Going 'no makeup'

[LadyBlaBlah]

I know it's trivial and as feminists must think only of FGM however I'm getting fed up with the time, cost, effort and most of all the reasons why I wear make up.

I've been wearing it blindly since about aged 14 so it will weirdly be a big change, and my small act of rebellion against the p.

Anyone else a no makeup person?

MN, OK I see your point - I'm doing it to make myself feel more confident and I'm doing that by making myself look what I consider to be more attractive. The better I think I look, the better I feel. I had to meet someone a couple of weeks ago and for various reasons I was absolutely dreading it - one of the ways I coped was by putting a full face of make up on. It worked too! I felt like I was putting on armour, or maybe even a mask, which I felt I needed to do to get through it.

I also suffer from depression and for me, make up is a very important part of self care. So I do do it for me, but I accept that other people's perceptions of me are an important part of that

Sorry if I was a bit harsh there.

If we were all more confident in our abilities shining through and all less judgmental of each other's appearance the world would be a better place.

In a world where make-up didn't exist, what would you do to bolster your self confidence (before an important meeting or somesuch)?

Disclaimer: I haven't read the thread in detail, but saw it linked on the front page and thought it was interesting.

I consider myself to be a feminist. I wear make up and enjoy it. I know it isn't essential - I see it as an indulgence. I don't wear it every day and am quite happy to go out and about without it on.

MN164

The thing is, I view clothes in the way that Lottapianos views makeup. I really enjoy owning lovely clothes that I feel comfortable in and that flatter me in various ways. I find dresses and tights much more comfortable than trousers so wear a lot of typically 'feminine' clothing. That said, I'm also a bit eccentric in my clothing choices (right now I am wearing bright pink loafers and a moleskin waistcoat) so I don't choose clothes to "conform". If asked, I would say that I purchase and wear nice clothes "for me", with the corrolorary being that when I'm going through a bout of depression and feeling upset and angry with myself I unconsciously move towards less nice clothing almost as a self-punishment. BUT I also know I am choosing pretty dresses that pull in at the waist within the context of a culture that rewards women for doing so.

HoVis, I'm the same with clothes too

Make-up, diets, hair colour, teeth whitening, posh clothes, posh car, big house. They are all non-essentials but why the make-up embargo? I think a woman who never, ever wears make-up is odd. Where were you as a teenager? Locked in a basement in an Amish community?

I love make up. I love shopping for it, buying it, applying it. I watch all those Youtube make up tutorials. I don't wear it every day though, and couldn't give a toss if someone sees me without it.

I enjoy dressing up, too.

I don't think that enjoying make up and clothes is an exclusively female thing, anyway.

I love putting my make up on :) Makes me feel girly and like myself! I will pop to the shop or the gym without my face on, but I feel like a slob because I haven't made the effort. I'm not one of these people who is insecure about the way I look without make up on, its my face...like it or lump it. But I do feel better in myself when I've got a bit of concealer and some mascara on :)

emzii, I feel the same as you do although it is ironic that we feel most like us when we're changing our faces to make them look different!

Lottapianos: That's a good point. But then 'you' is whoever you choose to be, no? Surely putting make up on is part of that.

But it's worth exploring how that fits into our society, its structures and stereotypes, no?

I won't be giving up my make up any time soon but I do think its valuable to discuss the factors involved in deciding to wear make up. Its not an entirely free choice and I think as a feminist its important to be aware of that

PurdeyPie

I think a woman who never, ever wears make-up is odd. Where were you as a teenager? Locked in a basement in an Amish community? grin

I'm not Amish! Though I may well be odd. I had two older DB, my DM never showed me how to put on makeup, school was pretty strict about what makeup you could and couldn't wear, and I also infinitely preferred staying at home with a book rather than dressing up and going out. Also, my sole 'tutoring' in makeup came from being taught how to put on theatre makeup. So when I came to try out putting makeup on as an older teenager I ended up looking like Tutankhamun with my clumsy eyeliner.

I might put a dab of concealer (if I can find my 5+ year old stick of it) over a particularly egregious spot, but that's it. I could see the appeal in putting on mascara once in a blue moon but don't actually own any so that's fairly theoretical.

I go through phases . Sometimes wear it every day, sometimes don't wear it for weeks. Always wear it for a night out but don't go out that often.

That's fair enough, Hovis. I just can't think of a single woman over the age of twenty-one who doesn't look infinitely better with properly-applied make-up. Yes, that's because a smoother complexion and bigger eyes and plucking sasqwatch eyebrows have been defined by our society as being the ideal, but who cares? Even babies prefer attractive faces.

Define "attractive".

I'm another "odd" one. And did not grow up in the Amish community. Had very happy childhood and teenage-hood. And quite happy now too. And I have friends and colleagues who are either very good actors or who actually don't mind looking at my "naked" face.

Does this all boil down to....

Yes I am free to do as I choose, including confirming to a patriarch defined neo-consumer image of women.

Doesn't stand up to much scrutiny as valiant or virtuous really, but it appears that most don't care.

Another non-Amish person here.

We all make our choices. Mine do not include make-up. Bit of a leap to suggest I must have been locked in a basement or belonged to a religiously based community.

I look in the mirror and I am happy with what I see. I like me the way I am. I am confident in myself and happy for the world to see my face in its natural state. I do not care whether other people find me attractive or not.

And in my experience, what babies prefer is comfort and positive attention. I have yet to have a baby comment on attractiveness!

There may have been some studies about babies looking longer at symmetrical faces, but that's nothing to do with make up...

And if babies look longer at red trucks than blue, say, is that an important judgement for humanity?

at the idea of having to put on make up right after giving birth so as to look attractive enough for your own baby ...

Was that why DS1 cried and cried when he was tiny?

OK sorry I'll stop being facetious now.

I have never worn makeup in my life, never, and I am in my 40s.

My overriding memory of being young is watching my grandmother put on make up. I really loved her, but she was ancient in my eyes, and I never wanted to be old like her.
Every time I even smell make up I just reminds me of old ladies.

but it's worth exploring how that fits into our society, its structures and stereotypes, no?

Personally no. I really don't care. I like dressing up, I particularly like dressing up in 50s New Look Dior style and some very eccentric clothes from a designer in Amsterdam and a not particularly well known French designer.

I've got better things to worry about than what societal pressures are making me choose these clothes.

I've always like dressing up and my every day clothes are usually a bit eccentric. Random strangers men and women compliment me on how I dress. Which pleases me.

Possibly I'm vain and shallow, again I don't really care.

Yes, wearing make up means we (general we) are conforming to an image of what women are meant to be like. I still enjoy wearing it .

That said, I would never suggest to a woman who doesn't like the stuff that she ought to wear it or that she would look better with it.

As PP have said they make choices that are not feminist, not ideal but they still do it - because we are human.