Why so much makeup?

[mincepieprivateeye]

I went to Boots yesterday as I needed a mascara and moisturiser. I got to wondering why some of the beauty counter staff wear so much makeup. I'm not talking nicely done either, the person on the Clinique counter had a tide mark of dark foundation and almost drag queen eyebrows and lashes, it would put me off asking for advice. A couple of assistants on another counter were nearly as bad while the others were all made up but looked nice. I fully understand they have to wear the make up they sell but do they need to wear it all?

[specialsubject]

to look good in a photo - smile. Don't do the fish pout, don't try and look 'sexy' (you don't), just look happy. If you aren't feeling happy, then the world doesn't need the photo.

[mincepieprivateeye]

Not even to out the bin out

[Roussette]

mincepie . I'm sure you're one of those people who wouldn't leave the house without yer slap on, and you're just popping out for a pint of milk?!!

[mincepieprivateeye]

Natural look for a Sunday morning

[FloatyFlo]

Nothing rude about pointing out the unnatural appearance of a contrived, deliberate pose.

Ahh so you werent referring to the size of her lips then but her pose. Really you meant 'duck face' or some other shitty term then? Not that that is any better.

'Trout pout' comes from describing lips that have been excessively injected with collagen/fillers. Trout pout is just another shitty insult to throw at a woman over how she looks whether she's had surgery or just has natural full lips.

How about you post a photo too Ouryve and we can all tell you what you do that doesn't help?

[carabos]

Thought of this thread last night while waiting to be served by a check out operator who had a bright orange face, marker pen eyebrows an inch thick and a drawn-on mouth with a brown outline filled in with pale silvery pink lipstick. She looked astonishing, like an extra from the Hunger Games. She also had huge, messy, cottage-loafy hair. She appeared to be about 12, but must have been older obvs.

[magpie17]

SPL skin?? That was meant to be OK skin!

[magpie17]

I agree re. Kimberly Walsh on bake off, she is a lovely looking young woman (younger than me anyway!) but was so massively caked in make-up, if you'll pardon the pun! Who wears huge spider lashes and dangly earrings to bake a cake?

I say this as a big make-up fan as well, I wear more than most people I know but try and keep the overall look subtle. I find if you lay off the base you can get away with wearing lots of eyeliner without looking like a drag queen but I do have SPL skin.

Kelsoo - I can't believe you have no eyeliner on in that picture!

[darksideofthemooncup]

The black marker eyebrows that loads of young women seem to sport at the moment will be the equivalent of the heather shimmer lippy/ blue eyeliner of my youth in years to come.

[OzzieFem]

Roussette - Phew. Glad to hear I am not the only one.

[ouryve]

Nothing rude about pointing out the unnatural appearance of a contrived, deliberate pose.

[Gunting]

I feel self conscious about my eyebrows now!

[Roussette]

always hate talking to a person with the high arched eyebrows because after a while I realise I have raised my own natural eyebrows in imitation. It's quite embarrassing, and I have no idea what they think of me doing this, but it's involuntary.

Yes yes yes! Ozzie, you made me laugh out loud! It's mirroring the other person and I do it too, then I try to lower my eyebrows verrrrrry slooooowly and hope they don't notice

[PalcumTowder]

I just really couldn't be bothered with all that. It's so boring! It looks great when well done but I just don't have the patience.

I'm a no-make up woman most days. If I'm going out then it's eyebrow brush, eyeliner and mascara. I never put anything on my skin as I don't believe it can be very healthy.

[LoisWilkersonsLastNerve]

I've noticed the heavy makeup my young neices wear looks fine in photos, nice even but in real life its a bit cartoon like. Its a symptom of the selfie generation.

[whatdoIget]

I often realise I'm really staring at someone's eyebrows if they're very "defined"
Obviously when I catch myself I stop! It just looks ridiculous to me, but I do know that's because I'm getting on a bit.

[OzzieFem]

I always hate talking to a person with the high arched eyebrows because after a while I realise I have raised my own natural eyebrows in imitation. It's quite embarrassing, and I have no idea what they think of me doing this, but it's involuntary.

[FloatyFlo]

The trout pout does nothing to help.

How fucking rude

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

I get the conflicting thoughts about make-up and feminism too. Sometimes I go months without wearing any except the brows, then I wear quite a bit every day for months again, then I change back. I was lucky that my head hair came back (alopecia) and eyelashes never went so brows are the only essential for me, but I really do look like Mr Potato Head if I don't do them.

[BubsandMoo]

Purplehair I totally get the conflicting thoughts on style & beauty stuff vs inherent feminist principles. I struggle to accept that how I feel about my appearance really is a deep ingrained cultural misogyny, hard wired into my thinking now, but that is what it is really. I have gone through no makeup phased and no hair removal phases, but in the end I just can't shake it and I feel better when I do those things, and actually actively enjoy make up and skin care stuff, almost like a hobby.

It is a complete mystery why makeup artists/sales assistants can't colourmatch themselves though! I guess it's a 'look' in itself maybe, obviously wearing the products rather than a subtle look. Not one that I desire to emulate though.

[Annarose2014]

I believe on DA they tint their eyelashes black.

I was at an EL counter the other day. Very nice SA, told me shed been there for 11 years. Perfectly matched my foundation on sight, I was kinda impressed.

But HER makeup! She looked like an '80's skit. Like she had taken a Sharpie and drawn rings around her eyes. Neon pink lips and blusher. And for someone who was so clever at matching me on sight, why was she so orange??

She was leaning in close to talk to me and even though she was very nice, I found myself leaning back a bit as her appearance was so alarming. There was just so much "face" to take in! It was too much for my eyes!

[LilacAndLovely]

Good daily make-up, done well shouldn't really look as if you're wearing anything.

Think Downton Abby (upstairs) - you know that the actresses are fairly heavily made up, but you'd be hard pushed to list what they're wearing.

My daily make up is eyebrow pencil to fill the gaps, BB cream, concealer and powder, a touch of blush and mascara. In photos it doesn't look like I have anything on but I look very different without it.

[PurpleHairAndPearls]

Whoknows I can understand why that felt difficult, I lost mine recently so "luckily" there was lots of good advice on S and B plus a multitude of recommended products. My artificial ones just looked like my real ones but neater It felt very odd though as I am normally "no make up" type of person, and bang on about feminism and men not having to enhance themselves etc etc.

Make up is interesting to me as after losing my hair I felt compelled to resort to artificial methods - wigs, eyebrow pencils etc and I wouldn't have thought I would, it's definitely changed my views in some respects. I do feel that people should be proud of their own looks and not cover themselves up in an attempt to fit in with societal "norms" - yet when I looked like an alien I was on S and B asking for advice how I could fit back in. It's interesting.

With my DDs I have tried to sell the idea as make up as "fun" and to play with rather than to cover, if that makes sense. Interestingly they don't wear any at all either, but we are all lucky enough to have good skin although mine is deadly pale with a tinge of blue and of course may feel differently if we didn't. My DDs are definitely in a very small minority amongst their peers. I'm sure lots, if not all of them would look beautiful without makeup and ( to me) it's a bit sad they obviously don't feel that they are "good enough" without make up. I realise that makes me somewhat of a hypocrite!

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeG0es]

Yes, that is what I do, but this is the thing, when I lost my brows 6 or 7 years ago you could find about 2 brow products in the average branch of Boots and no one was drawing them in, I felt hideously self conscious with mine. Now, thanks to the heavy brow trend we are spoilt for choice and I feel far less self-conscious, but it is still hard getting a natural, matched look every morning with no natural brow line to follow. Long live the trend for "done" brows!

[CrohnicallyAspie]

My SIL lost her eyebrows and pencilled them in- and I never even noticed. For a start, she pencilled them in where her natural brows were, not inches up her face. She used a pencil that was only slightly darker than her hair was, not black. And didn't make the edges all sharp and straight lines. Assuming that those of you who have lost your eyebrows follow the same sort of guidelines, I doubt people will notice!