To think faces look better without foundation?

[JamSandle]

I get covering acne, scarring, rosacea and things like that especially for confidence...but I think most women look far better without any foundation, which usually looks nice when first applied and then looks like a cloying mask...especially when the makeup is heavy.

It's only orange if you're wearing the wrong colour! It's not supposed to be orange

I gave up foundation a while back. I tend to invest in skin care and luckily have good skin naturally.

I then use a primer or tinted serum and a bit of powder like hourglass if I want a glowy look.

Once you get older, foundation doesn't look so good unless you are very good at applying it. In my case anyway. I wear a bit of tinted moisturiser instead now. Origins do a nice one.

I'm not keen on make up (I can't put my finger on why, exactly) I enjoy looking myself, just as I am - I'm not an overly feminine woman, though.

I don’t wear it. I’m definitely feminine now but I was a bit of a tomboy until my early twenties and had no interest in makeup. I never learned what to do with it, so find that is best avoided.

It’s never held me back in any way.

Depends on how heavily it's applied for me. I prefer natural subtle make up (think Reese Witherspoon or Jennifer Aniston) and I tend to use more of a sheer foundation, sometimes mixed with moisturiser to make it even more sheer, and it is definitely not heavy or obvious. I'm not a fan of the heavy make up look in general, but I do think a lot of women look brighter and less tired with a more even skin tone and some eye colour correction (myself included!).

I like makeup, always have done. As a young woman back in the early 80’s when makeup wasn’t as technical as it is now, I never knew how to apply it properly and I looked cakey. Now as a much older woman I’ve been told I don’t look like I’m wearing foundation because I;
A- buy dewy, liquid foundation that’s a good quality and suits my skin
B- use a properly matched colour so it looks invisible, my skin but better
C- use the correct tools to blend it well
D- have the advantage, over younger me, of the internet and there some fantastic MUA out there that do great tutorials
E- use a simple but effective skincare routine that treats my dehydrated skin because there aren’t enough hours in the day to get enough sleep due to a currently extremely demanding job

Just for the record I can only tell when another woman is wearing foundation when they’ve chosen the wrong type for their skin or shade. However I really don’t have the time to examine faces or the inclination, each to their own.

TabithaTittlemouse its nonsense that you can't tell when close to people (talking 1:1 say). It's precisely because you can see their normal, slightly flawed because every human is, natural skin that you can tell!

My two colleagues who wear foundation probably apply it well - they look perfectly nice but their skin is unnaturally even and porcelain looking and they both also wear eye makeup.

It's really not a given that if someone isn't wearing makeup they definitely actually are, but nobody can tell because it's done so well! On television and in photographs possibly, but not face to face up close!

When I was working I would wear light foundation,blusher, eyeshadow and mascara. But since retiring 3 years ago I,'ve never worn any.

I absolutely think everyone should (as indeed they do) be free to do as they please in terms of wearing makeup.

I object to contexts where women are pressured into wearing it but men aren't (weddings are an example when playing a "role", and it used to be but hopefully no longer is the case in certain types of workplace).

I'm also bothered by the circular attempt at "gotcha" inherent in the argument that almost every woman is wearing foundation and if you can see they aren't this means that they are and have done it well. This argument is phrased to be impossible to argue against but that doesn't mean it's true - and as I know that I have never worn foundation in my life and that my very nearly adult daughter hasn't I am extremely sceptical about the claim that my colleagues are definitely wearing it despite the fact that their skin looks like mine - naturally slightly imperfect and just fine as it is.

I'm not inspecting anyone's face for makeup - when I think of any individual I "see" them in my head very clearly, as if they were in front of me. This is normal for a lot of (perhaps most) people.

I don't agree that the majority of women wear foundation.
In my group of 6 close female friends, only one of us does, to cover acne scars. We are 50s, and all appearance conscious, for want of a better word, and wear other make up, just not foundation. I think it harks back to the orange masks of our school days, and a look at the pictures is enough to pit us off dabbling in it again.
At work, if the young women wear it, it's very discreet. But then it's very much a dress down environment, jeans, hair up, trainers, so a full face of make up would be a bit incongruous.
My older colleagues are about 50/50 I'd say.
A few women on my train wear it, which I know because I see them putting it on!

@sicklycolleague

if you like it though you should wear it! Stuff what your bf thinks!

@paintitallover

no

its only orange if u have wrong shade

My colour - when I wear it - is Ivory. Not in the least bit “orange”. I sense cattiness.

I can’t wear foundation. As I’ve aged, I’ve found that for me at least, less is definitely more.

@PorridgewithQuark i completely agree.
Another issue I personally have is with the feel of foundation. It just feels like my skin is covered in something unpleasant, I feel like I can’t touch it or move it properly.

I disagree I like to cover my eye bags. I wear very natural make up not caked on. A moisturiser, primer , then a Dewy foundation with a bit of blush. Mascara. I'm 29 and my facial skin started getting more dry a few years ago. Some women cake on matte foundation which looks terrible and aging.

Not wearing makeup doesn't mean people shouldn't dress nicely, cut their hair or look after their bodies / skin or look smart. I just don't see that hiding your face behind makeup needs to be a part of that. It seems very unnecessary. And it's not great for your skin. I personally don't think it looks that nice, I feel a bit sad for those who feel they need to hide their face, but at the end of the day people can do what they want. It makes no difference to me. It's not as though I'm going to walk up to them and comment on their foundation.

@DuckBilledFattypus

i wear foundation to enhance, not hide

you can’t make assumptions as to why others wear makeup cos u don’t know

Foundation is fine for your skin, it can be a protective layer. And often has spf in. As long as you wash your face it doesn't do any harm whatsoever. It's the same as putting moisturiser on
And some of us want to cover our face! Rosacea, acne, burn scars. People seem to act like it's somehow morally superior not to wear it and call it caked/orange/slathered on and claim that can always tell any form of makeup

In reality most people just wear what they want and it isn't noticeable unless it's the wrong colour or heavily applied. It always goes the same way on here

Not do I care 🤣 seriously. If you want to cake your face in foundation for any reason you want to then go ahead.

It doesn't matter what other people think though does it. If you want to wear it, go ahead. If there's parts of your face you want to cover because you don't want people to see it, then do so.

You can't expect every other people to agree that make up looks lovely though. Although no one is going to say that to you in real life. So what's the problem? And also, there will be people who do actually think it looks lovely, as well as those who don't.

@DuckBilledFattypus it doesn't bother me, I'm just pointing out how the thread will go as makeup ones always do
There already plenty of references to orange, caked, can't move face which isn't generally the makeup that I see on people

Fair enough PeloFondo.

I think some young women do look better without makeup, if they have that dewy softness and no blemishes (my 17 year old wore make up for a play she was in and it was such a shock to see her - it looked very doll like even though no more than one would associate with a made up face). But I use foundation, as light as possible, to even out my skin tone and hide a few thread veins. The thick 'contoured' look is pretty awful though.

I hate the way it feels so only wear it if I’m going on a night out or somewhere my photo is going to be taken. But I disagree it always looks bad, some people do a lovely job with their makeup