I have a friend who wears masses of makeup. I wear makeup (perhaps less so now, during lockdown tho!) but not trowelled on. I don’t know why she does it - it looks so fake and oppressive, and am sure she’d look way better (certainly more natural!) without it.
Anyhow, I once spent a few days with her on holiday once. I was looking forward to seeing her in the morning, make-up free, natural. But at breakfast, there she was with a full face of makeup.
Perhaps she has really troublesome skin, and that’s why she does it. Perhaps she is not confident about her natural looks. But honestly, I like her for who she is, for what she has to say, for our warm relationship.
The makeup feels like a barrier. The amount she wore at breakfast over those days suggested she didn’t trust me to like/see her for who she is, physically speaking. Which is a bit sad.
To me, the makeup just looks like war paint. I realise OP, that you have subtler makeup, but it’s all about trusting the other person to be ok with you for who you are. Honestly, other people tend to judge us a lot less than we judge ourselves.