The feeling of makeup

[Erythronium]

Sort of an addition to the other current makeup threads. I wonder if anybody else has experienced this.

When I wore makeup, I didn't like the feel of it. I had liquid eyeliner that stung my eyes, mascara whose fibres used to get in my eyes and make them water, lipstick which sometimes felt horrible on my lips and was unpleasantly perfumed. Foundation was weird when it dried on my skin and powder used to be cakey and not very pleasant either. I already said on one of the other threads that I didn't like the feeling of nail varnish on my nails which is why I never painted them, nothing to do with any feminist analysis at the time.

Andrea Dworkin said that beauty practices were pain but I'd also add that they are uncomfortable. Not bad enough to stop you doing it, but enough to always make you aware that you are wearing makeup and really, that it's not very nice.

I generally only feel makeup if I rub it into my eyes when I’m tired. Otherwise I don’t notice it.

I wouldn’t wear it if it felt horrible.

I've never noticed makeup when I wear it, but then I only really wear eyeshadow and pencil liner some days.

I don't notice nail varnish when I occasionally wear it.

What I didn't used to like was the feeling of dry skin I get after a bath or shower and I would feel I needed to put moisturiser on. However, when suffering a skin condition (which turned out to be a reaction to a food intolerance) I stopped using all products on my face to see if it would make a difference. Funnily enough, after a couple of weeks I got used to that temporary tight feeling after washing, and now I don't seem to need to moisturise. Likewise, when I stopped using powder to blot a shiny nose, my nose is in fact less shiny. I do wonder if using some products actually creates the need for them in some way.

Since I changed my diet after discovering my food intolerance my complexion is also loads better - smoother and less ruddy, to the point that I was complimented on my skin for the first time in my life. So the best ever makeup for me has been to eat differently.

I also don't think it's offensive or patronising to notice that at least some of us find the feel of makeup uncomfortable or unpleasant, even though we wear it/have worn it. Those are just facts

The tone of the post below was patronising. It isn't just a case of noticing it but apparently of being too brainwashed to do anything about it other than "enduring" it. It's very infantilising attitude to take about other women.

I'd assumed everyone else got that horrible feeling, but endured it for the sake of fashion/beauty

As you can see from here plenty of women don't feel anything and those who do moderate their use accordingly.

I have to wear reading glasses. I loathe them with a passion. I really notice them.

What I really notice in the evenings is a bra. I don't seem to notice it all day, then I think I get tired and irritable and want the bloody thing off.

I remember really, really noticing a bra when I first had to wear one (or society starting telling me I had to, anyway) and being miserable about it. Then I suppose I got used to it.

Sounds like you were using the wrong makeup.

When I have mine on I forget about it, it feels like nothing on my skin.

I actually prefer to wear nail varnish for comfort as it strengthens and protects my very weak brittle nails!

I always thought that until I started wearing make up that was suited to skin, eyes etc, now is never look back!

I thought it was just me ... I tried various foundation/BB/CC/tinted creams but no matter how light they're supposed to be I feel that I can feel them and that my skin can't breathe. But I always use a moisturiser and I don't get the same feeling from it at all.

Wow, I never the mention the nail varnish thing cause I thought it was just me being odd! Heavy and suffocating feeling is how I would describe it also.

I have no issues with other make up and generally forget I've put it on, I don't feel it on my face.

Nails are porous:
sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/14/is-nail-polish-harmful-to-your-health/

I"ve covered the "wrong makeup" thing already. Lots of different brands all had the same effect.

The idea that some makeup wouldn't be like this reminds me of the one you used to hear about Jimmy Choo shoes when they were popular - that they didn't hurt like other high heeled shoes. I almost fell for that, I have to admit.

The tone of the post below was patronising. It isn't just a case of noticing it but apparently of being too brainwashed to do anything about it other than "enduring" it. It's very infantilising attitude to take about other women.

Well she was right, at least about me. Weirdly, even though it applies to me I don't feel either patronised or infantalised. I was following a social norm without thinking about it, that isn't being brainwashed.

I had no idea borntobequiet. No wonder so many of us feel weird when we put nail varnish on.

Honestly, you know those moments where you end up blinking in surprise, I've had one of those with this thread.

I'm autistic and can't stand makeup on my face or nails - I tried so many expensive types after a boss literally told me I had to wear it, and sent me with a colleague on a lunch hour to buy some. This was way back before I was diagnosed but I just hated it.

I still force myself to wear some every day at work and just feel it all day on my face - yet another sensory thing I hadn't realised was weird.

I also assumed others just put up with it in exchange for how it made them look (no rudeness there, why wouldn't you do something that made you more socially liked and popular?)

No wonder so many people love it!

"Suffice to say, makeup isn't your thing. And you don't like wearing it. Good job you don't like it and prefer to be makeup-free, no loss then."

Yet it's sparked quite a long thread on FWR (I'd expected it to run to about three posts).

Actually there is a loss, I spent my teens and twenties thinking my face wasn't good enough and had to be "pretty", thus needed to wear makeup which I found uncomfortable. It's a regret for me.

I don't feel anything and am amazed by those saying they do, but it makes sense if you have sensitivities of any type. I feel more attractive wearing it knowing I'm wearing it if that makes sense, but I can't feel it. I also like applying it and getting that 'all done' feeling when it's just right.

Nail polish is even better- I love gel nails, so smooth, I end up stroking them all the time.

If it feels horrid or claggy, I like to think I wouldn't bother. I bought some Spanx a while back for a big speaking event, struggled to get them on, put on the outfit and promptly took them off again. So constricting.

Another here who cannot bear the feeling of makeup.

Although there is one time when I can wear masses of makeup and be totally at ease: when I'm acting. Up on a stage, performing a role, being someone else. Then makeup works for me.

I can't feel make up once it's on but false nails are a massive pain in the arse.

The only makeup I can actually feel is lip gloss (which is why I don't wear any basically ever) and false lashes (which l do feel but not in a bothersome manner and would only ever wear when really piling it on for a special occasion).

I'd always assumed everyone else was the same - especially because I've sensitive skin and break out in hives from pretty much just looking into the general direction of e.g. most moisturisers. Of course, this has also meant that I'm very careful about what makeup I would even consider trying, never mind buy.

And, yeah, false nails I could definitely feel and hated with a passion the one time I tried them. Not worth it. At all.

I had no idea either Erythronium - this thread made me google!

Well, that is regretful. The idea that a woman would feel pressured into wearing makeup that she felt uncomfortable in and that felt inauthentic for herisregrettable. Societally speaking

Are women really so incapable of thinking for themselves?

Are you immune to all social pressures and expectations then, Lass? If you are I think that's very lucky for you, and extremely unusual. Most of us are raised in such a thick fog of conditioned behaviours that it can take decades just to recognise that you're in fog, let alone to get out of it. It's not a question of being unable to think for oneself.

Lass you're either being deliberately rude or just stupidly obtuse there. Of course many people can "think for themselves". Whether they can stand up to consistent endless social pressure and norms is quite another question.