Tuesday, June 22, 2010

To Wear Or Not To Wear


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Another guest post by Dana



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I am a creature of habit and routine. Every morning I do things in the same order, or I'll inevitably forget something. Monday morning? I got out of my routine and I forgot something ... MAKE-UP!

I know, many of you women are asking yourselves, "How did she forget her make-up? Maybe her cell phone, or her keys, but her make-up??"

Confession time - very seldom do I wear make-up on the weekends, so when Monday rolls around it's easy to just forget that step of my morning routine. I used my astringent, I used my moisturizer, I brushed my teeth and then I got dressed and walked out the door ... looking like this ...


Now, I don't wear much make-up to begin with. My "face painting" consists of a mineral powder foundation, a little blush, some eye-liner and mascara. The end. I wear make-up because it is expected, not because I think it makes me look amazingly beautiful. And it pisses me off ...

I can think of a bazillion reasons why I shouldn't wear make-up, including ...

  • I don't want to spend hours in front of a mirror troweling a face on. And what if I'm traveling?? It's $25/bag for checked luggage these days and a bulging make-up bag takes up too much room in a suitcase.
  • No matter what the make-up tells me it will do, it won't. Make-up isn't cosmetic surgery, or even magic fairy dust, it's just a cover-up.
  • I think I look younger without make-up. As you get older, make-up tends to settle in the creases and wrinkles, bringing even more attention to them.
  • Make-up feels weird. You can't do things you'd normally do without worrying about the impending melted face look - like crying or rubbing your eyes.

So what did I do? Well, I was so self conscious that when I went home for lunch, I decided I had better make myself look presentable. I took all of three minutes and did my face, and went back to work looking like this ...


Then I looked at these pictures and realized there isn't a whole lot of difference in my before and after, yet there was a whole lot of difference in the way I felt about myself before and after.

If you are a female reader, do you regularly wear make-up? Are you one of those people who won't go out of the house without lipstick and mascara??

And guys, how do you feel about the natural look (generally, not specifically to me)? Does it scream "natural beauty" to you, or do you want to run away screaming??

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25 comments:

blueeyedtawni said...

im one of the odd ones.:D
i enjoy wearing make up. i dont gush it all over but when i put it on i feel like my confidence soars when i walk out that door. makes my step a bit stronger if you must .ive went without makeup and the some comments i get are wow you look tired(i get dark circles under my eyes a lot)

Karen said...

I wear mascara at all times. I generally wear lipstick or lip gloss when I go out. But the rest is optional. I don't fuss over foundation or cover up unless my eyes bags are obscene. I wear other eye make up only went I am really going out. In general, it is just mascara and lip gloss.

Raquel's World said...

Make up to work, other than that, not so much. I do wear bronzer lotion though and that helps.

CheekyMonkey said...

Every day. And I "do" my hair every day too. But even when I do put makeup on, it's not much at all. But if I don't, then I look like I'm 14. And I do not want to be the 14 yr old walking around with my 2yr old baybay! :)
It's not so much feeling like I am prettier or more acceptable. It's more of a wake up routine for me. My "me" time, if you will.

Dana said...

blueeyedtawni, I've heard about people like you *wink*

Karen, so you bring out those eyes and those lips? I sometimes wish I could do the lipstick thing but it just looks goofy on me.

Dana said...

Raquel's World, I have found that the older I get the more uneven my skin-tone becomes - which bothers me - but then I wonder if it really should bother me!

CheekyMonkey, when I was researching this post I found a large number of articles that stated not wearing make-up and not doing hair daily is a sign of not caring about yourself. It's a perspective that - honestly - I just don't get.

Jay said...

I like my women real and natural. No or very little makeup and real boobs. Lots of makeup makes me think maybe she has something to hide. And I don't mean blemishes or pimples.

shrink on the couch said...

I wear very little make up, or I should say, it's very seldom I wear make up. Yes to social events, usually.

I am a morning procrastinator so I usually don't make enough time for make up before I go into the office. Because I'd rather wear it. Looks more professional to have on a little bit. Your makeup routine sounds almost identical to mine except add concealer. Must wear the concealer these days.

Oh and wearing a self-tanning lotion is something I do instead of makeup, often. I find that the even-ness of the color helps me look better.

SkylersDad said...

I have always disliked makeup. I much prefer the natural look!

Evil Twin's Wife said...

I love my mineral makeup - it looks very natural and I don't have to use much. I wear concealer, foundation, blush, eyeliner, mascara, lip liner, and lipstick along with a finishing powder every.single.day. Could not leave the house w/o it.

CheekyMonkey said...

I think that I agree a little with that. But not for your every day gal. I agree when it comes to having kids and getting married or settling down... and you just stop pampering yourself all together. I can't imagine many people thinking that makeup and hair is pampering yourself, but for me, it's spending that much needed time ALONE. WITHOUT my 3ft shadow. Or my 6ft shadow for that matter.

That and I'm kinda bitchy in the morning before my coffee. ;)

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too) said...

hmmm...I see a difference.

I do feel better with makeup.
Now I'm not that woman at the beach with makeup. No. And I have been known to run to the store or grocery shop without. But I could never do it until a ripe old age.

I don't know of no man who likes a natural look. My husband says that and when he sees a woman not wearing any he makes a comment. My male friends as well. So I don't believe them.

I think you should do whatever makes you happy. I feel better with it and so I wear it. If you don't feel better then don't.

You should do nothing that you don't want to do past the age of 40! It's your life.

Melissa said...

I enjoy doing my face. I have very uneven skin tone, and eyelashes that are almost invisible. I look so much better with make up. You can wear makeup, even quite a bit of it, and still look natural, but you have to pick the right type of foundation for your skin type, in a shade that matches you natural skin tone, and stick with neutral eye shadow, cheek and lip colors, and apply them with a light hand. No iridescent green eyeshadow, or bright red lipstick for me. In fact I rarely wear lipstick at all. I prefer to just use a neutral lip pencil, sometimes topped with a mere hint of gloss.

Vinny "Bond" Marini said...

I love that Nancy needs only a little makeup...There is nothing as big a turn-off as a woman with 3" of makeup on her face...

Gina said...

Sometimes I like to wear makeup. But during the summer when I am off work, I just head out with tinted moisturizer and my eyelashes curled. After I went through my divorce from my abusive husband, I went through a defiant spell where I refused to wear a drop of makeup and I realized that it suits my crunchy hippie personality much better.

I do still love me a good lip gloss though...heck, I sell Avon! :)

Dana said...

Jay, see?? And again I will say that I have to wonder if the whole "must be beautiful" thing is generated BY women FOR women!

yogurt, rumor has it that the use - and over-use - of make-up is somewhat regional, with California being the biggest abuser!

SkylersDad, I *heart* the men who read this blog!!

Dana said...

Evil Twin's Wife, and when you did a similar post to this one I was surprised to learn of your need to do this. Your natural was VERY attractive!

CheekyMonkey, I do understand the need for alone time, and being that the bathroom door LOCKS, I can see where putting on make-up might fit the bill!

Margaret (Peggy or Peg too), Oh! Don't get me wrong! I see a difference too, just not a *YOWSA* difference. I think I look a little "softer" with the make-up than without, but I don't think it's a major change.

Dana said...

Melissa, far too much work for me :)

Vinny "Bond" Marini, and she probably doesn't even "need" the little she uses :)

Gina, I need to find a good tinted moisturizer. I think that might end up being my new foundation as I ALWAYS wear moisturizer. Now if I could just find one that didn't leave me looking shiny by the end of the day!

J.J. in L.A. said...

Your make-up doesn't make you look different, just less...shiny. : )

I only wear make-up when I go out. It takes me all of 15 minutes (foundation, powder, eye shadow, liner, mascara). I don't understand women who take an hour to do their hair/make-up. I'd rather sleep in.

Maggie said...

First of all, I need to follow an exact routine too or else I forget to do all sorts of things. Second, I dislike makeup and it's the first thing I ditch when I'm pressed for time. Always lotion, often concealer under my eyes, sometimes eyeshadow, rarely mascara. No lipstick, I keep buying it but never use it.

Real Live Lesbian said...

Always eyeliner and mascara. Most days I have on lipstick. But that's it. If it takes more than a minute, I won't do it.

I, honestly, prefer my women without. Most women just don't need it.

Mike said...

I had the unfortunate luck of having to wear a tie on one job I had for awhile (years ago, office setting, no public contact). I hate ties. One day I forgot to put it on. When I got to work people were besides themselves that I could have forgotten to put my tie on.

My boss (female) made me go out and buy a tie. I found a nice $2 one at a discount store. I left it at work in case I forgot again. I still have it as a momento.

boo said...

I *like* make-up. I like the way I look when I wear it. That being said, most of the time I don't bother with it. When I do wear make up, it's just do my eyes and roll. If I wear anything else it's a little lip gloss. I had been wearing it to work pretty regularly, but recently wasn't wearing it as consistently. My boss keeps telling me I look "rough" on the days I don't wear it. But then, I'm dating her brother and she hates that, so maybe that's what the problem is. *shrug*

Another Suburban Mom said...

I usually don't wear make up to work. It is hectic enough in the morning.

When I do, I usually wear tinted moisturizer a little powder to set and some mascara.

I also feel like I do my makeup the same way I do in HS and have not bothered to learn to do it to best work with my face now.

Jill said...

I only wear eyeliner and lip gloss. But my teenager keeps telling me that I barely have any eyelashes. It's getting to where I think maybe at age 41 I should start wearing some of that mascara stuff too.