To think wearing make up doesn’t make you vain?

[Looklikewemadeit]

Interested to hear peoples thoughts on this. I always wear make up unless on holiday with close family or days when I’m guaranteed not to see anyone except dh/dc. We’re not talking a small amount - I wear foundation, bronzer, blusher, eyeliner, powder daily. It’s been suggested a few times recently by friends and Dm that wearing make up is vain.

I’m just wondering is this a common perseption? What do mumsnetters think of women who wear makeup regularly or do you do it yourself? Personally I wear make up because I was bullied at school for having acne and being ugly. This was when I started wearing it and now I feel really self conscious and embarrassed if people (anyone) see me without it. I don’t think this makes me vain? But as I don’t want to go into my reasons with everyone I know I wonder if a lot of people I know think i am.

I wear makeup most days. I’m v pale with very sparse eyebrows and my features kind of vanish without it. Definitely look better with a bit of eyebrow pencil, mascara and lippy. It’s not a terrible thing if anyone sees me without, however, which it does seem to be for you. It doesn’t sound like vanity to me; rather more like deep seated insecurity about your appearance. Your friends and DM would do better to be supportive and reassuring rather than criticising you.

Strax - probably because there are people out there that judge that harshly. I have been on the receiving end of it at school and it’s stuck with me.

Feel sorry for me if you like but it helps me feel confident when facing the world.

As far as men are concerned they are not typically judged as harshly on their appearance.

I think it’s the polar opposite of vanity. As a feminist who has never worn make up, I see women who wear it as lacking self esteem, of submitting to the patriarchal view of women, to be assessed purely on their looks, of having to cover up their natural looks to fit some male imposed standard of beauty.
I feel genuinely sad when I hear women say they darent leave the house without a ton of slap on their skin. I want to hug them and send them for assertiveness training!
As an anaesthetist, I regularly had female patients distressed at needing to remove mascara to avoid damaging their corneas while anaesthetised with their eyes taped shut. And yet, in my opinion, every single one of them looked much nicer with the gunk removed!
Make up is a multimillion pound industry. Mostly it’s large male run corporations profiting from women’s insecurity, fear of ageing and being judged as not sexually attractive enough for men. I wouldn’t give the buggers a penny.

I love make up and wear it every day apart from holidays abroad and even then I've had my eyelashes and brows tinted beforehand. I look and feel much better with it on rather than without it.

I'm 50, I've always enjoyed wearing it for myself, [ I would have loved to have been a Make up Artist] not anyone else, is that really vanity? . The social media of today can bring about insecurity and self esteem issues that my age group have never needed to worry about..

I think there is a difference between wanting to look good in the eyes of others in order to make yourself feel good, and just wanting to have enough confidence that you don't look awful.

Surely makeup for a man or woman can sometimes just give them enough confidence not to feel unattractive.
In fact wearing makeup could make someone feel less likely to be noticed. If they are not confident ago their looks, they might believe people stare at them for the wrong reasons, such as ugliness, and wearing makeup allows them to feel just good enough to blend in with the crowd and NOT be noticed.
It's not all about arrogant vanity and narcisism.

I'm not vain, I'm very aware that I am not beautiful or even pretty! But I prefer wearing makeup so I do.

Of course not. 🙂

I wear light moisturiser, a slick of foundation, light cream blusher, eyeshadow, mascara and a bit of rose Vaseline on my lips.
Have never worn anything false though like fake lashes.

I have worn makeup most days since my early 20s and only recently started to question why I bother. I think I wore it in my 20s to look ‘pretty’, which is a little embarrassing to admit. Now I’m in my late 30s I wear it to cover blemishes, look fresher and to look more polished. I suppose it is a tupe of vanity, becsuse I’m spending time and money on my appearance. These days I don’t wear nearly as much, and I don’t bother applying it for school runs. I do envy men who were not brought up with the same cultural expectations. Also I hate to think how much money I’ve wasted on makeup over the years! I’m tempted to give it up except for on special occasions but I will probably still wear it to work.

And have done pretty much daily since I was at school. It’s for me and to show that I present my best face to my public! Lol

It definitely makes everyone look younger. However, the awful shadow and shading gunk does not.

I don’t wear it for confidence, I wear it to look fresh and pretty.

Babdoc I agree with your post except I don’t think women wearing makeup are assessed purely on their looks. Makeup, unless caked on TOWIE-style, is so normalised that I doubt it detracts from a woman’s achievements in most settings. I think all women are partly judged for for their looks, regardless of whether they wear makeup.

It's your face, do what you want with it

I wear make up because I know I look better with it.I go make up free in the house but always wear it out of the house.I genuinely look unwell if I don't wear eye make up

I don't think it's vain. I wear a bit of foundation, powder, mascara and blusher a lot of the time but some of the school mums have made out that it's vain and how could I possibly have time to bother when I have a child and a lot of them have said they don't even own any. It made me feel self conscious about wearing it in the mornings. It takes me literally 5 mins and I just quickly do it before I dry my hair, while DC is having breakfast.

xJessica- how rude of the school run mums to be commenting on your makeup!

Each to their own. I personally think everyone looks better with a little tinted moisturiser to even out skin, blusher and mascara.

I find it weird that people feel good when they look good , I think it's because people feel good in relation to how people treat them . I went many years without wearing make up and had Terrible skin , I just didn't care . I was clean but looked quite scruffy without it . Of course scruffy is a social construct. I now wear make -up because I'm sick of getting loud whispers of is that a man or woman ? I also do it to make a good impression on employers. Sadly , because of media we have to look a certain way to be treated well . I would say "vain " is spending excessive time on ones self but then vain is a social construct too . Some people probably think you're vain . Some won't .

I do think it’s a shame when young girls start wearing makeup. They often wear far too much and look so much better without it! I can see that it’s fun to transform your look and to look older with it but heavy makeup on a 14 or 15 year old is a shame.

Live and let live. I don’t think any less of women who wear makeup and don’t expect to be judged as sloppy or lazy because I don’t wear it.

I have always suffered with uneven skin tones on my face, so have worn a tinted foundation since the age of 14.
Looking better (and believe me I definitely look better in make up) makes me more confident, more relaxed about myself.
i am not vain.

no, it isn't vain. If you want to wear it, wear it. If you don't, don't.

no, you are not ugly without it. Visible makeup can look ugly though - thick beige with red and black circles isn't a good look anywhere except under the footlights.

no, women do not look ill without makeup, any more than men do. Women who make this comment (and it is ALWAYS women) are stupid and should be slapped.

Make up is essential to me. I have extreme red patches (rosacea), and an autoimmune condition which affects my appearance and not in a way that can be embraced. Young children have called me scary.
Make up allows me to look more normal and less like a freak. Patriarchy my arse.

I don't bother with it for the majority of the time. My colouring and features are pretty clear and for years my skin looked more clear left bare than having attention drawn to the rougher parts of my skin.

I wear it to look more polished for special occasions, nights out, job interviews etc... hardly ever! I do feel a bit more polished in light make-up and part of the extra effort that goes into clothes and hair.

I think it is more of a confidence than a vanity thing. As heavier every day make-up has become more previlent, it's become more unusual to not look made up and polished which in less confident women will feed a dependency on it.