Not wearing make up to work - unprofessional?

[Imamumgetmeoutofhere]

This is probably going to be quite divisive in opinions but I'm going to ask anyway.

How many of us here wear makeup to work? Is it unprofessional not to wear it?

I'm 37, never have bothered really. I used to value the extra time in bed. Plus I never was in a customer facing role so didn't see the point.

Now I'm in a patient facing role. Most of my (female) colleagues wear makeup and I'm now wondering if I should wear some? Does it look unprofessional / untidy not to wear it? Do others even notice if we don't wear it?

Opinions please. I really can't decide if I should sacrifice the extra half hour in bed for the sake of some makeup

I agree completely, but the U.K based airlines are by no means the worst offenders. The big Middle-Eastern carriers all stipulate not only that make-up must be worn, but lay down detailed rules & specifications for ‘grooming’ including hairstyles, lipstick shades etc etc. When you see an Emirates crew walking into departures together, the women look uncomfortably like clones. It’s all very sexist & very old-fashioned.

No idea why all that is underlined. Not deliberate, but CBA deleting & typing it all out again.

Yes I do but minimal effort. Foundation, mascara, fill in my sparse eyebrows with bit of brown shadow, spot of blush and some tinted lip balm. Looks natural and takes me 3 mins max. I look much better IMO.

Yes, it looks very unprofessional. Frankly I would doubt your competence if you didn't have a full 1980s, makeup counter at Boots face on.

I gave up during the mask wearing era. Absolutely rancid to see it all caked on the inside of the mask.
I do love wearing make up and I love that it’s an option for women that we can easily access. But it’s just for going out now for me. I do wear a bit of Vaseline if I have dry lips and make sure to moisturise.
TBH most clinicians who wear make up look distinctly unprofessional at the end of the day when it’s all down their faces.

Completely different industry, but I have occasionally have younger colleagues wear too much make up and look less professional (looking as if they have literally come straight from a big night out and didn’t bother to wash). Equally others who have not been well groomed. I have never found someone to look unprofessional for not wearing makeup.

@user1471554720 what on earth does that mean, 'get away without wearing make-up'? What should women be trying to get away with?

I think the women on the beauty counters just look like women wearing make-up - doesn't mean they're better at their job than someone who isn't made up. It's rare that you see someone's makeup that is done so well that you can't tell if they're wearing it or if they're naturally stunning. I hate seeing newsreaders etc with loads of slap on. I used to wear it in my teens and 20s but gave up gradually, until post-Covid I've only worn it once. As long as you don't look as if you've been dragged through a hedge then you'll be fine. The thing I really hate is seeing lipstick stains on cups or glasses so wouldn't wear it to eat or drink, which kind of limits me, which is fine by me.

Aren't these covered in the equality legislation?

Definitely not unprofessional- I rarely wore makeup to work before lockdown and lots of others didn’t as well. Weirdly, that changed over the pandemic and now I can’t nip to Tesco without putting my face on. But seriously, how made up you want to be is entirely your choice and no-one will judge you for it either way.

@theduchessofspork

Not one of the rules at all but any professional woman automatically knows the difference and Dosen’t need to put that much thinking time into it, applying a bit of makeup only takes a few minutes

My job 15 years ago our male manager told us we had to wear makeup so we looked nicer. He would comment on how we looked and our figures. Seems like a lifetime ago. Surely that's not allowed. When I go makeup free now another male colleague always comments on how tired I look. I have small eyes which I guess look bad without eye makeup. So I usually always wear it as he pisses me off insulting me.

@chompargh

You are very naive if you think you are not judged by your appearance in the workplace or elsewhere in life, everyone makes judgements on people’s appearance even if they don’t voice them, you would need to be blind not to

I virtually never wear make-up to work, people seem to be fine with it.

I almost never wear it to work.
However I do value co-ordinated outfit and smart appearance above jeans, trainers* and tshirt. Rarely see the customer.
*we have to wear safety footwear in the warehouse, and my choice is shoes or boots not trainers. Some people keep a pair to change into as required, but given it's supplied by work I'd rather wear out their shoes not mine, even though I might only go in there twice a week if that some weeks!

I ditched make up after covid - not at all

Wow, I posted before I put my youngest to bed and have come back to a load of comments.

Thank you for all those who have said they wouldn't judge someone not wearing makeup and that they probably wouldn't notice.

You wouldn't believe how much this has helped. It's been a tough few years for me, anxiety, depression and general ill health and this shows on my face. It wasn't an issue when we had to wear masks but now I'm bare faced. And given that most of my colleagues wear makeup I did worry if I was going to be judged and thought of as scruffy or unprofessional without it but I'm so pleased that it's not considered that way, especially as including my skin care routine, adding makeup to the morning would add on half an hour to cover all the dark circles, blemishes and lines.

I am always freshly showered with clean hair and smart clothes which is clearly worth more than make up

I work as a receptionist in a local care home. I don't wear make up and no one is the slightest bit bothered. It's your choice if you want to wear it or not. If put some on rarely I spend all day thinking has it come off and does it make me look any different to begin with

I don’t wear make up for work. Or at all actually. If it was suggested to me that I should, I would be straight on to HR.

With peacock green eyeshadow? Damn, I'm failing

In summer I often don't, I wear lip balm (not tinted or shiny) just because my lips get dry, I don't sunbathe or tan but spend a lot of time outside so get a little bit of colour on my face, and more freckles. In winter I tend to wear tinted moisturiser, light mascara and cloud paint which is a really sheer liquid blush (Glossier) , I do this because I'm very pale and when I don't people ask if I'm ok or tell me I look tired! So I don't think it's unprofessional not to, but I don't want stakeholders/colleagues to think I'm knackered and therefore off my game.

I don't judge others who don't. I work in the justice sector now and make up on female colleagues is either very light or not present, I used to work in a very corporate environment when a full face, brows, false lashes etc was common place. So I think industry norms arr interesting and have an impact.

To add even my winter make up takes less than 5 minutes

Fine not to wear it but I don't get your comment about getting an extra half hour in bed. Mine takes 5 mins max to do. Just concealer under eye, cream blusher and quick mascara. I just feel I look far too pale (not in a good way) and knackered without it unfortunately 😕

I'm visually impaired. Doing my makeup is not a 5 minute job for me, so I don't bother for work. I also don't trust myself not to poke an eye out when I'm half asleep!

I'm not customer facing and basically have no dress code (beyond a few sensible rules) so often work on my office days in jeans, hoodie and trainers, so it'd look a bit odd if I wore make up, I think? Lots of ladies in my office do wear makeup and similar clothes to me though.

I would like to, I always feel more confident if I wear it when I go out. Just need a foolproof/visually impaired person proof routine.

Not really, I go horribly red and blotchy.

But I don't care enough to make an effort with makeup. Plus so many things make me redder and blotchier and cause soreness and stinging - spent a whole summer unable to put sun block on my face because my skin had decided not to tolerate it, it was a hot sunny year so I just had to wear a hat and go out as little as possible.

So? I'm sure people think I look a bit knackered and my hair can be a bit wild. Maybe they notice i mever wear make-up and think I'd look better if i did. They've probably noticed I've lost some weight and put more back on. People can comment on that behind my back if they want.

Hasn't stopped me progressing in my career nicely and if it did I'd be seriously considering if it was somewhere I wanted to work.

I'm sure I would be naive to think I'm not judged for my appearance. But I fail to see why I'm meant to care.