Do people get treated differently if they wear make up

[Mamalicious16]

I don't often wear make up but my friends do. Out shopping and ( it seemed to me but maybe I'm just a bit sensitive today) they seemed to be served quicker in shops/ a bar we went in and the cafe. Aibu or do people get treated differently if they wear make up?

I have the exact opposite experience to most.

I rarely go out without makeup on and am usually fairly dressed up most days (I'm not a jeans and trainers person at all more smart dresses and heels) but when I go out after the gym or to just nip to the shops or for a coffee run with no makeup on and hair scraped back, people make much more of an effort to be nice, smile, approach me etc. So no makeup = strangers being much nicer to me.

I have no idea why this is the case, its bloody weird.

I was swimming with DC today and noticed a young lifeguard with troweled on make up. Perhaps she was trying to make supervisor? 🤷‍♀️ Still looked ridiculous in the context and had she had to jump in I would worry about water cleanliness.

This is seriously depressing but I fear true in many (most?) industries.

I absolutely agree with this - i am treated much more positively when i wear make-up, but i think its because i feel much more confident and outgoing, which leads to me behaving in a confident and outgoing way... which leads to more positive interactions. To be perfectly honest, it used to be just a mask, but then it became part of me.

I once had a colleague throw a tantrum and announce that our other colleagues liked me better than her because i wore heels and lipstick. The truth was they liked me better because i wasnt a whining paranoid harridan... but obviously it was all about the lipstick.

I think if you whae too much make up you may be seen as "high maintanance". But on the whole I don,t think so.

As someone who cant wear make up because it upsets my skin and eye make makes my eyes itchy and havent worn any for the last 20 years i cant say i get treated any different, and yes ive got strawberry hair so to me i stand out in a crowd, and as a biker tend not to dress up except for very posh dos so all my friends are dressed like me in jeans and tee shirts only thing i get is if i do wear a dress on a rare occasion i get the usuall god issey you have legs lol

i think it down to your own perception of yourself some women feel under themselves without make up and dressed smart i am confident in myself wether dressed up or casual

I don't think it's about wearing make up or not to be honest.

On a day to day basis I don't think you can tell when most women wear make up or not, unless they happen to apply a more heavy look.

I think that it makes a difference if your overall look appears put together or not, and I tend to find that smiling and being of a cheery disposition also helps

Yes, I find I get treated differently by strangers when wearing make up.

Dislike the tropes that women wearing make up is “making more effort” and/or confidence building. Never said about men.

So much comes into it! I'm overweight (size 16) and get treated very differently if I look scruffy than thinner people. Seems you be a big girl in this country but only if you wear lots of make up, have your hair done and have nice nails. Otherwise you're Waynetta Slob. I also work next to a uni so notice it more. Someone who is 21 can wear a hoodie, hair tied back, no make up and get served first by a barista/ bar guy. I am 31, fat and un-apologetically scruffy some days. I might as well go wait for a coffee in the toilet cubicle.

I almost never wear make up and haven’t noticed this. I wonder if it’s about confidence. Or more likely, confirmation bias.

CanThangsChange35 Perhaps youre too pretty when done up and look threatening!

@PurpleDaisies you have nothing to compare to though. I can notice from one day to the next a definite change in those around me.
Also generally the reason I don't wear make up some days is because I feel confident! Some days I think oh my skin looks ok today I won't wear foundation and then I get told that I look ill

Absolutely.

It actually horrifies me to have realised this, but when I wear makeup I am INVISIBLE.

PurpleDaisies you have nothing to compare to though.

Almost never. Not never.

I get treated better on days when I have made an effort, but, it’s orobably more to do with the fact I feel more confident. Generally if I put make up on and have my hair done, I feel good about myself and act that way, when I run out the house in my legging with my hair shoved up and no make up on I tend to just want to get interactions over and done with!

I look poorly if I’m not wearing make up so maybe that’s the same for you OP? I get “you okay?”
I’m fair skinned and my eyelashes and brows are basically invisible as I’m blonde.

Same as when you’re blowing your nose, you are avoided?

I haven't worn makeup since university but I've had two promotions + pay rises in two years, and I get out-of-the-blue compliments on my smile.

Admittedly I work in tech & don't deal with clients face to face. But maybe makeup makes some women more confident, but some of us get our confidence from other sources and it has the same effect?

It depends on the person. I look 16 without makeup and closer to my age with it. People are kinder to me when I don't wear it. Probs because they think I'm a child

I find it's more about how presentable you look rather than the make up itself.

I look a lot younger without makeup and I think that makes a difference to how seriously people take me.

It's certainly true in most job settings. If you deal with internal or external clients, if you manage people, if you go to industry conferences etc, you're expected to dress and look a certain way.

I don't wear a lot of makeup - just eyeshadow, eyeliner and understated eyebrow pencil.

My last position I was managing a team of men. My industry is very male-dominated. I would usually say I was well respected by my direct reports, colleagues and managers. In meetings I would be contributing usefully and often shaping the discussion.

One summer's day I wore a dress that was a little more casual than I'd usually wear to the office. We'd been told it was a dress down day so shouldn't have been an issue. I went into a fairly large meeting with colleagues on the same level as me, plus some more senior managers. All men. I WAS IGNORED. Talked over. At one point, I made a suggestion and the response was "I don't really think that will work" and "Yes I think we should look in another direction." 5 minutes later one of the men basically repeats my suggestion as if he's just thought of it himself and is roundly congratulated for a great idea.

I literally couldn't believe what I was seeing and hearing. I even excused myself to the ladies in case I was having some sort of hygiene/wardrobe problem. Nope.

I was so pissed off I handed my notice in 4 weeks later.

OP I meant to ask though, how was it possible for your friend to be served more quickly than you in shops and a cafe? Surely you queued at the tills together? I understand a bar is different, presuming you had at least a couple of rounds of drinks.

What a great question! I think women do get treated better if they wear make-up. But disappointed that I ve come to this conclusion. I ve 2 daughters and I wouldn’t like for them to feel that they are more/ less worthy based on this factor, so why should we made to feel that way. First/ second class citizens according to make-up. If company cultures are starting to shift away from forcing women to wear heels/ make-up, then female customers should feel that culture too.

I haven't noticed any change in the friendliness or pleasantness of people, but what I have noticed is that I get treated with more respect if I'm wearing make-up. I don't think it's just about make-up, though; I think it's about the whole package - the type of clothes and the polish of the grooming. I get the most respect if I'm wearing something very smart in black, dark lipstick and jewellery. I've a feeling how much money you appear to have makes a difference, too.

Some women don't look that much different with make-up and without it. It makes a massive difference to the way I look, so I think I notice the effect it has on other people more than many women would do.

It's not the make up they notice, it's the eye contact and confidence, people always respond to it.