada yang mengadukan hal itu ke dia tanpa saya ketahui.

I didn't know someone told her about it.

Saya tidak tahu bunyi ceritanya bagaimana.

I didn't know what did that person tell her.

Saya tidak tahu orang itu membumbui apa saja dalam ceritanya.

I didn't know how that person spiced up the story.

Yang pasti perempuan ini jadi murka. Dia langsung lari mengadu ke atasan saya.

One thing for sure is it enraged that lady. She went straight to my bosses.

Saya telah melakukan suatu kesalahan besar menurutnya. Saya telah melakukan perbuatan tidak sopan. Dia mengadu agar saya dimarahi. Ditegur. Dipermalukan. Diharuskan meminta maaf padanya dan pada suaminya.

According to her, I've done a great mistake. I've committed a very impolite thing. She went to my bosses so they would scold me. Give me reprimand. Put me into shame. Forced me to apologize to her and to her husband.

Saya terheran-heran. Buat saya perkaranya sungguh tidak masuk akal.

It amazed me. The whole thing just didn't make sense.

Coba bayangkanlah, beberapa waktu lalu saya membaca artikel berita di Yahoo mengenai Pangeran Harry yang ingin dirinya dipanggil Harry saja. Tanpa embel-embel "Tuan" atau "Paduka yang mulia".

Imagine this, some time ago I read a news article on Yahoo about Prince Harry who wanted to be called just Harry. Without "Sir" or "Your highness".

Harry adalah seorang pangeran! Pangeran dari sebuah kerajaan yang besar di Eropa!

Harry is a prince! He is a prince from a big kingdom in Europe!

Seorang pangeran yang bisa lebih rendah hati dari rakyat jelata.

                                                                     Courtesy to CNN

A prince who have more humbleness than the commoners.

Benarlah bahwa segala sesuatu ditentukan dari apa yang ada dalam hati.

So it is true that everything determines by the heart.

Kalau hati dan pikiran terisi dengan hal-hal yang baik maka yang terpancar keluar akan sama.

When good things are in the heart and mind then they will come out as good things.

Perempuan bisa membungkus dirinya dengan amat sangat bagus.

Women can wrap themselves nicely.

Tapi jangan lupa bahwa itu hanyalah pembungkus luar.

But don't forget that it's just an outer wrapper.

*  *  *  *  *

Widih! Bu Keke sekarang sudah bisa dandan.

Oh wow! Miss Keke can put better makeup on her now.

Ebuset!

Whoa!

Saya cengar-cengir aja waktu mantan rekan guru jaman ngajar di Taman Kanak-Kanak dulu mengamati muka saya waktu kami reuni beberapa bulan lalu.

I just grinned when my former teacher in kindergarten studied my face. We had a reunion few months ago.

Padahal waktu kami ketemuan itu makeup saya tidak seperti kalau saya ngantor. Gimana kalau dia lihat muka saya kalau saya sudah dandan buat ngantor yak? Bisa tambah heboh dia. Hehe.

And it wasn't my makeup on workdays. I don't know how she would react if she saw my makeup for work. She would make more fuss over it. Haha.

Ok, waktu kami dulu sama-sama mengajar di TK, saya sama sekali tidak suka dandan. Modal saya cuma bedak dan lipstick.

Ok, when we both taught in kindergarten, I didn't like makeup. My makeup at that time were just powder and lipstick.

Sekarang beda, euuuyy..

It's different now..

Saya sebetulnya tidak suka dandan.

Actually, I don't like putting makeup on my face.

Tapi yah mau tidak mau harus dandan setelah lulus sekolah dan dapat kerja.

I have no choice to wear makeup after I graduated from school and got a job.

Cuma saya lupa kapan saya mulai belajar dandan.

Well, I forgot when I started self teaching myself how to do my own makeup.

Awalnya coba-coba. Lantas lihat makeup tutorial di Youtube.

It started by trying to do this and that. Followed by watching Youtube makeup tutorial videos.

Akhirnya ya nemuin aja cara dandan yang kayaknya sederhana dan gampang walau mungkin belum sempurna tapi ga masalah. Kan nanti pelan-pelan saya bisa belajar lagi.

Finally I found a way that I thought is simple and easy though it may not perfect but I can learn to improve it.

*  *  *  *  *

Pasti kelihatan bagus kalau difoto.

It will look great on photo.

Begitu kata teman saya waktu dia mendandani kami.

That's what my friend said when she put on makeup on our faces.

Beruntunglah saya punya teman yang bekerja sebagai tukang rias.

How lucky I am to have a friend who works as makeup artist.

Hari itu saya serta beberapa teman lainnya main ke rumahnya.

On that day few friends and I went to her house.

Bergantianlah kami diriasnya. Sekalian diajarinya bagaimana berdandan.

She put makeup on us. As she taught us how to do that.

Setelah giliran saya selesai...

After she was done with me..

Saya melihat ke cermin dan... Waaakk!!!

I looked at the mirror and... Awww!!!

Ya ampun! Alamak! Adoww!

OMG! My oh my! Dear!

Rasanya saya malu lihat muka sendiri di kaca.

I blushed when I see my own face on the mirror.

Semua bilang saya jadi cantik. Tapi yah, kenyataannya kami semua memang jadi kelihatan lebih cantik setelah didandanin.

Everyone said I become prettier. Well, the thing is we all look prettier after she worked on our faces.

Tapi mungkin karena ini bukan gaya dandan saya jadi rasanya pangling dan malu lihat muka sendiri di kaca.. hehehe..

But maybe because I didn't do all the makeup by myself I hardly recognized my own face when I saw it on the mirror and it made me kinda embarrassed too... hahaha..

Selain itu karena bedak dan lain-lainnya tidak memakai punya saya jadi di muka terasa beda. Rasanya lebih tebal. Jadi lebih terasa kalau muka pakai makeup. Itu bikin saya berasa agak kurang nyaman.

Since the powder and other makeup stuff are not mine they felt different on my face. It felt thicker. Made it felt there was a makeup on my face. It made me felt uncomfortable.

Saya perhatikan yang lain kok biasa-biasa aja. Dari awal malah mereka yang lebih semangat pengen didandanin sama teman kami.

I noticed the others didn't show any nervous signs. They even were excited about having our friend did our makeups.

Kemudian kami pergi ngemall. Iya dong.. masa sudah dandan cantik-cantik gini terus diam aja di rumah.

After that we went to the mall. Well.. you don't expect us to stay home after having put our makeups, do you?

Untunglah saya jalan sama mereka. Kalau sendiri mungkin tambah berasa aneh berkeliaran dengan muka yang rasanya bukan muka sendiri.

Good thing I was with them. I would feel more awkward if I had to walk outside with the face that felt like it wasn't my own face.

Penampilan kami jauh berbeda dengan waktu kami kumpul sebelumnya. Waktu itu masing-masing tampil dengan makeup gaya sendiri bahkan ada yang tidak dandan sama sekali.

We looked completely different when we got together before that. We were wearing our own makeup and one of us didn't even wear any makeup.

Makeup bisa bikin muka orang kelihatan beda. Teman kami si makeup artist itu misalnya. Muka aslinya beda banget sebelum dan sesudah didandanin. Nah, kalau yang cantik jadi makin cantik. Yang fotogenik kayak saya.. yah, pasti makin fotogenik dong... hehehe..

Makeup sure does make people look different. Our friend, that makeup artist, for example. She looks different with and without makeup. The pretty ones become prettier. While the photogenic like me.. well, become more photogenic of course.. hahaha..

*  *  *  *  *

Kalau ditanya apa saya mau tampil lagi dengan makeup seperti waktu saya didandanin teman saya itu maka jawaban saya pasti tidak.

If you ask me would I want to have same makeup as the one my friend did to my face then my answer is no.

Kecuali kalau saya nikah.

Except when I get married.

Soalnya dandan model gitu tidak menampilkan pribadi saya.

The thing is that kind of makeup doesn't show me as me.

Walau pun menjadikan saya kelihatan jadi lebih cantik.

Though it makes me look prettier.

Mungkin karena saya tidak biasa dandan.

Maybe because I am not really good at makeup.

Mungkin juga karena saya bukan tipe yang suka dandan.

Maybe because I am not the type of person who is into makeup.

Mungkin karena saya lebih suka menampilkan diri saya apa adanya. Kalau pun dipoles sana sini ya itu masih dalam takaran yang wajar sehingga membuat saya merasa nyaman.

Maybe because I prefer to appear as me. When coverage is needed it is in natural portion so it makes me feel comfortable.

Teman saya bilang dandanan cuma buat supaya kita tidak kelihatan pucat atau seperti baru bangun tidur.

My friend said makeup is to make us not look pale or look like as if we were just awake.

Teman saya yang lain bilang supaya muka jadi kelihatan segar.

Another friend said to make the face looks fresh.

Tapi ada orang yang benar-benar hilang percaya diri kalau harus tampil tanpa dandanan.

But certain women lost their confident when they have to appear without makeup.

Mungkin karena makeup memang benar-benar menyulap muka mereka dari yang kurang bagus jadi amat sangat bagus.

Maybe because makeup really change their face from not stunning into a drop dead beauty.

Perempuan tipe begini tentu saja malu kalau orang melihat muka asli mereka.

These women are embarrassed to let people see their real face.

Mereka tidak lagi peduli pada pendapat bahwa kecantikan itu datangnya dari dalam hati dan jiwa.

They no longer care to the saying that beauty comes from the heart and soul.

Tanpa makeup mereka tidak merasa memiliki keindahan.

Without makeup they feel they don't have that beauty.

Jadi mereka menghabiskan banyak waktu, tenaga dan uang demi bisa menyulap muka, tubuh dan penampilan mereka agar secantik peri.

So they spend lots of time, energy and money to make their faces, bodies and appearances look as beautiful as fairies.

Dalam tingkat yang ekstrim ada yang sampai bela-belain operasi plastik.

Some even take extreem move to get plastic surgery done to their faces. 

Yang penting cantik ga peduli itu palsu.

Most important thing is it makes them beautiful though it's fake.

Kasihan ya.

Such a pity.

Betul tapi yah begitulah hasilnya kalau orang sudah dikuasai oleh keinginan, kecemasan atau ketakutan.

Indeed but that's show what it's like when people have been overcome by desire, anxiety or fear.

Akal logika sudah tidak berfungsi.

When logic can no longer work.

*  *  *  *  *

Jadi apa yang salah sebetulnya?

So what goes wrong here?

Saya pikir karena dari dulu perempuan dianggap sebagai mahluk yang harus tampil lemah lembut, feminin dan cantik.

I think because women have always seen as gentle, feminine and beautiful creature.

Segala keindahan diidentifikasikan dengan wanita.

Every beauty aspect is identified with women.

Akhirnya kaum perempuan menganggap dunia hanya mau menerima mereka berdasarkan kualitas tersebut.

Eventually it makes women think this world accept only those who can fit into those qualities.

Di luar itu mereka takut disisihkan.

If they can make themselves fit into those qualities they are afraid they won't be accepted.

Mereka tidak mau ditolak.

They don't want to be rejected.

Apalagi ketika mereka melihat bahwa perempuan-perempuan yang memang terlahir cantik atau yang bisa menyulap wajahnya menjadi cantik mendapatkan lebih banyak kemudahan dalam pergaulan atau dalam pekerjaan.

Especially after they see that those who are born beautiful or those who can change their faces to look beautiful can get more privilages in socializing or at work.

Dan mereka pun melupakan bahwa kecantikan tidaklah dinilai sedangkal itu.

And so they forget that beauty is not valued so shallow like that.