To ask: if you don't wear make up regularly, what do you genuinely think when you see someone who does?

[Mingewithafringe]

Really interested to hear people's views on this as it's something the socially anxious person in me has always wondered.

I wear a lot of make up by most people's standards. It stems from my teens where I developed bad skin and was just desperate to cover it. It's a lot better now but I have scars and patches that I feel insecure about.
So as well as a concealer and powder foundation, I also fill in my eyebrows daily, wear liquid eyeliner on my top lid, kohl pencil on my waterline, mascara, bronzer and either matte lipstick or a tinted lip balm. Without the eye make up I look tired or ill (people have actually said that!)

This is most days unless I know for sure I won't be going out that day. I have applied it for so many years that it only takes me about 5/10 minutes to put it on in the morning, and the amount of money I spend on make up has just become one of those accepted expenses, although I don't actually spend a lot because aside from my foundation, the rest is usually affordable stuff like Maybelline, Bourjois etc

I go through phases where I just hate the fact that I feel like I have to wear it and so I try to wean myself off it e.g. By not wearing eyeliner or by going for a subtle/minamalistic look. But I just don't feel confident and end up reverting back!

I have always wondered what ladies who don't wear make up are thinking when they talk to me. If I walk in to a room, 99% of the time I am wearing the most make up out of any woman. So ironically, I wear make up so that people don't think "look at her scars", but now have developed this insecurity where I feel that when I talk to someone, all they are thinking is "jeez how much make up is she wearing, it's a toddler and baby group for crying out loud"!!

Am I being silly?

I have no strong feeling. I admire people who can do it well. I laugh at people who towel it on or wear the wrong colour foundation...or both. Too much bronzer makes people to dirty to me.

I wear virtually none. Most just slides off, I'm crap at wearing it and crap at applying it.

Judging? Ummm no probably not, unless you're of the type that's bright orange with eyebrows that look like they've been magic markered on.

But really it's about how YOU feel. Do you want to wear less? If so, could you maybe concentrate the ritual of 'doing' the face on skincare? There are some wonderful Korean face care products - would that help you feel better about your skin and self?

I am envious of people with skills enough to put makeup on. I never think negatively of people that do but am a bit self conscious about my own plain face in comparison and am afraid that they'd be judging me and thinking I am dowdy. I guess all I am bringing to the table is my own hang ups and the peculiar idea that maybe the people who I think are looking down on me are thinking the same thing about me?!

Can I ask make-up wearers what is a suitable age to let a child start wearing make-up? I have no idea myself as I don't wear it so just want to say "never" to my daughter but she is really into it already at 6 (doesn't have any but plays 'make-up' games on the tablet sometimes and OH just got her a play make-up set).

It only takes me 5-10 minutes to put my face on, mainly natural-ish mineral make-up, which results in lots of compliments on how well I look and how young I look for my age. Regardless of how you want to look, I think it's sad that some people seem to think that spending any time on making the best of yourself is somehow outrageous.

Really it depends on how good quality your products are. You can wear a bad quality foundation that will look like cement or a good quality one that people will think that you skin is only perfect.

The brows are something that bothers me because most of the people I noticed have really weird fake brows. That's horrible. Here it will depend on your product and skills.

If your make up is good people will find you beautiful and those "why does she bother" are jealous.

I'd prefer to not wear make up, but I have terrible skin (spots still, in my 30s, tried everything), very pale skin which shows every blotch, spot or ex-spot, and invisible eyelashes/eyebrows. So I don't judge people who wear more makeup than me.

Good for them for taking the time and trouble. I can't be bothered, mostly.

I never wear make-up (never have) and there's a fellow dog-walker who always turns out with her make-up done - not lots of it but you can tell she's made an effort. I tend to just think 'how can she be that organised and just to come out in the wind and rain?!' but I guess she's then ready to face the world for work etc. If it was trowelled on I might think 'why?' but otherwise it wouldn't bother me.

My 10 year old has recently become interested in make up. She has a few cast offs from me and her step sisters that she can play around with at home, but she isn't allowed to wear it outside. She is also around when we apply make up so gets a free tutorial ( we all use rather subtle make up and know how to apply it well).

I sure there are some people who would judge me but I don't care. My girls will decide for themselves whether they want to wear make up when they are older. Wear it/ not wear it - who cares. It doesn't take away from the simple feminist message that men and women are equal.

I don't wear any but notice if someone is overloaded with it. I have no view otherwise other than to wonder where they get the time from.
My only anti makeup feelings are when I go to try on a dress in a shop and find someone else's makeup all over the neckline...........grr

Natsku I think it depends whether it's "playing" or trying to look sexy. The former - whenever really, although I'd think nail varnish and glitter rather than "proper" make up like lip stick and mascara etc. The latter - at least 13/14.

I think I had some brightly coloured eyeshadow crayon things at about 11 to play around with. We weren't allowed make up at school until sixth form but I remember my mum buying me a stick of concealer at about 13 if that helps.

Hi OP. I often think 'good for them, they look nice and I admire their discipline in bothering day in day out, ' but I sometimes think, 'what a really good looking woman, why does she want to put all those layers of make up on and hide herself' and I occasionally think 'those caterpillar tattooed eyebrows, fake lashes, orange fondation, bright lips and purple shellac nails look grotesque'...but they are probably looking at me thinking 'she might have looked alright once, but she had totally let herself go with her straggly hair, no make up and hairy face....lol ' (away to wax now).

I wear a bit of foundation to hide the red veins, mascara and a bit of eye pencil to stop my eyes looking too pale. Probably should wear more, but can't be bothered.
I love it when young people are creative with make-up. But I find It odd when perfectly lovely young women do the Towie look. Orange skin, luminous teeth, eyelashes like spiders and pumped up lips. They look so much prettier without it.

I dont wear makeup and when i see people who wear quite alot of makeup i just wonder how they have the time and patience to do that each day other than that it doesnt bother me

Sorry had to add them really thick drawn on marker pen type eyebrows and fake eyelashes do make me think WHY do people do that x

I only wear make up occasionally and only then just mascara. I recently threw out eye shadow I'd had for about 10 years and didn't bother replacing it.
TBH seeing people with 2 much make up especially foundation makes me feel a bit ill.
I also, for me, think it's a big waste of money which I prefer to spend on other stuff.
Each to their own tho that's just me I'm quite lazy with the way I look!

"I feel a bit inferior and imagine that the person is part of what I used to call 'the cool group'. "

serenade that's kind of how I feel what people think of me, when I've actually never been part of the cool group in anything really, I'm sociable and I get on with people, but I'm a huge dork and would rather sit at home doing an Arroword puzzle than be in a bar. When I was in my early 20s, I used to work in a place where I was particularly close to another 2 girls - no reason other than we got on very well - both happened to be also make up wearers. I made good friends with another girl from a different department a while later and whilst talking, she said something like "you're not like I expected, we used to call you and the other 2 friends "plastics" " (as in out of Mean Girls). Anyone who knows that film knows that's not a great compliment! When I asked her why she said something like "you were all always done up" , I was like really????

I'm a lazy arse and I probably think god I'm a lazy arse must make more effort.

Will now think twice about making a negative judgement about someone which whoc

Interesting thread. I wonder who feels more 'judged' by the end - the make up wearers or the non's?

I wear make up every day. I have a wash, brush my teeth, put on deodorant and do my hair and make up. The only time i don't do all the above is if i'm ill. Really ill, like once or twice a year throwing up and raging temp ill.

I imagine all of us have something we do which another person couldn't be arsed with. Gardening? Going to the gym? Keeping exotic pets? We're all different.

I wear vast amounts, almost daily. I notice if people have really nice makeup or something that looks a bit different. Apart from that, couldn't care less if people wear it or not!

I have never worn it in my life, despite several people advising me that I would like it if I try it. I do notice those who wear lots but never those who wear none. What really makes me look twice are eyebrows (wrong shape/resemble a marker pen Nike symbol/giant slug). I also spot the stuck on eyelashes that remind me of hairy caterpillars. And skin that looks coloured in. I don't look at myself unless doing my teeth/brushing my hair, so haven't worked out how I would benefit throughout the day from colouring my face in. I do understand that some people ( including friends) have very significant features like strawberry birthmarks which they feel more comfortable disguising. But overall, I remember the biological reason why men like women wearing lipstick and definitely don't want to pander to their interests.

I was disappointed on a business trip to Iran at the lashings of eye make up all the women had on - not feminist, not free from frippery, not plain/religious concentrating on God but troweled on almost. I wore none on principle.

Stop worrying. I used to put too much make up on in my teens and early twenties to cover very bad acne. I'm very minimal now and on days I don't wear make up I feel like a slob. Those who don't wear make up probably feel unpolished when they see you making an effort.