FEMINIST MAKEUP TUTORIAL... Thoughts?

[charlotteelizabeth893]

What are you're views on feminism re makeup and the makeup industry....?

Also I thought this was funny

[hipsterfun]

[Thehairthebod]

Meh, I like wearing makeup and I love buying it. I don't wear it every day, I only really wear it for evenings out or special days out, but I have a shit load! I love putting it on, it's a bit of 'me' time, and have really enjoyed improving makeup skills in the last couple of years. It's almost like a bit of a hobby now.

I am on a few beauty groups and while there are plenty of women on there who would 'never be seen without makeup on' I actually think a lot of the beauty industry now is going on just having shiny new 'stuff'. Some of these women make me look like I have hardly any makeup - they have literally dozens of eyeshadow palettes, with many of the same colours in, all beautifully packaged and really gorgeous looking. They will never use it all but it does look lovely to look at! I think a lot of that is to do with plain old consumerism (in the same way as blokes might spend lots of money on tech stuff they don't really need) than anything else.

I really hate the idea that wearing makeup is 'anti feminist'.

[AngelsSins]

thehairthebod I agree that wearing make up isn't anti feminist. Like you, I have loads, but don't wear any at all for 6 days of the week.

Men used to wear makeup too, until fairly recently really, when they stopped but women decided to carry on. That was women's choice. The fact that men and some industries now expect women to wear make up is sexist bullshit, but the choice to wear it is perfectly valid.

[Floisme]

I'm not particularly interested in make up and I think the skincare industry is riddled with liars and charlatans. But I do love clothes and I think the urge to dress up and play with your appearance is pretty deep seated. It's something human beings have always done and in some cultures, and at some points in our own history, men have enjoyed it as much as women. But because it's seen as a women's interest, it's belittled in the way that other art forms are not.

[DamnDeDoubtanceIsSpartacus]

I wear make up because I have been trained from a young age to try to achieve a certain unrealistic standard of beauty and because I luffs it. I shave my legs for the same reason, actually I haven't shaved my legs for ages and am embracing my inner wilderbeast but ya know what I mean.

[badabing36]

Yeah I don’t wear makeup but not because I’m a good feminist, it’s mainly because I can’t be arsed. Also i don’t know if it’s because i don’t know how to apply it or if makeup just doesn’t suit my face iyswim but I can only really wear quite subtle makeup or I look more butch than without it on .

One of my favourite celebrity feminists is Dolly Parton (not sure if she calls herself a feminist but she is imho) and love the dichotomy between her “town trash” look and her business savvy and setting up her charities etc.

[AssassinatedBeauty]

I don't wear make up because I wasn't trained into it as a child - my mother didn't wear make up and didn't encourage me to wear it either. It just wasn't something that was around me when I was growing up. I went though a phase of wearing it as a teenager/young adult as part of fitting in and experimenting. That's worn off and I haven't worn any for years and years.

I certainly view the beauty industry as part of consumerism, but there's no denying that it is still almost entirely aimed at women and used by women. It's most definitely a feminist issue. The fact that there are plenty of women who feel inadequate if they don't wear make up, or who spend lots of time worrying about whether their appearance is acceptable or not. It's great if you enjoy make up and like using it, but not great if it is bound up with your self esteem. Then there's the idea that it's still acceptable to insist that women wear make up for certain jobs, where there are no requirements for men. We know that most girls already focus on their appearance as more important than anything else by around the age of 7! It's not a healthy thing to base your self esteem on.

Not wearing make up means I save money, time and mental energy, which I appreciate. Wearing make up doesn't make you not a feminist, of course. But that doesn't mean that it isn't a feminist issue.

[PocketCoffeeEspresso]

I don't wear makeup day to day, but do if I'm going out, or going to a work meeting (I freelance from home most of the time)

I also went into Sephora for the first time recently, and, well, my credit card barely escaped alive and all the weird and wonderful stuff they had (and then they put samples in the bag.. my god, I was in heaven)

Makeup I can't get het up about - wear it if you want, don't if you don't, and don't have a go at anyone for wearing/not wearing it, and that's feminist enough for me.

[QuentinSummers]

I don't wear makeup, except when dressing up to go out, and actually I think it is a feminist choice/issue.
Women spend way way more on makeup than men. Black women spend most of all. That says something to me about low status being used to generate insecurity and from there sales.
Also there is evidence that women who don't wear make up at work are perceived as less professional and are less likely to be offered jobs
Well fuck that. I don't have time or money to spend on a tool of the patriarchy tvm

[Stopmakingsense]

Teenage girls spending 1 hour plus a day doing their make up when their male peers are using that time to get ahead? ..

[SallyLockhartsDog]

I fight my huge urge to wear makeup (it feels like I'm naked every day..no makeup for four years now) as I can't bare to pass on the indoctrination to my two young daughters.

No judgement on anyone else - I am a slave to the patriarchy in many other ways !!

[Thehairthebod]

I don't wear make up because I wasn't trained into it as a child - my mother didn't wear make up and didn't encourage me to wear it either.

Yes, I think this is the case for me too. My mum only wore it occasionally and I'm the same although I have always been much more interested in it generally than her.

My best friends Mum always wore a lot of makeup when we were kids and now my friend and her sisters are never seen without a full face. They always look stunning and I look a right old disheveled mess in comparison, but they just always grew up with it.

[hipsterfun]

They always look stunning and I look a right old disheveled mess in comparison

Is that because of the lack of make-up alone, or are there other reasons?

[Thehairthebod]

Well yeah, they spend way more money on clothes, hair, always have lashes and nails done etc. I am not actually a dishevelled mess, I am clean and brush my hair etc, it's just in comparison!

[AssignedPuuurfectAtBirth]

wtf is that video?

[64BooLane]

Isn’t it just as possible, if you do/don’t wear makeup, that any dc you have will do the total opposite? Some people define themselves in opposition to parental examples. I don’t think there’s really any way to ensure children will lean one way or the other.

My makeup habit started off as internalised patriarchal bullshit, then I ditched it in a spirit of resistance ... and now I’m back to it because it’s decorative and fun to play with the colours, and easier (for me) than finding clothes that satisfy that impulse.

I don’t wear it every day though. I watched a Charlotte Tilbury video once in which she claimed she wears it to bed, and her dh has never seen her without any. Thought that was pretty grim. Up to her though, I guess; makeup has made her fortune.

[SallyLockhartsDog]

Isn’t it just as possible, if you do/don’t wear makeup, that any dc you have will do the total opposite?

Definitely! But I want to model the (in my opinion) healthy option...for the same reason I don't drink or do drugs or wear high heels. They may do the opposite to me but I'm trying to show them that beauty and happiness are a state of mind not eyeliner and prosecco. The rest of society are force feeding them the other side of the coin so I'm trying to provide balance

[BlackForestCake]

Teenage girls spending 1 hour plus a day doing their make up when their male peers are using that time to get ahead? ..

Realistically, the boys are using that time playing on their x boxes.

[MistressDeeCee]

I love wearing makeup. It's my choice. I don't think any woman should have to explain or justify why.

[thebewilderness]

There is no such thing as feminist makeup, nor anti-feminist makeup except for the fact that some cosmetic companies exploit women.
The chemicals in it are foul and some are dangerous. More a health concern than a feminist concern until you are faced with employers who mandate that women must wear it but men need not.

[Thehairthebod]

The chemicals in it are foul and some are dangerous. More a health concern than a feminist concern

This is not true unless you buy fake goods off ebay. The cosmetics industry is regulated to ensure the products are safe.

[BobsyourAunt]

Men used to wear makeup too, until fairly recently really, when they stopped but women decided to carry on. That was women's choice. The fact that men and some industries now expect women to wear make up is sexist bullshit, but the choice to wear it is perfectly valid.


"Women decided to carry on" Well not quite. The fashion industry has always been run by men. And the fact that in some industries women have to wear it causes it to be seen as something all women have to do.. That means it isn't really a choice at all. Many higher up jobs the women have to wear heels, jewellery makeup to be seen "making an effort". Because for women making an effort means being fuckable and not just putting on a pointless tie.

Society sees women not wearing makeup as masculine, and tired looking. Just read any thread on MN. It's terrifying that we can't see women as attractive unless they no longer look like humans.

it's the same as saying it's "choice" to shave all hair on a woman until she scarcely resembles a mammal anymore. It's not a choice. I just don't want to get abuse from randoms on the street. The beauty industry point blank made adverts saying your husband won't love you anymore if you don't remove leg hair. Then it was vulva hair, then it was bend-over and spread your arse for a stranger with hot wax.

You can be a feminist and do any of the above because you like it or it makes your life easier but the decision wasn't made in a vacuum. It was already seen as something you should do.

[BobsyourAunt]

This is not true unless you buy fake goods off ebay. The cosmetics industry is regulated to ensure the products are safe.

Like any industry, it's only safe until they realise it isn't and even then we don't' always find out. Putting random crap on your face is always a risk.

Lead paint is safe. Lead makeup was safe..

Cigarettes, remember when they were safe? The tobacco industry knew it was killing people and hid evidence.

[Deadlylampshade]

I love make up, but I don’t feel I have to wear it.
I do notice that when I wear make up I get treated completely differently when I go out though, people are just shinier with me. That’s not why I wear it but it is noticeable.

I wear it because I love faffing with myself, I am very tactile and I love smells and lotions and little pots of things.
I think a lot of men I know would love to wear make up.

[BobsyourAunt]

Also that video is shit even without the terf eyeliner.

Try this.