I am writing about my interest in makeup, does that sound shallow?
It could… I mean, if you were interested in becoming a chemist so you could work on makeup formulas or something like that, it might tweak an admissions officers interest. Or if you get a kick out of doing makeup for theater productions, might work. Or if you’d turned it into a small business doing kids parties with a makeup component. But just… being interested in makeup? It does come across as shallow.
My daughter had a friend who developed an interest in really complex makeup, like for movies. Her work as a young teenager was absolutely incredible. I think that would make an amazing essay. So it really depends ends on the context and how you write it.
I get the impression OP means ordinary makeup. OP needs to ask herself (or himself) how an interest in makeup will impress adcoms. If you’re applying anywhere competitive, will this make them interested in what you add to the class?
Watch out this doesn’t come across as too vocational.
I think this topic could be written about by a 17-18 year old kid, and would sound genuine. Admissions officers at all levels want to read about YOU in the personal essay. Don’t worry about what the tangential topic is, but instead please remember to have someone else read it and give you feedback.
I will never forget the admissions officer at Pomona who raved about a recent essay she read about a kid learning to drive. It doesn’t matter what the essay is about, if you can convey something about who you are, making them want you to come attend their school.
I would bet that an essay like that would have gotten Elle Woods into college, or even Law School. 
You could talk about the impact that it had on you as a person and what it really means to you
IMHO, yes. Honestly, make-up? To me, make up is something that covers who you are. I think an essay should show who you are.
I agree - it does remind me of Elle Woods! I love that movie but in reality…I’m sure there’s something better in your wheelhouse.
I am a makeup artist. I love makeup. I always have. People think makeup is shallow but the reality is quite different. There is a zen moment, a catharsis, a revelation when you apply makeup to yourself and others. It’s transfomative, it can take you to a different place. I would also think about how people react to makeup. It’s relationship to culture in general. It’s a personal expression of one’s self. Every person on earth presents themselves to the world in a certain way. Makeup is part of that exterior we show to the world. It’s a very deep topic regarding person, philosophy and culture. If you do it right, it can be done.
I have no problem with your topic. I firmly believe a kid can write an essay about anything. One essay that still sticks in my mind was the girl who wrote about her nightlight. Right now, one of my students is writing about why she doesn’t enjoy showers. It’s all in the delivery.
If you are simply writing about why you enjoy make up, and it’s all telling and no showing, you might not have a compelling essay. You also need to ensure your personality comes through. This is not an academic essay. It’s not being graded. It’s a essay with a goal: for the AO to read it and think “I like this person. Admit.”
I think this can be fun but also have risk of sounding shallow if you do it wrong. Like, what makes you intersted in make up? Do you view make up as a form of art? or do you want to be a businesswoman in a make up industry? Or chemistry in it? You have to try to connect to your career goal even if things may chance in the future.
Google “Hacking the College Essay 2017” and read it.
Write the Essay No One Else Could Write
“It boils down to this: the essay that gets you in is the essay that no other applicant could write.
Is this a trick? The rest of this guide gives you the best strategies to accomplish this single
most important thing: write the essay no one else could write.
If someone reading your essay gets the feeling some other applicant could have written it,
then you’re in trouble.
Why is this so important? Because most essays sound like they could have been written by
anyone. Remember that most essays fail to do what they should: replace numbers (SAT/GPA) with the real you.
Put yourself in the shoes of an admissions officer. She’s got limited time and a stack of
applications. Each application is mostly numbers and other stuff that looks the same. Then she picks
up your essay. Sixty seconds later, what is her impression of you? Will she know something specifically
about you? Or will you still be indistinguishable from the hundreds of other applicants she has been
reading about?”
Just don’t let the reaction be, “What the *@# was this one thinking?” It’s for a college app.
The more competitive the college, the more the essay needs to be relevant to what they want to see that matters for their class. This isn’t free topic in your writing class. If you were asking for a summer job and needed to write something, would it be about make up?
Lol, I hope the shower essay doesn’t make it seem this kid needs accommodations in the dorm.
I’ve seen an essay about makeup published after the author was accepted to MIT. So it’s totally possible.
Your essay should never be about makeup. If you are using makeup as an example of how you think differently than other people or are more creative, it could work. Just make sure that you describe something that you are not cliche and use specific interactions in your essay.
I’m not sure a lot of those self submitted wacky essays that supposedly worked are real. And we see them totally out of the context of an app/supp. Sure, there are also kids who write about their fluffy puppy.
The issue isn’t some kid or two who claims to get in. It’s making your own sensible effort. Be wise.