To think most make up is a waste of time?

[HuckleberryBlackcurrant]

I've never been a girly girl, never seen the point of tanning, nails, fashionable clothes, makeup etc. I do wear makeup on occasion, but it takes me 5 minutes to apply- some powder, a little mascara and maybe some lip tint.

I used to use more makeup to cover blemishes when a teenager.

But I know so many women who spend hours a week on their face. The time, the effort and the expense seems to be immense. I just don't get it. Why spend so long applying expensive paint to your face? Why not just look how you look? Men don't go through all this nonsense and somehow we are able to stand to look at their bare faces.

I know some people are going to say makeup is their hobby, they enjoy it, fine. I'm more addressing those who feel they have to put it on before leaving the house every day.

Help me to understand!

I enjoy makeup, I like the results.
I like buying it, applying it and how it improves my appearance.
It makes me look polished and professional which is a must in my industry.

I'm one of those who doesn't like to leave the house without makeup, I look and feel a lot better with it on and it's not a waste of my time, I enjoy putting it on.
I probably spend around 30 minutes on hair and makeup before work each morning and around an hour if I'm going out, to just pop to Tesco then I can do it in 10 minutes. I've had this same routine since I was a teenager and I'm now in my 40's.
As to why I started, who knows?!? My mum never bothered. Someone mentioned nails being a waste of time, I disagree.. I love it when I can escape for half hour to the salon, same with getting my hair highlighted.

Why does anyone do anything that’s not essential?! Generally because they like it and want to do it.

Make up is essentially artistic and a way of expressing yourself. It’s like piercing your ears, wearing certain clothes. It’s mostly fun for the people that like to do it.

Why should anyone have to justify themselves to you? We’re not all the same. Ffs

I don't really get it either and wish I did tbh. People that are really 'into' make up and new techniques and experimenting look like they really have fun with it.

I put the bare minimum on so that I don't scare small children when out and about. Beyond that I feel like a toddler drawing on my own face.

I'm like you OP, I don't get any of it and personally hate it, but I'm not so ignorant to think that everyone else should think like me. Some enjoy it, some, it boosts their confidence. Whatever their reasons for doing it, I respect their choices and I respect that everyone's choices and preferences are different.

I hear you. But honestly people treat me completely differently when I wear makeup. And it doesn't take long to put on, maybe 5-10mins each morning. So it's worth it to me

*I also love it

I can’t be bothered with make up but actually I think I would look better with some well applied make up now I’m getting older. I was lucky not to need it before now. And I’m completely unskilled and don’t know where to start!

I don't really wear makeup except a bit of blusher and occasional lip gloss.

BUT I wish I did, I'm really jealous of people who know what foundation and how to apply eye shadow etc. no one ever taught me and I'm too old to find out now.

We need a mumsnet master class for us older ones who never learnt.

I think some of it depends on your face. My eyelids basically disappear when my eyes are open so all these complicated eye shadows don't work.

Similarly lipstick just seems to look ridiculous on me.

I have quite small features and while a bit of make up can enhance, any more just makes me look odd. My friend is a very good make up artist and tried experimenting with more but said it just doesn't work well on my features.

And yet other people can completely transform. I think that if make up made me look amazing rather than ridiculous I'd probably dedicate more time to it.

Well you say you use make up on occasion to cover blemishes etc.

I wear make up every day because I like having my blemishes covered on most occasions

I often wear lipstick and like it, but never normally use much else. Eye makeup never stays on me anyway!

However, in recent years I have come to appreciate that I am starting with the advantage of fairly dark brows and lashes so already have some inbuilt ‘definition’. I’m moderately attractive - certainly no stunner! - but I seem to look ok without it. But I now get that women with lighter eyebrows and lashes are starting from a different point so perhaps do feel that daily makeup is essential.

But I do worry about the money that younger women (even on low incomes) feel that they need to spend on treatments for brows, lashes, nails or semi-permanent makeup that just didn’t exist a few decades ago. Yes it is individual choice but there is also a cultural pressure to look a certain way, which costs a lot of money to maintain.

I would never go out bare faced.

There were definitely advantages to growing up in the low-maintenance grunge era!

I like makeup but just takes me a few minutes. On Saturday I was on the train and the girl opposite (aged 16-19 ish) spent 2 hours solid painting her face with different brushes and foundations, contouring. It was like a very long live TikTok. At the end, she looked the same but slightly more orange 🤷🏻‍♀️ I didn’t get it at all. She also put curlers in the front of her dry hair and when she took them out she then clipped them back. It was a fascinating level of effort when sitting relaxing would have achieved a very similar look. She was naturally beautiful. Not sure I’m very feminine.

I don’t feel compelled to wear it. I feel like I look better with it on. I wear bb cream and mascara, sometimes darken my eyebrows and wear lipstick and eyeliner. Takes 10 mins for the full works so it isn’t hours and hours.

I do enjoy buying new make up and probably buy something every month or so, let’s say £10. It is a luxury and I know I don’t need it but it’s a small luxury I can afford.

Male up os an absolute mystery to me - my mum never really wore it so l had no idea how to apply any of it - still don't. Wish l did but too old to start now, l would look silly if l suddenly started wesring anything but mascara or lip gloss.
Wish l did know but then am glad l don't have to bother too.

Well, I did too, but that was three decades ago...

I feel compelled to wear makeup because it’s part of my whole look and I like aesthetically pleasing things. I wear quite a lot of colours, I have funky glasses and bold jewellery. If I had mousy brown hair (my natural colour) and no makeup I’d be completely washed out. For me getting dressed up and doing my hair and makeup is how I express myself, it’s a big part of my personality.

Imagine someone Vivienne Westwood in grey leggings and a baggy t-shirt, short grey hair and no makeup, it would have been such a loss for the rest of the world had she not felt the need to make an effort. Can’t we all just coexist without making people feel shallow, insecure and stupid for caring about looks. It’s perfectly ok to want to only like visually appealing art, humans can be art too.

I equate it to low self esteem. My best friend refuses to even go to the corner shop without a trowel of makeup on.

If people feel better about themselves with make up on then I guess it serves a purpose.

Well you can if you like but if you read the thread plenty of people just enjoy it and have fun with it.

I'm vain and I love me some makeup.

I absolutely love putting my makeup on and blow drying my hair every day. I've been the same since I was about 12, and I'm now 55. I find the whole ritual so enjoyable and therapeutic, and I much prefer how I look with my make up on.

Wearing make-up and feeling well-groomed and well-dressed has always had such a hugely positive effect on my mental wellbeing. I feel like I can hande whatever challenges the day brings if I start it with perfect make-up and clean, bouncy hair.

Even when my children were tiny, I'd make sure I found the time to do my make up and hair every day - either by waiting for nap time or having them in the swinging musical chair or baby gym next to me while I did it. It was so important to me to still look and feel like 'myself' and I think I would have found the early days of motherhood (with DS and DD only 17 months apart, no family within 200 miles and a DH who worked long hours) so much harder if I hadn't.

My now 17 year old DD is exactly like me and we love spending hours together in Sephora, trying out samples and treating ourselves to new products.

I put my makeup on every day for myself, no one else, because I enjoy it and it makes me feel good. It's just a personal choice.