To find make-up weird

[elprup]

I kind of get foundation because it can cover spots, blotches and blemishes. But to “enhance” perfectly good eyes with black lines and smudges (eyeshadow) and to colour in your lips - I don’t know, isn’t it all a bit odd when you think about it? (Most) men don’t wear it so why do women? Just a thought! 🤣

What on earth is 'natural' make up, though? Surely 'natural' is no make up at all?!

Alcohol is weird.
Who worked out the bottled squashed grape juice left to ferment made a nice drink?
Too much of it chanes our personality and affects our decision making. It gives us headaches belly ache and makes our skin look bad. It extreme cases it can cause our livers to fail and eventually kill us.
It's considered socially acceptable.

100% this. As a free personal choice, all wonderful; but it's the expectations that it's essential for women - to the extent that women who don't wear it will frequently be told off and told that they don't look 'professional' without it.

That's the part where the misogyny comes thick and fast, as apart from specific jobs in acting or other performance-related roles - usually to counteract the effects of strong lighting - no man is ever told that his natural unmade-up face is unacceptable and even a case for discipline.

Most ridiculous of all is the suggestion that women look 'ill' without it. By all means wear it if you choose to and believe it makes you look/feel better; but to assume that all women look 'ill' by default as their natural state (but oddly, not men) is as sexist and misogynistic as it gets.

Absolutely!

I think it's become so ingrained into people's minds that it's 'necessary' to try to cover up how (apparently) inadequate women's actual faces are in society's eyes, that women frequently feel as though they need it. It's really such a shame. Its usage generally revolves entirely around the idea that your face somehow isn't good enough for others to look at (??), and needs to be hidden or altered. It's so weird and misogynistic.

Obviously women can do what they like, and there are times (like under bright lights, as you say) where it's useful for both men and women, but people really should stop saying 'women look worse without it' like that's some objective truth, instead of a sad statement on misogynistic socialisation.

Each to their own, but considering that you can enjoy the same taste of wine/beer etc. with the alcohol removed, and avoid all of these negatives that you list, it baffles me that the majority of adults opt for the alcoholic versions.

Even leaving aside all the many health considerations, the simple fact that you can either choose Drink A (alcoholic) and have to spend £40 or however much on taxis and rely on (and have to plan and organise) strangers to transport you; or you can choose Drink B (the same but non-alcoholic) and freely and cheaply drive yourself there and back and anywhere else you want to go... I will never understand why A is the default choice!

Because my eyebrows have thinned and because I like to make my eyelashes look longer.

I have had permanent make up done on my eyebrows and my upper lid eyeliner.

It makes me feel good.

I dont wear makeup because people should accept me for who I am, unless I stand amd look in the mirror all day then make up is for other people not me

So yes if people want to discuss the topic I would say make up ia vanity

I refuse to buy into a woman has to wear make up to look better or it makes a woman feel better about themselves
Men don't wear it so why should I?

There are a number of examples of females fighting to get male attention in the animal kingdom. Several birds, seahorses etc.

The more major difference is that most of the males in the animal kingdom don't offer anything other then sperm so they need to convince a female to invest in them because she's the one doing all the work.

In humans, most/many males are active participants in their children's lives so there is more female competition to get a 'good' one and convince them to stick around which means being young/fertile enough to tempt them long term.

Obviously we are wrong a lot of the time and value good looks over good behaviour too much but there is a reason women get the 'gold digger accusations thrown at them. It's because OF COURSE we want someone who is relatively self sufficient and can provide for children rather then playing mummy to an adult who will take resources from our offspring.

Why would you buy shit to smear all over yourself?

Don’t you have your own?

Mumsnet is an alternative universe where people don't understand why makeup and alcohol are used.

I might be a minority but I reckon it's because they're both really fun.

Nailed it perfectly.

I have always been very unattractive - strangers commenting levels of unattractive - so I didn't bother much with make up when I was younger, it didn't stop the unkind comments so there seemed no point.

Now I'm middle-aged I am blessedly invisible, no more jeers from strangers, so I'll wear whatever make up and clothes I like, thank you very much.

Usually wear tinted moisturiser, brow pencil, mascara and lipstick.

I do an eyebrow pencil as my brows are awful from 90s over plucking
..thats it. I don’t look better with make up.

Yes it is weird, but like many things it's been cleverly marketed over a long period of time to make us think we need it and to make money.

Ive managed to go completely invisible in my 30s and it's truly a blessing. Do NOT ✋️ look at me.
Also I hate the feeling of makeup on my skin so don't wear it for that reason. I struggle with wearing sunscreen but get melasma otherwise so it's a must.
I think dh has seen me wear makeup for about 3 events since he's known me (and also seen me frantically scrubbing it off the second I get home)
I have never been in to hair, nails, makeup, fashion, handbags as i have sensory issues and chronic pain and just no eye for fashion. So I've just worn a fleece and jeans for literally my entire life.

I don't see the khol....he's got very black lashes th create an eyeliner effect at their base.

The only make up trend I find really weird is painting slugs on eyebrows and thinking it looks good.

He's definitely wearing khol. However, I've just discovered it's an AI image [doh!] created as a man wearing khol.

To make up for it, I offer verified real photos of a young Afghan man, a Berber woman and a 4,500 year old Egyptian statue.

Posts like these come across as so joyless. Even if someone has never worn makeup, surely they can appreciate that people do things like wear makeup, creative clothes, dye hair fun colours etc because they take joy from it and use it as a form of self expression? Unless the person finding it weird is living life like a puritan or in an Amish community, I don't understand their confusion.

Ive never gotten a tattoo and never felt to urge to get one, but I can understand why others may want to and how they may get enjoyment from it.

Not weird at all. Some animals also enhance themselves as part of courting and mating.

Yes, that's one of the common explanations given. Blusher mimics an aroused state too. Mascara draws attention to the eyes (big eyes a youthful thing?) and foundation makes us long younger.

OMG, maybe partly because I don't have to use taxis when I drink. I can use public transport or my feet. Not everyone lives in the countryside.

Secondly, the positives outweigh the negatives for now.

Drinking tea is the only 'normal' and natural thing anyone on this fucked up planet does.

And I will die on this hill (as long as I have a kettle, gas or electricity, Yorkshire Gold and some milk).

Probably because being tipsy is a hell of a lot of fun.

It feels dirty to me. Covering up skin with mucky paints and powders. I hate seeing influencers chat while piling on layers and layers of facepaint. I'd want to wash it off immediately. It is a waste of time for me, too, as I exercise and shower a lot. It would just smudge. How do you put on suncream (also weird, essentially a layer of plastic), if you have make up on? Or is the make up.enpugh of a barrier to protect you from sun damage? It is so weird that make up is so normal for women and much less so for men.