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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Make up

433 replies

ettieb · 04/09/2023 08:17

Do you wear make up every day? I do...I know I look better and younger when I wear it and feel so much better. I know so many people who don't wear make up on a daily basis who look stunning when they put make up on to go out. Why wouldn't you want to look the best you can all the time? It doesn't need to take a lot of time...5 mins for basic eye liner..mascara.. blusher and lipstick...I have a friend in her 60s and if we go out she wears lipstick and mascara and looks 20 years younger! I also would wear make up if I'm just at home hanging out with my DP...I want to look my best for him. I find it baffling that people will do their hair and make up to go out with with work colleagues but don't do the same on a daily basis for their partner...

OP posts:
JumpingQueen · 04/09/2023 13:02

No I don’t wear make up every day…I work in construction and have spent the last 15 years on site so make up has hardly been appropriate.

I am starting to age quite quickly 😞 despite always wearing suncream.

However I now work from home in an office job, so have decided it’s time to start making more of an effort! For myself before I get jumped on, my Dh doesn’t care if I do or don’t!

I am about to embark on a decent skin care routine once I’ve figured out what I am supposed to use etc

CPLawyer · 04/09/2023 13:02

Nutterjacks · 04/09/2023 12:41

I'm 60 and have always worn makeup every day, as did my dm. I wouldn't feel properly "dressed" without it.

I feel like this about earrings. If I don't have earrings in I don't feel dressed.

DivergentTris · 04/09/2023 13:04

I don't wear makeup, I don't look or feel like me with it on, I feel like I'm hiding. I don't need it to look my best either. If people want to judge me on how made up I am or not then I will judge them for being superficial.

Ultimately you should be able to be happy within yourself without it if needed and if men can look their best without it then so can women. If you choose to wear makeup you do so simply because you want to and enjoy it

andrainwillmaketheflowersgrow · 04/09/2023 13:04

I would be interested to know how many married mumsnetters wore make up on their wedding day... if you did.. surely it was too look your best and wouldn't you want to continue to do this?

Do you also wear a wedding dress and get your hair styled professionally every single day then?

Gertrudetheadelie · 04/09/2023 13:56

I wear and like make up but I think if I had beautiful skin and the confidence that comes with it, I wouldn't so much. I'll admit to being jealous of those people that feel they don't need it for their confidence!

That said, I know that I'm not representative of everyone and there is some genuine artistry in make up so if that's how you get your kicks that's great. It's just another one of these women Vs women debates often that has no good conclusions.

Oysterbabe · 04/09/2023 14:00

I'm happy with how I look without makeup. I don't give a single shit what other people think of how I look. It's nice to dress up occasionally. The impact would be lost if I did it all the time.

Comedycook · 04/09/2023 14:17

Most men have no clue about make up. On our first date, dh commented to me that I was hardly wearing any make up...I had a full face on. When they say they prefer the no make up look they usually have no idea what they're talking about. They actually prefer natural make up....not totally bare faced.

sadaboutmycat · 04/09/2023 14:19

VintageTuppence · 04/09/2023 08:51

Hey! Little Girl
Comb your hair, fix your makeup
Soon he will open the door …

I rarely wear make up - work or home. When I do, I don’t look 10 or 20 years younger, I look like me with facemuck and lipstick on.

Jack Jones... I had a huge crush on him when I was a primary age kid!

AnObserverInThisDarkWorld · 04/09/2023 14:20

BIossomtoes · 04/09/2023 11:20

You’d be able to do it in five minutes if you did it every day.

Show quote history

I doubt I would. Im not sure I'll ever get the hang of it

Comedycook · 04/09/2023 14:21

Anyway..he's now obviously seen me with not a scrap of make up in and he agrees that I absolutely look better with make up on. He's right. He doesn't utter a word if I'm not wearing any so there's no pressure but why lie?! Obviously I look better with make up...vast vast majority of women do.

WhatNowBarry · 04/09/2023 14:27

I wear makeup every day as it makes me feel better and more confident. I feel like I look like my brother without it. Nothing crazy, just a tiny bit of foundation to balance out my colour, eyeliner, eyebrow pencil as I have rubbish baldy brows, and a very neutral lip liner as my lips are quite thin and I just want a bit of definition. I can do it all in five minutes and I am ready to go. When I go out running I don't wear any, and feel as if I look like an old pink potato, but funnily enough I get more likes if I post a running face than a going out face on my SM. Some people are very lucky to still look nice without makeup, and that's great. But I feel soooo much better with it.

Q2C4 · 04/09/2023 14:31

No I don't wear make up every day. I don't like the fakery of it; I'm fine with my husband & family seeing the real me.

I will wear it when I have an important event coming up (eg job interview or party) as then it feels a bit like a mask I can hide beneath.

ChristmasJumpers · 04/09/2023 14:33

I literally can't be bothered and don't feel that my basic makeup skills are enough to improve my face that much anyway.
That's 5 mins of my day that I can spend snoozing in bed!

I went on a date with DH yesterday and didn't put makeup on for that either

ChristmasJumpers · 04/09/2023 14:34

Oh and the cost of makeup!

ChristmasJumpers · 04/09/2023 14:35

Comedycook · 04/09/2023 12:24

No woman looks better without mascara

I have long dark eyelashes put wear glasses which hide them away unfortunately.
Mascara makes them a tiny bit longer, but not enough that anybody would notice. Completely pointless!

LisaD1 · 04/09/2023 14:38

Totally depends on what I’m doing, how i feel. I’d say it’s about 50/50. When I do wear it though I wear it for me, nobody else.
my DH is well aware what I look like without it after 20 years together!

Meadowflower2023 · 04/09/2023 15:01

I wear make up every day. I can assure you I don't do it for DH or anyone else, I do it for me. I'm not confident in my own skin and I like how much better I feel with it on. I have no problem holding my hands up saying that.

10 mins max for light make up daily and probs 30 mins if I'm out out (which is rare) it's part of my daily routine, get up, make a brew, take it up and have ten mins at the dressing table before I take the dog out. It's not bothering anyone else so not a problem.

I probably do feel a bit envious of people that feel comfortable in their own skin but I also don't think everyone looks better without it either.

Devilsmommy · 04/09/2023 15:07

Never wear make up and told my husband that what he sees is what he gets. If he only found me attractive wearing make up then he's not really attracted to the real me. And am at the stage where I really don't care if other people would think I look better with it. Like a pp said, it's just so fake

BlueBlubbaWhale · 04/09/2023 15:23

No. I cba. If my partner doesn't like it he knows where the door is 😂

ICanSeeMyHouseFromHere · 04/09/2023 15:26

I have some, I play with it sometimes, but my face is fine just as it is.

None of my partners has worn makeup either (well, one did consider trying some eyeliner once), so I think we're about even on effort put in TBH.

Hankunamatata · 04/09/2023 15:34

My husband has held my hair while Iv been sick, cleaned up after food poisoning, watched me give birth. He really isn't bothered if I wear make up, I asked him. When we were teen I used to wear a full face as I had little self confidence. He says my confidence is attractive now rather than needing to wear make up.
It's a bit weird when husbands are proud of how their wives look, smatters a bit of trophy wife

familyissues12345 · 04/09/2023 15:38

No, I'm fortunate that I've always had good skin (touch wood!) so never needed powder/foundation etc.

I do like make up, but only wear it if going out - mascara, blusher/bronzer and sometimes a bit of lipstick/gloss

Beowulfa · 04/09/2023 15:38

If it makes you look "better" and "younger" why aren't ugly middle aged blokes devoting 5 minutes of their day to this miracle cure?

StrawberryWater · 04/09/2023 15:46

I don’t wear it at all. I seem to be allergic to every brand (even the hypo allergenic kind before people say ‘oh why don’t you wear….’). I’m 40. I made me peace with it long ago and even if they did suddenly invent something that didn’t make my face puff up or come out in dark red patches I’m not sure I’d be bothered to check it out.

Lampzade · 04/09/2023 15:47

I wear makeup most days but not when I am at home
I enjoy wearing makeup and look great because I learned to apply it properly as I didn’t want to resemble a clown.
I have great skin so I probably don’t ‘ need’
it but it makes me feel good.
However, it is not my business whether others wear make up , likewise it is not their business what I choose to do with my face
All this nonsense about not having the time to apply makeup…
I had three kids ,a professional job, was a carer to an aunt, had various hobbies and still had time to apply a little makeup .
If you don’t want to wear makeup, just say so.