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 think some of the (in my opinion) excessive make up comes from those seeing others similarly made up, as it were.

A bit like those who have SUVs because too many other people have them.

Agree! Fwiw I went to a very academic, high achieving school and one girl the ( female sadly ) teachers were vicious to because she was very conventionally girly, obsessed with makeup and planning to start her own business after school. All 30's now and she earns my wages in about 3 days with her wedding makeup business and other projects. Makeup doesn't equate to a waste of time, there's a reason the wedding industry and just one example brings so much money into it.

@LlynTegid I think the majority of women who wear make up don't wear an excessive amount.

Read my subsequent posts if you wish to know the answers

@Stonehill

Don't you think it’s better if people can have body autonomy and look how they want? Yes, you could put everyone in a black sack with no make up and there will still be people who are unhappy with themselves.

Wearing clothes, doing your hair, wearing make up are all ways of being creative and showing your personality. I love experimenting with hair colour and make up, especially when I was younger.

Tbh I can't be arsed lol but do be kinder to other women!

Yes, removing choice is never helpful, progressive or pro women at all

I didn't realise an otherwise nice thread had kicked off.

If there are people who see what you seem to infer; which I assume is vanity, self obsession, extravagance, etc., do let me make it clear I couldn't give two hoots what people like that think and suspect I rarely come across them socially or professionally.

I do hope anyone who feels that way loves being a woman as much as me.

Why would you think I’m not? I have an opinion based on my lived experiences I was asked to share on a forum. In real life I don’t go round telling women I think they might have low self esteem for wearing make up. They can crack on with whatever makes them happy.

You are wrong about most women though. Do you think women who buy lots of clothes have low self esteem? Do you care about what you look like at all?

😂😂😂

At 63 and after three children, if I wore lip gloss (I wear lipstick) to match my fanny, I'd resemble butcher's offcuts.

Because of body dysmorphia. To give a little bit of a confidence boost so I'm not anxiety stricken the whole time I'm out!

I am probably pretty close to the definition of a girly girl. I wear a full face of makeup if I'm leaving the house, get my hair done and have my nails done, I also like more feminine clothes and shoes. The only thing I've never done is tan.

I do it because I like it. I enjoy doing it, I like how it makes me feel, I enjoy the time I spend in the hairdressers and the nail salon. Often my appearance sparks conversation (I dress quite brightly) and I find it an easy way to connect with people.

I also totally understand why people don't like it and that's fine, different strokes for different folks. It may feel like a waste of time to some people, but I'm sure there are things other people do that feel like a waste of time to me.

oh god 😂😂

Loving that all the ads on this thread, my feed at least, are for Charlotte Tilbury's Pillow Talk :)

If we all “looked the way we look” then we wouldn’t get our hair cut and coloured, make it look lovely before a party, wear nice clothes that werent JUST suitable, get our beards trimmed. Most people care how they look to some extent, we are just all on different levels regarding quite how much we care. Your level is lower than others, and I’m sure people who care EVEN LESS would say the same thing about you regarding the way you put your hair up that one time or your new pair of jeans because “why would you care so much?”

I don't understand people who spend hundreds for a dye and a cut.

I don't understand people that go on vacation just to sit on the beach.

I don't understand women that wear high heels.

I don't understand people that can't sit still for two seconds and always have to be on the go.

I don't understand people that always have to be in a relationship and can't be alone for any length of time.

I don't wear a lot of makeup, prob wouldn't wear any at all buy my face is scarred, I'm old, and not nice to look at, so I slap some on if I go into the office, or out with friends. But I don't try to figure out why people wear makeup regularly, or get their nails done, or why they aren't "like me" and just slap a little on and keep it moving. We are all different, and it what makes life interesting.

No I don’t actually. I’ll make an effort to look presentable so I don’t get mistaken for a homeless person when we go out otherwise I’m straight into my tracksuit bottoms, t-shirt/hoodie and dressing gown.

For as long as some groups of women seek to disempower other women or groups of women, there will always be a gender gap.

So you just aren't interested in make-up and clothes and that's fine but it doesn't mean women who are have self esteem issues.

But a lot do, I’m not saying everyone does.

I virtually never wear makeup, because basically, I can’t be arsed. And I have a professional job and everything.
But I also have good skin, dark eyelashes and eyebrows and good cheekbones. If these things weren’t true, maybe I would bother with makeup more? Hard to know. Because I definitely have vanity. I know that people often think I’m younger than I am because I don’t wear makeup - and I can’t pretend I don’t like that! (I’m 40)

I wear makeup when I go out of the house. Not to nip to the Spar, but just when I'm generally out and about. I wear the basics - foundation, concealer and mascara. If I wear lipstick, I feel suddenly conspicuous😆 I do wear it sometimes though, when I'm in the mood. I think I wear makeup more to conceal flaws than to enhance anything. If I could only wear one item of makeup for the rest of my life, it would be concealer because of the very dark circles round my eyes. I could live without the rest. I do always feel a bit drab beside women who are good at makeup, but I'm honestly too lazy to make the effort.

A choice made because you don't feel comfortable without make up is not a choice freely made. It is because of societal expectations.

Lucky you that you don't feel this.