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 love my sleep too much! I'll occasionally wear mascara and a bit of lippy.

Me too! If the choice is between getting up and doing make up or having a few extra minutes to sleep, sleep wins every time!

I wear make up when I'm going out for an evening (and sometimes if I'm going out with friends in the day if I'm feeling either self-conscious that day or know that a lot of photos will be taken) but most days I wouldn't bother.

If I see someone wearing make up, it tends to just make me feel a bit self-conscious and wishing I'd made more of an effort myself!

I don't wear much make up, can't be bothered. Other people's make up doesn't bother me. Orangy foundation makes me wonder why they don't get a shade that matches their skin colour but I really don't care.
I probably do associate always wearing full make up with low self confidence though.

Personally I'm amazed by women who don't wear make-up, but then I wear it every day myself.

Why amazed Imamouseduh? Is it that crazy that a woman chooses to just go around in her natural state?

I know this is going to sound shit but sometimes I think that it's sad people don't feel comfortable in their own skin and spend a lot of time and money on covering their face up.

Other times I think 'who has time for that'

Other times I think if it makes them happy then it's worth it to them.

A lot of the time I only really notice badly drawn on eyebrows.

But each of those thoughts are either about people I actually meet or know. I don't think I notice random people's make up.

Imamouseduh you must spend your time in a state of perpetual amazement then. Is it a bit like being stoned?

Unless it's badly applied I probably wouldn't notIce. Sometimes I'll see makeup and think 'that looks nice' mostly a bit indifferent though.

This probably says quite a let about my self perception but if I see someone wearing lots of make up I think the made up person must think I'm a complete state as I only wear a small amount to attempt to cover really bad spots and red bits. I have always had terrible skin and when I put make up on it seems to look even worse, but in a different way.

I'm impressed you manage to get your make up to improvethelook of your skin. I'm very envious. I bet you look very glam.

I very rarely wear it even when I recently was recorded (filmed for wome) I didn't wear it. Sometimes I might put a bit of lip stick on say once a month if I am giving a talk. So I would say I was a non make up wearer.I've always thought I looked quite good (no skin problems etc) so never thought I needed it. I tend to prefer things to be natural.

What do I think of people with it on? Some look pretty and some don't but I don't think the make up decides that. It is things like symmetry of face, shape of lips and that kind of thing.

I ohpe I don' t go round judging women on their looks and rather go by their IQ and bank balance/earnings level! Let us judge women by their working and career not their visual appearance!

most women don't appear to wear make up and I wonder why they don't bother when many would look so much fresher if they used some light foundation, a dab of blusher and a bit of lippy.

Because I'm allergic to most of it and hate the feel of the stuff I can wear on my face. Foundation that isn't too dark for my very pale skin tone makes me look like a ghost without lots of other stuff. I might be a bit pink and blotchy, but definitely feel and look fresher without it.

I wear a small amount of make up for work (foundation and mascara) and tend to be jealous of people who can apply makeup well because I can't.

The only time I would ever be negative towards another person wearing makeup is when I see mums and young teenagers with (in my eyes) a full face on. Then I feel a bit sad because I worry that these young girls don't feel that they have a choice in wearing a full face but think that they have to because mum does. (I work with teenagers and hear this a lot)

But mostly I get eyeliner envy.

Enormous so if I said I had a slightly above average IQ but no qualifications and no career besides being a stay at home mum who is intending to home school her 2 children and currently has £13 in the bank...oh and I occasionally wear eyeliner if I'm leaving the house to do something other than food shopping or walking the dog...what would your judgement of me as a woman be?

I generally only wear it going out, or maybe at weekends, I don't have the time during the week to do make up, and don't really care.

I used to do full face before I'd even get the newspaper off the doorstep, but I was horribly insecure and it was my 'mask'. Now I'm happy to go barefaced.

What I do notice though is that often women who wear the full shebang or always wear fake tan, tend to lose sight of the subtlety after a few years. One women I worked with used to wear liquid eyeliner every day. I'm sure she started out with a well done Dita-Von-Teese style flick but by the time I worked with her, her daily eyeliner flick nearly met her eyebrows, they were absolutely ridiculous. I've a cousin who loves fake tan. She's practically mahogany now because she is so used to it she's forgotten what shade she is originally and feels 'pale' and loads on more when she's anything but pale.

So I think a makeover or a detox from it is good. I've recently had to change how I do my eye-shadow because the skin around my eyes is changing and my old look was only making my eyelids look droopier and actually ageing me. The shimmer of the eyeshadow too. So I've switched to a matt shade that won't get in my wrinkles and changed how I apply it.

I used to use a fairly heavy foundation -revlon colour stay which started to cake in my crow's feet so I switched to Estee lauders Double Wear which I find brilliant.

People keep talking about not having time to put makeup on and I think they mean they just don't want to spend time on it which is fair enough.

It takes me 5- 10 minutes tops to apply foundation, blusher, bronzer, powder, mascara, three eyeshadow colours, eyeliner, mascara and brow pencil. I do not look heavily made up as I'm not a huge fan of that look.

I don't have lots of time to get it done in the mornings, especially if I'm starting work at 7.00am, it's just a priority for me and I don't eat breakfast so I'm not spending time doing that.

Each to their own but it really doesn't take a lot of time and good organisation skills to wear it for the majority of women.

I don't think anything of people who do or don't wear it unless the make up is poorly applied. I love makeup but I don't pay much attention to what other women are wearing or not wearing.

I rarely wear makeup. Started a new job recently so wear mascara to work but that's it. Ironically I am like you though; had v bad skin as a teen and in fact still do now so have the acne scars and still some spots, etc. I realised as a teen that covering it up actually made it worse and it would all clump together because my skin is so uneven from the scarring.

When I see people with lots of make up, even more so at a toddler group, my first reaction is wow how do they have the time?! I have seen people at toddler groups with lots of makeup, straightened hair etc and I do wonder how they manage to do it with young kids, my toddler barely even lets me brush my hair without yanking on me haha! It also crosses my mind that it must be quite uncomfortable as I always feel a bit 'sticky' with lots of makeup on, and I find it annoying when I want to scratch my face/rub my eyes or whatever. But I hardly think anything of it. If anything it is slight jealousy that they have the time, and that I must look like such a slob to them to have not made an effort myself!

"most women don't appear to wear make up and I wonder why they don't bother when many would look so much fresher if they used some light foundation, a dab of blusher and a bit of lippy." I can tell you why I don't. I like what I look like without makeup, and I have zero interest in trying to make myself look any different. It's your opinion that I might look fresher with makeup on, I think I'd look unnatural and the opposite of fresh. Plus I don't need or want to look "fresher" or different using makeup.

I don't agree that women look better with make up. Do people think men would look "fresher" if they wore red stuff on their cheeks and lip stick? Of course not. I think a lot of it is habit and how you see yourself. I mainly visualise myself without make up as that's how I usually look so when I'm wearing make up I always think I look a bit powdery and artificial.
If a woman always wears make up then that will be how she visualises herself and she'll think she looks pasty without it.

No judging. Although I would admire your organisational skills. I would love to be one of those lovely, polished prople with great eye liner...but it would require getting up before the kids, to do it safely.

Almostajillsandwich - Judgy much? And your post makes you sound like a bitchy bully with a complex or two.

Assassinated well said. That's how I feel

I wear make up only occassionally (as in maybe once a year). I can't be bothered, can't afford it and can't see why it's ok for men to go make up free but women are expected to "wear mascara, blush and lippy".

What I think when I see someone with make up on is: how can you stand the feel / smell of it?

For people with a lot of make up on I wonder what they actually look like, and if make up is really an improvement. These thoughts came to me after a "full face of make up" colleague once came to work with no make up. She was unrecognisable - not more or less attractive, she was just a different person.

Other than that I am totally not bothered - each to their own, clearly people enjoy it and some do look better with make up on.

Surely the point is to make you look special for nights out etc

I'd be thinking:

"How does she find time to put her make up on when I struggle to run a brush through mine most days? Why am I such a slob? I need to get up earlier but I'm always too tired. Fuck, DH is definitely going to leave me one day. Ok, tomorrow I start wearing make up. And nail varnish. Maybe I should take up running..."

In short, most of us are too self involved to think about you too much

I wouldn't judge at all either.....although like a pp, I would notice if you were orange or if you had foundation tide amrks around your jawline. But I still wouldn't comment or think anything of it.

I often look at people who wear a lot of makeup and think how much prettier they'd actually look with less. But obviously, with facial scars or insecurity etc, some people wear more.

That's fine, it's what they choose.
I don't usually wear it unless I'm going out. Occasionally, ill pop to the shop for milk without any but I do know I'll look haggered! .
TBH, sometimes, my sister or mum or dd might say why didn't you wear make up today and I'll say "oh, I did". I think I rub my eyes a lot from being knackered so it comes off easily. By mid morning, it probably looks like I don't have any on!

I don't wear make up and think "how the fuck do you have time for that?!"