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!

No. It's not. You're completely ignoring what I and loads of other pp have said so ill leave it there 😂

I prefer how I look with it on. It doesn't take hours, it takes about 7 minutes. I can take longer and enjoy doing that sometimes, but the basics are hardly time-consuming.

And no, I don't walk around with a mirror. But I do feel my face looks better, before I walk out the door. I look less tired when I glance in the mirror in the bathroom when I go to the loo. I am walking around knowing that my blemishes are covered, my dark circles are toned down a bit, and my eyes are a bit darker and therefore look better - to me.

I can assure you I do it for myself, because I do it every day unless I'm ill. Maternity leave and lockdown taught me that. I used to always have my nails painted, but that was for other people because I never bother now unless I'm going out. Make up is for me.

@Stonehill You are so full of shit 😂

And it's not for anyone else but me. I like the look of it, I like the feel of it.

Fine, do it then, but understand what many other people see when they look at it

...is a really ugly reflection looking back at you, stonehill, with such contempt and judgement for people who think differently to you, must be some deep seated self issues there to project onto others. Awful

I use pretty basic low price make up, and spend about 5 minutes on a morning doing my face before school run and work, and it makes me feel a million times better about myself. I look 'natural' I think, nothing dramatic, and it just gives me a bit of colour in my face so I don't look washed out. I probably don't look noticeably different, but to me, I feel better and therefore more confident, which in turn makes me look better.

I don't wear a scrap of makeup, but I still voted YABU. I imagine women wear makeup to increase their confidence, feel good about themselves etc, and moreover because they just want to. Who am I to decide what is a waste of anyone else's time? 🤷‍♀️

I'm the same as you OP, I'm not interested enough in how I look and I don't have the time or the money. I do think I am pretty but not one of those women with flawless even skin (although I'm not spotty fortunately).

I think some people just really enjoy doing their make up and feel good spending that time on how they look. Some are anxious.

You didn't have to listen to a teenage girl last week threaten to kill herself if she was not allowed to wear make up in school. She has such low self esteem that she can't show her face without masking it in gunk. She thinks this is the only socially acceptable way to leave the house. She is not alone in thinking this.

The culture of make up is deeply damaging and destructive. We should all be taking a stand against it.

@Stonehill I was obviously exaggerating for comedic effect 😆

I'm pretty sure that my lip gloss and mascara doesn't make me look like my 'only priority' is to kowtow to the patriarchy. Bit dramatic, pal.

@Stonehill are you a teacher?

lip gloss, to imply an open and moist vagina, yes? That is the purpose of lip gloss.

@stonehill you are coming across as very odd.

No. It's not to most people, that may be a trope wheeled out but the majority of people aren't looking at a stick of rimmel and thinking ooo I'll have a red sparkly giant vagina on my face today ffs. They like it. You don't.

I'm with you OP. I use a CC cream for everyday and a bit of foundation if I'm going out. I can't do mascara or eye shadow because of contact lenses. I'm 61 and luckily pretty much line free. I saw a photo of myself from the weekend and thought I looked fine, so to me that's all that matters.

My hairdresser sees me at 9am. She's already in full make up, including false eyelashes, having got 2 small children off to school. I don't know how she does it.

That is not me, that is the generally accepted meaning of what lip gloss/ lipstick represents.

hence men dont wear it...

"Generally accepted" - source?

It's meant to make the lips look more inviting to kiss, surely.

🙄 It goes without saying - at least it should to most people with an iota of common sense - that that poor girl has issues that go far beyond not being allowed to wear makeup at school, FFS.

I am old and for all of my life my skin has been pretty flawless. I still look a zillion times better with makeup than without it. It takes me about 5 minutes every morning and I don't leave the house without it. Nowadays I do it entirely for me. In the past I thoroughly enjoyed the second glances and yes I was and am vain. I like clothes too.

I neither wear nor own much: foundation, concealer, blusher, highlighter, Mascara, tiny bit of soft eyeliner, powder, lipstick. I use night cream and day cream. On Saturday I needed to top up: foundation and powder and treated myself to a new lipstick. I enjoyed buying it very much.

In addition I also love perfume and spend money on having my hair cut and coloured every 6/7 weeks. My hairdresser is like an old friend after 25 years!

I have never done: nails, tanning, brows, facials or tattoos.

I feel compelled to wear it because it's my representation of who I am and I look very pretty when I have it on. I enjoy it, it goes with my tattoos and my clothing choices and presents me as my authentic self. It helps me to embrace my day as the way you present draws in like minded people. I also love spending the time kn my face in the morning, similarly to when people ask why I spend a couple of hours a day on housework- because I love a spotless home :) being immaculate is in my nature and it's who I am.

Here, @Stonehill and any others of the like. I trawled the feminist board as I knew I'd seen a wonderful post and I hope they don't mind me quoting it here

@ginandbearit · 07/03/2024 23:39

Screenshot shot about the effect lipstick had on the women survivors of Belsen concentration camp

Yes @Stonehill I do indeed wear lip gloss so that my face matches my fanny.

This reminds me of America Ferrera's response on the Barbie Film when she lists all the reasons women can't win. Sad that you're basically saying you think wearing makeup is a sign of low self esteem but if you're doing it for you and you like it, minus the low self esteem you're a narcissist. Are you always this judgemental of other women's choices?