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?

at sgb.

Thunk indeed, yonic.

And good point SGB. Though I think the trying to fit in bit is true of all of us, counter-culture (does being Goth count as counter-culture any more?) or not.

What gets to me is the people who say 'well, I never changed my appearance and I've done fine!' and who also just happen to look exactly as those of us who are changing our appearances would like to look.

That was exactly my point jeanne

Mmm. Not quite. You said 'Where pp proclaim they don't see the need for make up and have never worn it. I read that "my skin is fairly decent, I have no obvious discolouration." For pp stating they barely bother with hair products etc don't always brush or otherwise do their hair = "I have straight/slightly wavy hair".'

You're assuming a bit more. I'm thinking of people whom I know, and know what they look like, or people who admit that the way they look 'just happens' to fit an ideal.

I happen to know what a couple of posters on here look like, and I know at least one person who has very curly hair but doesn't straighten it. So I try not to assume.

But I take your broader point that people in general do sometimes take the approach you're mentioning.

I didn't have any make up on when I met my DP- which is quite ironic when I almost always wore it when 'on the pull'.

I've got it on today for the first time in weeks. I feel like a different woman! It's nice though- the pink lipstick makes my teeth look whiter so I'm smiling more. I feel more confident and I think it's improved my mood.

I suppose that's kind of sad though. I should feel that way without covering my spots and enlarging my eyes & lips.

Compulsory make upping is definitely a feminist issue, even if a relatively recent phenomenon.

Just glad that I have the choice- make-up/no make-up, heels/no-heels

SGB " .. indications of ... your closeness to imaginary friends ..."

Actually jeanne I am not assuming pp have straight hair but I have Afro hair which I don't straighten and. there is a level of involvement required for curly hair so what I was getting at is that if a pp says they barely bother with their hair I will infer straight hair. With curly hair you need to devote some time.
So no I disagree with you. I did agree with you and your subsequent caveat doesn't apply

Oh, I follow you.

I don't think you can infer that, though I see why you would.

I wore a lot of make up once I started college, partly because I could get away with it more and I liked wearing loads of dark make up (I wasn't quite a goth, but similar reasoning). My skin was quite spotty, so over the summer after my first year of college I stopped wearing it and my skin cleared up so I didn't really bother any more apart from big nights out.

After my daughter got hold of some greasy eye make up and covered her eyes in it and most of my bedding (hilarious in hindsight - not so much at the time!) I threw it all out, and it was all years old anyway.

I still feel like a small child playing with their mother's make up though. And if you don't wear it, doing so makes you stand out and people comment on it, which makes the self-confidence issue (for me, partly the reason I would be wearing make up) even bigger. I suppose I'd get other comments if I were single as well. I would like to be able to wear some on a night out, partly to 'fit in' but generally speaking, I CBA to apply make up and I feel I look quite clown-like And also I feel a bit, fuck you I'm not going to do this just because you (general you, or 'society') tells me I should.

It also annoys me because it's just another way to judge women - whether they wear 'too much' or 'not enough'. I think that some men would also look 'better' (to wider society) with make up on, but they aren't judged for not doing.

Some really thought provoking stuff here, btw - enjoying reading this discussion.

I can't leave the house without mascara and lipstick. Have pale freckly skin and no eyelashes, so feel I need a bit of definition. I hate the sticky feeling of foundation or scratching your cheek and getting loads of foundation under your nails.

I fail to see the link to feminism really. I view it the same as choosing what to wear each day, and base my decisions on what I think will make me feel good that day.

I often wear make up even if I'm not going out anywhere, just because I feel more sprightly when I'm looking my best. It's possibly psychological because I don't put a lot on, and in the summer when I've got a tan I wear none at all, as I feel a tan is hard to improve on!

I love make up.

I have bags under my eyes and have acne. My eyes are also huge and need eye liner to make them look less tired.

I enjoy spending money on it and I enjoy looking the best I can look because I do look better with it on. Of course I probably think I look better due to the way society has drummed it into me how I should look.

I only know women irl with great skin and nice features who don't wear it though. So yes, they look how I look with make up on. Nice skin and don't look tired.

I too wear make up if I am not going out.

I just feel tired without it on. I know it makes no sense.

Most of us try to make the best of ourselves, even if it is just wearing nice well fitted clothes that flatter us. I see make up as much the same.

I remember as a teenager telling myself that I didn't wear make-up because it was a feminist issue and I didn't want to conform to society's standards etc. etc. It took me a while to admit that it had nothing to do with feminism but because I was really depressed and didn't give a shit about my appearance. Now I'm not saying people who don't wear make-up don't give a shit about their appearance but for me that is definitely true. If I start losing interest in clothes and wearing make-up then that is a warning sign to me that something is wrong.

I guess part of the reason I wear make-up is because when I'm depressed I stop wearing it so I feel I need to wear it for everything to be okay, if that makes sense. Plus, I'm not going to lie, I look a hell of a lot better with make-up. I've got acne scarring and spots which make-up can't get rid of completely but can certainly improve. Plus I have incredibly oily skin and there's no way I'm going out without some powder on my face. I just feel I look more alive with it on (and when I don't I get the usual comments of "you look really tired." Great!) It makes me feel more confident and I've noticed if I want to show a brave face to the world or need to mean business then I put even more on. I find the ritual of it soothing plus I like experimenting with it. I've got an incredible book by a make-up artist who made celebrities up in a certain way and they're virtually unrecognisable! Not that I want to change my appearance so drastically but I find it fascinating that I can make myself look very different if I feel the need to. Is it a confidence thing? Probably but I just feel more put together with it. If I go out without it on now, I don't feel dressed. My make-up style isn't very natural, in that I'm obviously wearing lipstick and black eyeliner but that's generally how I prefer to look.

I've known some men who really don't like make-up, even make-up like mine which okay isn't the most natural looking but I don't overdo it and definitely don't look like a potential Snog, Marry, Avoid contestant . I remember buying this new lipstick I loved once and putting it on and my ex boyfriend kindly told me I looked like a tart and a French whore. Nice. He used that to make me feel bad about myself so now I don't go out with men who have very strong views on make-up. It didn't work out with my last boyfriend but he liked me both with and without make-up and never made derogatory comments either way.

And speaking of make-up on men, I wish more would wear it. My last boyfriend wore eyeliner and nail varnish for Halloween once and he looked so hot I had to beg him to wear it again. There's another guy I know, who I've never noticed looks wise before. He put some photos on Facebook with him with eyeliner and dark lipstick on and he looked bloody gorgeous. I was quite shocked at how brilliant he looked. Of course, it wouldn't work on a lot of men, but there are some who look amazing with make-up and they should definitely wear it more often.

What I don't understand (not being goady, genuine question) is why if you don't wear make-up every day do you bother to put it on for really special occasions like going out or wedding etc? That seems to be quite common, and I don't get why, because it seems to be sort of saying that if the occasion is special enough you want to look your best ie with makeup on. It's not really the same as having a special outfit, I don't think, because makeup changes the way your face looks in (often) quite a drastic way, and if it's not something you would normally do, then why do it for those occasions?

Btw I wear makeup because I like the way I look with it better than without it, and I like to get that look every day.

Really, kitchen?

Lots of people have more time preparing for a wedding and do different hairstyles, wear heels, a dress, whatever. Plus it is socially a place to be your smartest, and make up is deemed to be smart.

I wear lipstick to interviews but not every day, for example.

i have to wear make up every day unless i'm very ill/not leaving the house.. i consider it a service to the general public as without it i barely look human and have bad skin :'(

I'm in shock! Practically every post saying don't wear make up! I wear make up every day. I don't leave the house without it! Not because I have bad skin because to be fair, my skins really quite good but because I like wearing it! I like getting ready in the morning and I make time to put it on. And it only takes 5 mins to put a bit on!

Why is that shocking, ane? And it's really not practically every post.

kitchen - but doesn't an outfit change how your body looks? How is it different?

I'm the other way.

Raised to think good feminists "wore blue, studied STEM and got traditionally masculine jobs" in quite an aggressive way. One influencer used "hairdresser" and "glamorous" as deliberately pejorative terms.

So I wear (quite OBVIOUS non mainstream) make up as expression. I don't so much cover si called flaws as use it as decoration.
I also work with kids and studied a humanity at uni (top 2% of tge country for it at A Level back in the 90s ... so why would I do maths when I was only OK at that!?).

I wear it but more on my terms iyswim.

I don't wear make up daily, the last time was probably for a family wedding. I wore it then because I knew I would be in family pictures, the wedding couple were quite conservative and I treated it as part of the wedding dress up as a courtesy to them. I wouldn't normally wear a dress, high heels etc either. I view it a bit like fancy dress or a costume that's expected in certain limited situations.

On an individual level, if you want to wear make up and enjoy it, then do so. If you feel obliged to wear make up daily and don't enjoy it, then don't wear it.

Kitchen a big part of why I wear (more) makeup for special occasions is because of other people's expectations. I have relatives, for instance, who would view it as me not seeing an occasion as important enough to put makeup on for, as though I'm deliberately snubbing them by not making an "effort". It would be like turning up straight after a sweaty run without having changed. I have inherited very deep dark circles under my eyes, so without concealer people think I look tired or ill.

You might wear it to a wedding because you think it makes you look good in photos. If your skin is pale it can look ghostly in flash photographs. I use BB cream for special occasions.

I use sunscreen and moisturiser daily, with some eyeshadow and lipstick, and sometimes mascara. That is pretty much the extent of it. I have very curly hair that I never touch apart from using conditioner in the shower daily, and I spend no time doing it, or brushing it. I add a little gel and scrunch it when I get out of the shower, then make a parting and leave it to air dry. I dye it every 4-6 weeks. Not a fan of heels either.

The 'polished professional look' I see for young women involves makeup and hair that looks as if it has had some attention paid to it, plus nails that look 'kept'. There is a similar code for polished professional young men too. They judge each other on the basis of dress and other signifiers of status but I think women tend not to notice them doing it.

I should add, I also wouldn't be happy with my own appearance at a special occasion if I didn't wear makeup. But this is my own problem. (And wearing makeup is the least damaging thing I do to myself in terms of dealing with dissatisfaction with my own body!)