Is putting on makeup every day for school the norm?

[lesliexanita]

Hello, we are from overseas and my daughter will be boarding in uk for year 10. What I have heard from my friend, who had moved to the uk earlier, is that her daughter's classmates (her dd is same age as mine) all put on makeup for school every day! I'm not saying if this is a particularly good or bad thing, it's just that this is quite different from in hk, where no one is allowed makeup in school. My daughter (probably at this age) would certainly not bother with putting on makeup, with exceptions to very special occasions. So I s this the norm in uk? Just curious.

[SirChenjin]

As with everything in life it depends on the person - some girls in my DDS high school wear make up every day (and that varies from a bit of tinted lip gloss and mascara to the full on drag queen look, and everything in between) ), some girls don't. Just like some women wear make up every day and others don't.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Well, I think it rather depends on the school. Some ban it outright and stick to that rigidly, some turn a blind eye to subtle make-up. I don't know any schools that allow a full face of make-up below sixth form, but on one of those tv programmes set in a "challenging" school, full make-up did seem to be allowed. Ds goes to a day and boarding school and no girls below sixth form wear make-up.

[AlpacaLypse]

Looking at the lower school girls at the very well known public school in this town, when they're out and about in uniform, I think they are not allowed make-up, and if they do wear it it's so subtle it doesn't look like anything's there. The sixth form girls do seem to wear some, but I suspect they get told to go and wash if it's too garish.

The state school officially bans make up until year nine and will send you to wash your face if it's too OTT. However they all seem to use it from year 8 onwards in that sheep like way adolescents have.

[AnxiousCarer]

We were not allowed make up at school until year 12. Girls would be sent to wash it off and could end up in detetion if it was a regular thing. Our charming form tutor also used to stand the girls ag the front of the class and call them names e.g. slapper, strumpet. Left me with a bit of a complex about wearing make up tbh.

[3Eggses]

I wore orange foundation makeup daily from year 8 onwards. We didn't have any strict rules on this. We did have rules about piercings, hair dye and smoking which I often ignored

[memyselfandaye]

3Eggses Me too, at 14 (in 1988 and 89) I had far too many piercings, electric blue eyeliner, frosted pink lipstick and we all smoked at school, the teachers did'nt care.

Every corridor that had a toilet block stank of smoke, we were never told off.

[Eminybob]

I wore makeup to school every day in the 90's
I fondly remember a silver eyeliner than was a favourite.

[Laniakea]

dd's school have a complete ban (also no piercings at all allowed, including earrings). It is strictly applied in the lower years, they are a bit more relaxed in years 10 & 11. No eye makeup or lipstick but them seem okay with foundation & blusher as long as it is actually skin coloured! DD (y11) wears it probably 2-3 days a week, but didn't at all until last year.

[SirChenjin]

Challeging schools???! I can assure you that DDS school is not 'challenging', nor was the one I went to in 80s where blue eyeliner, heavy blusher and frosted pink lipstick was the order of the day. Funnily enough, it didn't seem to stop us gaining degree and pretty decent jobs. Do try not to stereotype.

[SirChenjin]

Challenging

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Was that a stereotype?? I don't think referring to one school on one programme can be using a stereotype? No conclusions were drawn.

And, yes, in the eighties most of us wore some make up if we could get away with it. You couldn't at my school, though: head of year with a drawer of cotton wool and make-up remover was standard.

[SirChenjin]

Absolutely stereotyping - 'on one of those tv programmes about 'challenging' schools full make up is allowed' indeed. I'm jolly glad to hear that you aren't drawing any conclusions about full make up being something of a feature of challenging schools though, because that would be very silly.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Well I didn't. Just never seen make-up allowed at any school I have physical knowledge of, including challenging schools, but in other areas it obviously is, because I saw it on TV...

[SirChenjin]

Indeed.

[RalphSteadmansEye]

And you'll note I said "it rather depends on the school" (not the "type of school") because the previous poster suggested it was up to the individual; I countered that it was up to the individual school rule...

[Celticlassie]

In the school I work in most girls in the upper years wear make up every day, and the numbers go down as you go down through the years. There's not so much of the 'orange foundation and tidemarks' look though - I find that the girls tend to do their make up very well - much better than me!

[MrsJayy]

Some schoolls allow it some don't some girls wear it some don't there are no rules I can't remember age of year 10 is it 15? When mine were that age 1 wore make up 1wasnt that fussed. Our school had a cotton wool drawer with witch hazel at the nurses office where you were told to get that muck off your face I'd have loved to have worn my blue eyeliner and heather shimmer lippy to school

[SirChenjin]

That previous poster was me, talking about my DDS school.

[Sadik]

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/secondary/2735521-Is-putting-on-makeup-every-day-for-school-the-norm

[RalphSteadmansEye]

Sorry, hadn't noticed.

[Lancelottie]

Here the official wording is 'No makeup is allowed. The exception is a light application of skin-coloured foundation or concealer.'

That seems quite kind, actually, to the spottier child.

DD (whitish shade of pale, no visible eyebrows) also uses light brown eyebrow pencil, but she's quite subtle about it and hasn't been detected yet.

[Sadik]

grrr, sorry, internet being weird & forgot I'd c&p the url. Typed a long response, but basically even if school allows, I'd be very surprised if all girls wore make-up.
Discreet make-up is I'm pretty sure allowed in yr 10 dd's school, she doesn't own/wear any, and is definitely not an odd-one-out (at least in that sense!). She says actually Eyebrows and orangeness are falling off a bit now they all get older.

[bringbacksideburns]

Yep it's the norm.
My 13 year old loves Make up and knows more about it than I ever did. She watches a lot of Beauty Blogs and saves up for certain products.
TBF she looks lovely and has been complimented on how she applies it on family Do's by cousins in their twenties.
For school though it's just a bit of mascara and foundation.
Not a bright orange face and false eyelashes.

[SirChenjin]

Agree with Sootica. Schools will vary in what they will and won't allow, but rest assured (if you're concerned) that even if the school allows make up it certainly doesn't follow that all the girls will wear it.