Faces 

By Lauren Lee and Lillian Patterson

“Faces” is about the way young women view themselves in a world that presents a single standard of beauty. These lyrics push back against those barriers and question the value systems from which they originate.

Five pretty girls
Their eyes glued to their faces
All think they’re ugly
All compare their faces

With the most delicate of hand
They take their black liners
Dash them across soft skin
Above, below as though they are designers 

They paint a picture
Big eyes and big lips
They want thin waists
And Kardashian hips

I don’t need no faces
I’m embracing, they’ve no basis on me
No faces, can’t erase me, you’ll see

Even with makeup 
They still see blemishes
Nobody can give them confidence
Watch as their makeup diminishes

With each dab, each smear, each line
They all become a little more the same
Blended into one idea of beauty
They’re all chasing fame
But that's just the minds of girls in the city

They paint a picture
Big eyes and big lips
They want thin waists
And Kardashian hips

I don’t need no faces
I’m embracing, they’ve no basis on me
No faces, can’t erase me, you’ll see
Oh darling you’re pretty
You’re more than enough
There's more than just faces
I know that it's tough

Oh darling you’re strong
Need no mask to protect you
You need good thoughts in your head
That makeup won’t change you

They paint a picture
Big eyes and big lips
They want thin waists
And Kardashian hips 

I don’t need no faces
I’m embracing, they’ve no basis on me
No faces, can’t erase me, you’ll see

I want to throw my brush away
Forgot what they always say
Don’t care what people say

Process

“Faces” was first conceived as a written exploration of a photograph called “High School Seniors,” an image shot by famed photographer Lauren Greenfield. In its first iteration, the writing took the form of two poems, which we wrote individually. We shared the two poems, discussed them, kept the parts we both felt confident with and began to transform the merged poems into lyrics. We employed the use of rhyme, edited for flow and then delved back in to create a chorus and a bridge. “Faces” did not reach its final form until we composed and mixed the music that would accompany the lyrics. This was a new process for us both, but over the span of five weeks we were able to produce a song that we felt proud of given this was our very first composition. We both hope that “Faces” provokes questions about Western standards of beauty and the importance of embracing all that makes us individuals.