Why the everyday make-up?

System

Oh dear..i have to admit i put on make-up before i went swimming today (just eyeliner and mascara), there's a girl who goes on a tuesday night who always goes with the full works and its made me feel a little self concious ..which is silly really, but i did feel a bit better for it.

Person_one

BugglyB wrote: »

I think its hard to prove causality or draw any conclusions with the make up/earnings link.

It could be more likely that ambitious women wear make up rather than that wearing make up makes you more successful. Or it could be that women 'socialised' to wear make up conform in other ways that make them successful.

Attractive people do tend to do better in life generally.

http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/2786823?uid=3738032&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21101124552237

Having been both reasonably attractive and fairly unattractive I definitely feel the world in general is a much nicer and kinder place for attractive people.

jackieb

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

Oh dear..i have to admit i put on make-up before i went swimming today (just eyeliner and mascara), there's a girl who goes on a tuesday night who always goes with the full works and its made me feel a little self concious ..which is silly really, but i did feel a bit better for it.

When my sister and her friend were 13 they shaved off each others eyebrows and drew them on with a pencil. Soon after they had a swimming lesson at school. My sister said they looked like a pair of aliens as their drawn on brows disappeared when they went into the pool. :rotfl:

Tina20

I'm a pretty ugly person, and surprisingly look worse with makeup on! My sister tried to do a proper makeover on me and I genuinely looked horrendous.

So I've just accepted I'm not the most beautiful person in the world and I live with it.

Marketing is the only reason women feel better with makeup on. The makeup manufacturers are rubbing their hands in glee, raking in the cash from vulnerable women they have convinced look ugly without it.

lessonlearned

I agree. We live in a very "lookist" society and are judged (too quickly) by our appearances. The old adage - "Never judge a book by looking at it's cover" is just as true as it ever was.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your gender) this trend for appearance to be so important now also extends to men too - not just socially but also in the work place.

To look young, fit and healthy is to be seen as "successful". If a man wants to be seen as a dynamic go getter and get that promotion he mustn't look tired, dishevelled or old.

And of course we all know that women are supposed to go around looking as if they've stepped off the cover of Vogue.:rotfl:

I suppose this focus on looking "professional" is just a form of short-hand - this person looks good, therefore they must be good. As we all know deep down - looking good doesn't necessarily mean that the person can deliver the goods.

However I do think that presenting yourself in the best way possible is not a bad thing. The actual wearing of make up is largely irrelevant, most people do look perfectly ok without it.

Some people look wonderful with make up and some people apply it so badly they really should leave it alone. I personally think that many young girls look perfectly lovely without make up, especially when they apply it so badly and so heavily.

But hey - when I was a teenager I slapped it on with a trowel, panda eyes and white lipstick - not a good look.:rotfl:

Wirenth

I think it depends upon which industry you work in. I'm an engineer and never wear makeup to work. On very special occasions, I may wear powder, mascara, eyeshadow and lipstick. I've never been professionally penalised for doing so.

claire16c

Person_one wrote: »

Sorry, but, that's ridiculous!

First of all, unless your foundation has an SPF then it won't protect against sun damage.

Secondly, its entirely possible to clean your face well without cleaning makeup off too. Your skin is a wonderful waterproof barrier, the dirt just sits there and doesn't do any harm if you wash regularly.

Make up can protect against sun damage if youve got enough of it on, it wont necessarily work like a sun block no, but it can help. I thought that myself - seeing as when I go on holiday if I keep wearing make up, I wont tan on my face, but a doctor also told me that in Australia. I had a mole removed and she said when it was healing, if I tended to wear make up, then to make sure I put lots of make up over the scar, as it would help protect it from the sun. Its just an extra barrier really.



As for the make up thing, I wear make up every day and wouldnt be seen without it, apart from at home after Ive washed my face and getting into bed, and only infront of my OH as he cant tell the difference apparently.. Or if I manage to get a tan on my face on holiday by wearing hardly any make up at the beach, or it coming off in the pool then when Ive got a tan, it acts in the same way as the make up and makes my skin look better. But after being home for a few days I always have to put it back on.

Im not lucky enough to have a perfect complexion so why not. Im also good at applying it, so I can wear it on my skin, but Ive had people ask me if Im wearing make up a few times and how nice my skin is, which always shocks me because I know other wise

I dont tend to wear eye make up other than for work, and going out, but I always have something on my skin. I dont ever really wear lipstick. So although Im always wearing it, I dont think I look 'made up' and I certainly dont look orange!

And I dont get this 5 minutes extra in bed thing - you could just go to bed 5 minutes earlier?? Or maybe you sleep for longer anyway? Or perhaps the people who put make up on in the mornings dont do other things, that the people who dont wear make up, do do. Like.. feed the cat or whatever lol. Its not really a good argument!

browneyedbazzi

I'm a very minimalist girl on a day to day basis...for work it's usually just a bit of lip gloss and sometimes (if I look particularly tired or pale in the morning) I'll stretch to a bit of eyeliner and mascara. I know a few people who think you're not properly turned out for work in a professional job unless you have full make-up on etc but that's not a belief I've ever subscribed to.

For evenings out or special occasions I'll usually put in a bit more effort...mostly because I look terrible in photos without a bit of make-up.

I am considering wearing make-up to the shops a bit more often though since last time I went in to buy alcohol with my make-up on I was asked for ID....quite pleased with that considering I'm way closer to 40 than I am to 18! (or even 25 since they do challenge 25 now)

coolcait

Person_one wrote: »

[The original] comment came off as a bit "You'll come round to my way of thinking when you grow up."

You see, I didn't take it that way at all.

When I read the original comment, I read it this way:

"as you grow older, and see how your skin/face changes, it can become easier to understand why some women wear make-up all the time".

Perhaps because I've watched my face/skin change over the years too.

That said, I've also seen men's skincare/make-up regimes change over the years too. Men do wear make-up. Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's subtle. Like women's make-up.

I wear make-up because I choose to. I could roll out of bed and go to work in my PJs, bedhead and bleary eyes.

However, I physically feel more confortable if I shower first and put on clean clothes. Society feels more comfortable when I do those things too.

I put on clean clothes which I like - in terms of style, colour etc. Society can think what it likes about the style and colour.

I dry my hair. Society can think what it likes about the style and colour.

I put on make-up. In two minutes max. Society can think what it likes about the style and colour.

If I didn't put on make-up, I would take the same approach: Society can think what it likes about the style and colour.

I don't feel that I've been subliminally pressurised into wearing make-up because society expects it. I don't feel that people who wear more, or less, make-up than I do deserve to be denigrated. They're doing their own take on "Society can think what it likes about the style and colour".

Taking the OP's posts at face value, I don't really think that the issue is wearing make-up at all. It's about how the OP feels she's treated by her colleagues, and how she treats them. A literal case of "if you strip away the make-up..."

RadoJo

I have never come cross a scenario where someone has commented on another's decision not to wear makeup, and certainly not in the workplace. OP - perhaps your thoughts on your colleagues are more obvious that you realise if they felt drawn to comment about your decision? The fact that people have taken offence at your comments on here suggests that you may word things in a way that leads people to believe that you are antagonising them. Either that or you work with an unusually rude bunch of people, but you say that you get on the rest of the time, so I am at a loss as to why the subject should have even arisen.