I love playing with makeup. It's doesn't dictate who I am, who whether or not I can leave the house looking this way or that. Same goes with clothes and hair - sometimes I feel like keeping it light, and other times I feel like having a little fun. But like chapstick, pants are essential FYI.
As a former makeup artist, the makeup girl part definitely rings true. None of my friends really wear it (aside from mascara and "lippie") and if there is a special occassion they are crammed in my bathroom waiting for me to work my magic.
I love makeup and my bathroom looks like a MAC store, but there was never a time that wearing it or not wearing it went into consideration when making friends.
The best part of being the only "makeup girl" in my group? Being the makeup artist for their weddings. :)
@LadyFabulous: As a former make up artist too, your comment rings many bells!
I would certainly never judge someone for not wearing make up though like Shane Watson seems to think happens and I just hope no-one judges me for always wearing make up in return!
I have terrible acne and am rarely seen without makeup but I honestly fantasize about going out without it. It usually doesn't get noticed though, because I wear makeup to look like I'm not wearing makeup...just trying to "pass" as someone with good skin. le sigh. I noticed a few other people mentioned foundation and concealer for their acne-hidin' needs. I have had great success with Rimmel "lasting finish 16hr" foundation. It seems unusually thick and for me at least, means I don't need concealer as well. It's also like $6 at the drugstore so hellz yeah.
This doesn't ring true for me. I love makeup, and enjoy full on wearing it for special or specialish occasions, or on days when I've woken up early and have enough time to really get ready in the morning. But on days when I'm in a rush, which is most days, I just don't have the time to worry about it, so I run out with a dash of lip gloss. Partly I got into makeup as a function of having really bad skin in high school-- if you have to start the day with foundation and concealer anyway, it's not hard to throw on some lipstick, eye shadow and bronzer. Now that my skin is better and I'm less self-conscious about it, it's just a fun thing to do.
@samethingwedoeverynightpinky: Same here. I had bad skin in high school that I felt I had to cover up, so I became very good at applying foundation and concealer, and more importantly, learning how to choose products that looked natural. Now, in my 30's my skin has calmed down (thanks accutane and pro-active, although not at the same time of course). Most days now, since I don't have the time to do the whole routine, I don't wear it unless I am going out. But, I never really feel put together or pretty unless I've done my full makeup ritual (foundation, under eye concealer, powder, blush, mascara and eye shadow).
Oh, and my mother never ever wore makeup and kind of looks like a weirdo when she does.
@mishmisha: I have just finished a course of Accutane and my skin looks fabulous for the first time ever, but I still can't shake my foundation habit. I just don't feel quite dressed without it...and from there it's a small step to eyeshadow, liner, mascara, powder and blush. And then I feel like me again!
I just love make up and the ritual of applying it, even though none of the women in my family wear more than lipstick. I've been wearing make up everyday since I was about 12 and I can't imagine changing now.
@gherkinfiend: I think if you're going to do foundation, you've got to do the whole face, otherwise it is kind of like an unfinished painting.
I still love putting make-up on, and did it every day until I had my son. Unfortunately, now my priority is making sure he gets to daycare and that I get to work on time, no matter what state I am in. Once he is older and if he is ever potty trained, I will probably have a spare 3 minutes and will go back to my routine.
I think make-up should be fun and out-there, and I can't be bothered with it if it isn't. I laugh in your face, neutral make-up! Give me MAC glitter or give me death!
I never wore make-up until I was 17, when I started wearing eyeliner to rock gigs. Now I go through phases of putting on some concealer and mascara every morning, but then I get lazy. But come night time, I have been known to look like an Amy Winehouse meets Elvira drag queen.
I hate the idea of ascribing qualities to a woman based on whether or not she wears makeup. For me, it's personal: I wear makeup everyday, because from my late teens to late twenties I struggled with acne. Even though my skin is clear now, I don't feel comfortable leaving the house without makeup.
And for years, I got the message (from other women, from men, from my mother) that girls who didn't wear makeup were more "natural" and less vain. That women who wore makeup were insecure or permiscuous. I was told by family members and strangers that my makeup caused my acne (note from my dermatologists - it did not). In other words, my decade of misery was my own damn fault for being so self-involved as to apply makeup in the morning.
My brother once told me he envied my ability to wear makeup, because he had no way of hiding his own skin problems.
Women (and men) are under so much pressure to be beautiful and desirable. Airbrushed images have elevated the standard of good skin or a pretty face. Some women feel comfortable leaving the house with a scrubbed face, and more power to them. But wearing makeup (or not) doesn't say anything about your character or what "kind" of woman you are, anymore than wearing a miniskirt does.
@emfish55: You took the words right out of my mouth. Except for me, my battle with acne began after college (you know, the fun "adult" kind that never goes away) and only got worse. And although I have it under control now (well, except for those months my hormones decide to really want to punish me), I can not imagine leaving my house without makeup. It's frustrating because I would love to be one of those women that look naturally amazing and just put on a touch of gloss. But I can't. And I too have to hear from "well-meaning" friends and sometimes random people that maybe my skin wouldn't break out if i didn't put so much make-up on. Or maybe if i ate a vegetarian diet, or cut dairy, or did this and this and this and this, I wouldn't have acne. It sucks being judged. It sucks being told that I'm vain. And it sucks when people assume that I haven't tried all the shit they're telling me to do, and then some.
But I guess to the outside world and to Watson, I'm just a vain girly-girl who spends my time primping and posing in mirrors to ensure I look the right amount of pretty. Afterall, it's my philosophy on life.
@msQwerty: Exactly. I would love to be a freshfaced Noxema girl. It is not a question of choice. This article is like saying, "Women all fall into two camps - attractive and unattractive. You fall in with one or the other in grade school and then you stick with them the rest of your life."
Sigh. And ugh, I too get all the recommended lifestyle changes. Which again, just serve to make the recommendor feel good about her own choices. I have clear skin because I eat better than you! I have clear skin because I exercise more! I have clear skin because I'm smarter or more careful or more conscientious!
They have clear skin because their genes said so. It's like bragging because you're tall.
@emfish55: huh? there are plenty of unattractive people/people with acne or other skin problems who do not wear makeup. Makeup is not required for people who aren't conventionally attractive or who have skin problems, it's still a choice even in those cases. It's certainly a valid choice, but it's a choice nonetheless.
@emfish55: Yes! Thank you! That was really well put: "I have clear skin because I eat better than you"--It's utterly maddening. (It also wreaks of having class connotations too, no? "I can afford to take better care of my body/face, so therefore I am better" --maybe that's for another discusssion though!)
@caudapavonis: I'm not saying makeup is required for anyone. And you're right - it is a choice no matter what. But the article sets it up as a dichotomy - you're a "makeup girl" or you're not. And whichever camp you choose, its says something about you.
But my experience is that plenty of people, myself included, don't really feel like we have a choice in wearing makeup. And I resent the fact that people would think my decision to wear makeup, which is the result of both a medical problem and a desire to fit in with society at large (as opposed to some self-selecting group of "makeup girls"), says something about who I am as a person.
Someone needs to do a study on this, attempting to find a correlation between make-up use and political sympathies. By "someone needs to" I mean "someone please."
I've never been a makeup girl except briefly in junior high, when I experimented with frosted pink lipstick and blue eyeshadow. My mom never wore makeup except to parties, and I guess her approach wore off on me. Also, working in the nonprofit, environmental field, wearing makeup to work is optional and I mostly work from home. However, since my skin got really bad in my 20s, I started wearing mineral foundation every day to take out the redness.
I'm good at it but it bores me, so I'll only do it on rare occasions (like, not even once a month). The rest of the time it's usually nothing at all.
I also have really sensitive skin. Even hypoallergenics tend to make my eyelids swell up so I cannot open them. Even using *mineral oil* on my mom's advice to remove mascara once caused this, and they were swollen for three days. Not worth it.
Being of the ginger-headed - white-blonde facial hair persuasion, I started with makep up as soon as I possibly could - dye my brows, mascara up those lashes. I genuinely look and feel better, and people assume it's my natureal colouring. Of course, some boys have got an early morning shock when I've run out of funds to purchase said dye and they are confronted with my natural face. Much as I'd like to rely on my charm and wit, I really think make up helps get me through the day. Plus I'm a sucker for packaging.
I'm a nonmakeup girl who learned to do the bare minimum. I don't like putting it on but I look like it's bedtime if I don't, so I do. Foundation to even out skintone and get rid of hideous bruisy eye circles, eyeliner for squinty piggy eyes, and blush b/c, ionno, it just makes me look less dead.
I think most women who are afraid of makeup, as i used to be, could watch some makeover shows and learn to do just enough to convince your boss or hiring manager that you're more put-together than you are. It's the American way!
I may have to start a new category and position myself as a Make-up Girl by necessity. I have the pleasure of really unmanageable skin. Ten years of consistent breakouts - and their evil cohort acne scars - have forged me into a concealing wizard. When you have to wear concealor/ foundation, you kind of have to sweep on some blush or bronzer so you don’t look too ghostly, and when you skin is thus done, your eyes look kind of empty until you throw on a little mascara, and so-on and so-on.
I do enjoy putting my face on and getting really creative with fun eye looks for special occasions – so I’ll cop to that happily and most likely I would still enjoy that even if I had excellent skin. But I do feel defensive sometimes about comments like "Who would wear makeup to the gym?" For me, it’s not an optional or indulgent thing – it’s more like an essential remedy that I don’t have a choice about, because wearing a bare face full of acne or rosacea is too hard. I have on a few occasions explained this to friends who wear less to no makeup and have far better skin and they have understood, and I think tempered their own judgments on the matter. Perhaps, if we are to reason backwards, this might mean that Democrats and Republicans can be friends. Or have I just gone too far?
@007JerseyGirl: Yep, I also am a make-up by necessity girl. I have terrible acne and some marks and scars from it, so foundation and concealer are a must. And once you start with that, the rest kind of naturally follows, it's odd to wear foundations & concealer & no other makeup! I do enjoy the eye-makeup part now because I don't feel like I'm correcting a deficiency, but rather enhancing a feature. I don't get too crazy with it, but I love mixing up different liners at least. I'm currently in the middle of taking accutane, and if some of my marks and scars also heal, I guess maybe I won't be a make-up girl any longer? I'm so used to it now though!
I'm a makeup girl. I love the stuff. I love changing my look in general. I love the endless Clark Kent-esque transformations that exist in my makeup case - I open it up every day and say, OK, who am I going to be today?
Being a woman, or, culture shock in dichotomy-land. Being a woman means you either are or are not:
1. pregnant
2. menstruating
3. a mother
4. a dumb blonde
5. a wife
6. "do-able"
7. a slut
8. a "makeup girl"
n. [...]
All of which implies there is one thing you are probably not:
1. a human
12/08/09
12/08/09
I love makeup and my bathroom looks like a MAC store, but there was never a time that wearing it or not wearing it went into consideration when making friends.
The best part of being the only "makeup girl" in my group? Being the makeup artist for their weddings. :)
12/08/09
I would certainly never judge someone for not wearing make up though like Shane Watson seems to think happens and I just hope no-one judges me for always wearing make up in return!
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
Oh, and my mother never ever wore makeup and kind of looks like a weirdo when she does.
12/08/09
I just love make up and the ritual of applying it, even though none of the women in my family wear more than lipstick. I've been wearing make up everyday since I was about 12 and I can't imagine changing now.
12/08/09
I still love putting make-up on, and did it every day until I had my son. Unfortunately, now my priority is making sure he gets to daycare and that I get to work on time, no matter what state I am in. Once he is older and if he is ever potty trained, I will probably have a spare 3 minutes and will go back to my routine.
12/08/09
I never wore make-up until I was 17, when I started wearing eyeliner to rock gigs. Now I go through phases of putting on some concealer and mascara every morning, but then I get lazy. But come night time, I have been known to look like an Amy Winehouse meets Elvira drag queen.
12/08/09
And for years, I got the message (from other women, from men, from my mother) that girls who didn't wear makeup were more "natural" and less vain. That women who wore makeup were insecure or permiscuous. I was told by family members and strangers that my makeup caused my acne (note from my dermatologists - it did not). In other words, my decade of misery was my own damn fault for being so self-involved as to apply makeup in the morning.
My brother once told me he envied my ability to wear makeup, because he had no way of hiding his own skin problems.
Women (and men) are under so much pressure to be beautiful and desirable. Airbrushed images have elevated the standard of good skin or a pretty face. Some women feel comfortable leaving the house with a scrubbed face, and more power to them. But wearing makeup (or not) doesn't say anything about your character or what "kind" of woman you are, anymore than wearing a miniskirt does.
12/08/09
But I guess to the outside world and to Watson, I'm just a vain girly-girl who spends my time primping and posing in mirrors to ensure I look the right amount of pretty. Afterall, it's my philosophy on life.
12/08/09
Sigh. And ugh, I too get all the recommended lifestyle changes. Which again, just serve to make the recommendor feel good about her own choices. I have clear skin because I eat better than you! I have clear skin because I exercise more! I have clear skin because I'm smarter or more careful or more conscientious!
They have clear skin because their genes said so. It's like bragging because you're tall.
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
But my experience is that plenty of people, myself included, don't really feel like we have a choice in wearing makeup. And I resent the fact that people would think my decision to wear makeup, which is the result of both a medical problem and a desire to fit in with society at large (as opposed to some self-selecting group of "makeup girls"), says something about who I am as a person.
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
12/08/09
I also have really sensitive skin. Even hypoallergenics tend to make my eyelids swell up so I cannot open them. Even using *mineral oil* on my mom's advice to remove mascara once caused this, and they were swollen for three days. Not worth it.
12/08/09
12/08/09
I think most women who are afraid of makeup, as i used to be, could watch some makeover shows and learn to do just enough to convince your boss or hiring manager that you're more put-together than you are. It's the American way!
12/07/09
I do enjoy putting my face on and getting really creative with fun eye looks for special occasions – so I’ll cop to that happily and most likely I would still enjoy that even if I had excellent skin. But I do feel defensive sometimes about comments like "Who would wear makeup to the gym?" For me, it’s not an optional or indulgent thing – it’s more like an essential remedy that I don’t have a choice about, because wearing a bare face full of acne or rosacea is too hard. I have on a few occasions explained this to friends who wear less to no makeup and have far better skin and they have understood, and I think tempered their own judgments on the matter. Perhaps, if we are to reason backwards, this might mean that Democrats and Republicans can be friends. Or have I just gone too far?
12/08/09
12/07/09
12/07/09
1. pregnant
2. menstruating
3. a mother
4. a dumb blonde
5. a wife
6. "do-able"
7. a slut
8. a "makeup girl"
n. [...]
All of which implies there is one thing you are probably not:
1. a human