High School Bans Makeup and Removes Mirrors

I'm pretty minimalistic when it comes to makeup. I'll tell you what though, I look like a freak without mascara; with blonde-tipped lashes, it's just mandatory. I don't think I'd take it too well if any authority figure told me I couldn't wear makeup-- especially back  in high school, when I first realized my eyelash problem. Recently, a high school in Britian did ban makeup and even went so far as to take the mirrors out of the girl's bathrooms. 

Shelley College, a co-ed public high school in northern England, removed the mirrors from the girl's bathrooms back in May.  School authorities felt the girls were spending too much time primping, touching up, and generally hanging out in the loo.

The makeup ban followed shortly after when some teachers began to challenge students with heavy makeup for ignoring the school's "discreet makeup" policy.

Head teacher, John McNally told TODAY Moms : “The makeup ban is about getting girls to focus on what’s important in school, which is learning and not being distracted with makeup and wanting to check it all the time. The mirror ban is to break a cycle where social groups started to emerge in the bathroom.”

Now that school is back in session, officials are checking girl's faces daily and supplying makeup removal products for those who break the rules.

As to be expected, not all students are happy with the policy. Emily Stonehouse, 14,  told the Daily Mail "Before the ban I’d wear foundation, mascara and eyeliner, now I don’t wear any. It is a bit unfair. I do believe too much make-up can be a distraction but so too can too little.”

I think Emily makes a good point. Seriously, no concealer? Wouldn't a giant red zit be more distracting than a little cover-up? I"m just saying.

When I think back to high school, I remember a lot of time being spent in the bathroom. Staring at ourselves and talking crap was kind of a bonding time, and really, how much did it take away from our studies?  I also remember going through a period of wearing way too much makeup, stuff I'd never dream of now, even on my fanciest evening-- lip liner, 5 different eye shadows at once, rouge (yeah, not even gonna call it blush, this stuff was so thick, it was definitely "rouge"). But eventually I realized I looked like a drag queen and cut the makeup way back. That was a choice I made however, not something school authorities mandated.

What do you think? Is the school taking it too far, or in the effort to cut back on teen vanity, are they on the right track?