Make up

Because I'm not a barbie doll who's world revolves around making sure I look just so for my partner

I wear makeup every day even when I have no plans. It’s part of my routine like brushing my teeth. I don’t do it for anyone other than me. I don’t wear loads though, foundation, eyebrows, lippy, mascara and eyeliner. I don’t contour or bother with powder much unless I’m going out. I’ve good skin and don’t like feeling “caked”. My husband prefers me with my daily makeup than when I’m totally dolled up….not that I listen to him 😂

I put a lot of work into my skin so I think the fresh faced look actually makes me look younger, but sometimes it's fun to do my makeup. When I was younger and quite insecure I wouldn't go out the door without makeup but happily I've come around to liking my face! Wear makeup or don't, whatever makes you happy, but I find the idea of judging someone for either choice to be really weird.

No.

I used to wear the full works daily until I stopped working. Now I rarely wear any at all. My skin has always been good so I have no blemishes to hide.

There comes a time of life when the full works looks very ageing.

I would wear make up most days as I have quite bad skin with some scaring from acne and also bouts of acne (I blame BC and thyroid issues!)

I put it on for myself, as it gives me confidence. However, it only takes around 5 mins as I only wear foundation, concealer, do my brows and a bit of eyeliner and mascara. Nobody got time for that contouring crap!

No need to be so nasty.

No, they were a casualty of over plucking in the 70s.

Comment above was meant to be for:

IHeartGeneHunt · 04/09/2023 08:42

Mascara, because I have white hair and grey eyes and without it I look like an albino woodlouse.

Hahahaha! I have pale skin and white-blonde eyebrows and eyelashes. Without mascara and eyebrow pencil I think I look like a boiled egg.

what do you mean by “i put my eyebrows on”… don’t you have natural eyebrows?..

Everyone has priorities in life - maybe to someone else they don’t care so much about looks. Maybe they prefer to spend the time and money used for make up for something else. Maybe they don’t have insecurities about the way they look to care. To each their own! It’s unfair to judge others or assume that your “standards” are universal. To some, you may be very shallow or superficial. Live and let live :)

I absolutely love make up and I have a lot of it (I don't wear it all at once!). I always put make up on when I'm in the office, a full face but none of it heavily applied, ie tinted moisturiser that I can see my skin through etc, as whilst I definitely look better with make up on I don't want to look caked in it, and I think having a good skincare routine makes much more of a difference to how you look. I am perfectly happy to leave the house without it though, would never wear make up to go to the gym for example. Some wfh days I put some on if I know I'll be on a video call, but equally happy not to. Am on holiday at the moment and it's very hot so not wearing any, I mostly don't bother when on holiday.

You know those children that you send out looking smart and tidy, and in five minutes they come back looking like they've been dragged through a hedge backwards?

That's me with make up.

Skin reacts to foundation/anything I put on starts to look chalky or papery. Eyeliner and lipstick get smudged or wear off. Perhaps good little girls are taught not to touch their face, or to keep checking and reapplying after meals etc, but frankly I've got better things to do with my time!

Most women who wear makeup don’t go out looking like Coco The Clown or The Joker ffs. All this nonsense about wearing ‘a mask’ is ridiculous.
Also this idea that if you wear make up you are deemed to be ‘superficial’ or ‘insecure’.
I wear makeup because I enjoy wearing makeup .
Some of the non makeup wearers doth protest too much. If you don’t know how to apply makeup ( to enhance) your best features then take a makeup course and leave makeup wearers alone

I don't exactly embrace the makeup life. Sure, if I'm trotting off to work or a little cafe date, I'll slap on some makeup - but only a teeny amount. A smidge of tinted moisturizer, mascara, lip balm, and a minuscule bit of bronzer or blush. Going au naturel is way more appealing to moi. Really slathering on the slap just highlights every pore and adds years to my years. I tried Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation which everyone rants about and it made my skin look caked up! I like to have freshly washed hair, a clean simple outfit with a few more stylish accessories, tiny bit of makeup if any, spritz of light perfume. Job done ✔️

I used to. Pre covid but now i CBA

I dont care what others think

Actually the transformation is cool when I do go for it. Some people look the same every day. They're so glamorous all the time that they never have that wow factor for special occasions

I used to think the same as you but have changed my perspective over the years (I’m 46 now.) I personally am not a barefaced beauty but I do love to see others with a more natural easy look on some days and made up on other days. It makes dressing up more of a thing. I think many men love the no make up look and appreciate getting the real deal. I love to see celebs without makeup. They look more vulnerable and real and I find that beautiful too. As a therapist I often work with women and the ‘mask’ they wear to hide their real selves and make up can be a big part of that. It shows confidence to show your imperfections physically and in other ways.

I wear it everyday as I look like a bloke without it lol

Firstly, I have no interest in looking younger - I'm very happy to be getting older and wiser and happier in my (wrinkly) skin. I don't want to look like a 20 year old anymore and I am suspicious of a culture that tells women they should.

The other part of the OP that interests me is the 'why wouldn't you want to look your best?' question. I think I look best in heels, shapewear, underwired bra, fitted and tailored clothes with my hair professionally done and yes, make up on but I don't do all that every day because it's not comfortable and I don't want to feel hot and restricted with sore feet all the time. Today I'm in a loose linen dress, a non-wired bra, I let my hair dry naturally so it's in wild curls - I did put make up on: I pencilled in my invisible brows and put concealer on my undereye shadows. I look like a hippy in a shapeless sack and Birkenstocks, though relatively awake and fresh-faced. I feel so comfortable and that is a trade-off worth making for me.

I have teenage boys and I do wonder what it is about our society that means they can go out with their faces just the way they are, but if I had daughters they'd likely be putting make up on. I don't think it's right, and I say that as someone who likes make up even if I don't do a full face every day. I especially love bright lipstick, though I suspect it's quite unfashionable right now.

I really love to get dressed up and done up - sometimes, so it feels special and fun. I'd hate it if it felt like a daily obligation. And I hate that it is a sexist expectation, even if I myself participate in it.

I wore some mascara on my wedding day...and have since developped an allergy to it, so I dont even wear that anymore. I think I look stunning with no make up and like a kid who's gotten into her mum's make-up when I try to put make-up on anyway.

None of that has anything to do with make-up, though, which is what this thread is about.

Yes beauty standards vary but the things I suggested were universal were

clear skin, healthy hair, bright eyes, a healthy weight

These characteristics are very generalised and yes most countries beauty standards will subscribe to them to some degree.

I mean the opposite of blemished skin, unhealthy hair, dull eyes and grossly overweight or underweight are not particularly prized in many places, although there maybe a few exceptions.

There are general beauty standards which are universal

They're not universal though, are they? They differ from country to country, from generation to generation. What's considered beautiful in say, South Korea is very different to what's considered beautiful here, or in the US.

@Greensleeves perhaps not and I'm sorry if that was not your intention, but lots of the comments on this thread are along those lines.

I'm not saying that OP is right at all, but I am fed up of reading comments that suggest that people who don't wear make up show the "real them" to their loved ones and are loved and respected in their own right because the implication is definitely that those of us that wear make up aren't!

I certainly don't think that, but was referring to the OP's suggestion that we should want to wear makeup for our husbands. It's in her first post.

Of course women wear it for other reasons; so do I, occasionally.