Wearing makeup every single day of you life - do people really do this?

I probably wouldn't put on makeup for a job interview. Well not much, at least, certainly not beyond a bit of eyeshadow. I *DEFINITELY* wouldn't put on makeup every day to go to work, that really seems excessive. Yet the interviewer seemed shocked that I wasn't wearing makeup. I was shocked that it would be expected of me.

Am I some kind of freak? Do I really come across like I don't make any sort of effort? (I generally don't make much of an effort for work when it comes to clothes, apart from *trying* to make sure that I'm at least presentable - I mean, I do wear trainers and cords and things.) It's not that I'm a hippie and don't believe in makeup, I just think that it's something extra that you do for special occasions. Not a bloody GIVEN that you should be trying to change or heighten your appearance All. The. Time.

Also, in high school, guys tended to really go for the girls who wore lots and lots of makeup - like really badly lined lips etc. So to them, girls who make the effort were more desireable, even if they weren't naturally good looking.

I'm going to walk around today peering into the faces of every woman I see trying to work out if they're wearing mascara or no because I don't think I know any women who wear the stuff all the time... or do I? I suppose you wouldn't know unless you had to share a bathroom with them and had to wait for them to put their gook on!

ACtually, come to think of it, my Ex used to wear makeup - foundation - every day. (Yes! a boy proves the exception to my rule.) I didn't know that he wore makeup until I lived with him.

I just don't pay attention to that sort of thing.

I don't understand people who wear it to "cover blemishes" when all it seems to do is make them worse.

Actually I might be more inclined to wear basic makeup every day if I were able to buy those spongey applicator thingys in bulk. It's all about the applicators!

My husband cannot understand why I abhor women who apply makeup on public transport.

This is self perpetuating logic.

If I don't wear makeup, then I don't have blemishes to hide. So I don't need makeup!

I never wear make-up. I haven't even worn it to go out for about three years. Most other people I know seem to, if only a dash of mascara. I think there is a trap/cycle whereby if you wear it for day to day stuff once or twice, you think you have to keep doing it or people will think you look like a hag.

My friend had a job interview at a clothes shop and was told that she'd have to wear full make-up every day, including foundation. (Which is probably an illegal demand.)

My mum is one of those women who needs full warpaint to go to the shops and tends to comment on those who do not. This drives me nuts.

I like to fill in my eyebrows to match my hair better, and I like red lipstick. But I'm also all about giving my face the day off every once in a while, which I'm doing all today but I am so dressing up later and that will involve some makeup. Oh, fine, probably LOTS. Glam is good. But honestly, you can probably avoid spots and blemishing altogether if you use makeup and moisturiser, by NOT FALLING ASLEEP BEFORE REMOVAL and NOT PICKING AT SPOTS (the latter is what really fucks me up, it's really key not to touch your face all the time if you want nice skin).

(Can I just say how hard it is to work when Nick is rehearsing 'Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About My Penis' in the sitting room? I alternate between cracking up in here and going out there to say things like 'supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!' or 'I am the very model of a modern major general' in Rex Harrison voice to put him off/make him laugh)

I remember my mother wearing makeup quite a bit, but it was more foundation type thing (which I never wear - I prefer just sparkly eyes type things) which she wore when she had to look professional for work or something. I didn't understand it, it seemed like an awful lot of bother...

That's another thing that I don't get about makeup. I mean, it seems so time-consuming! It takes ages to put it all on, and quite frankly, I'd rather have the extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning! (Same reason I don't have a "hairstyle" that involves anything beyond brushing it.)

I wear makeup most days, never foundation but eyeliner / mascara / lippie type stuff. It only takes me 5 mins in the morning and I just like the way I look with it on better.

(I don't want to hijack this thread, but what is the average age that girls start wearing makeup nowadays? My mother was absolutly livid when I started--I'd started a few months before she was going to tell me that I would be forbidden from wearing it until I was sixteen. She soon relented, and gave me a nice makeup set for Christmas that year.)

I never had the slightest interest in wearing makeup. When I was about 16, I was taken to Macy's makeup counter by my mum and given a makeover and told "you should wear these things". I tried for a few days and decided I liked sleeping in better - the only lasting effect it had was a fear of Evil Eyebrows brought on by the woman trying to teach me to draw in my eyebrows because I have none naturally.

God if you added up all the time I've spent applying makeup I could've done something productive with my life like become a doctor or write a book. oh well.

It is quite annoying to think that when i was a teenager and plastered myself in yucky rimmel foundation i had near perfect skin and now that i look after my skin i'm rarely without a spot.

Why don't they do it any more? (Most of us) don't wear wigs every day, female or male, as they did then - why has makeup wearing persisted in the female, but not generally in the male?

Minna: to match my asymmetrical Human League hair I would do 'pointillism' on one eyelid using a white shadow base mixed with various of the 16 Crayola water colours (magenta often featured) which would then make the eyelid look like I had fallen asleep on a pile of Chiclets (desired effect). I loved this with eyeliner and mascara because there were Clockwork Orange elements. In the period of time I became emboldened by hanging out with protective punk rock girls we had internecine wars with the girls who applied makeup with a trowel, we kept telling them they could wipe that frosty pink shit off using their lame Hypercolour t-shirts (and then we'd go back to discussing whose paisley shirt looked most like Roddy Frame's).

I rarely wear makeup during the day on weekends, but I usually put some on if I have a show or I'm going out and want to look extra special, whatever that means. I like lip gloss, but I never wear lipstick because it feels weird on my lips and I always feel like it stands out too much.

I've never seen any of my boyfriends use any kind of makeup or coverup. I encourage moisturizer though. And I use that just about every day.

Right now, I will wear makeup about once every other week for work, because that's about as many times as we have meetings in this department. Other than that, I'll put on makeup for special occasions, e.g. Christmas, Easter, or weddings, where I feel this need to dress myself up. So, all in all, I think I spend maybe 40 days out of the year with makeup on. Not too bad, plus I look polished when I need/want to look polished.

p.s.: I have a HUGE "thing" for men who wear makeup (tasteful makeup, not a garish Kiss-style mask), who also slick back their light-colored hair and wear suits. It's the NuRo meets Bryan Ferry look and it's far too rare in this day and age, at least over here. *sigh*

i don't ever spend more than 5 minutes on makeup in the morning, but i do feel weird going out without an undereye concealer. i have really dark circles no matter how much sleep i get, and if i don't wear it people usually ask if i'm ill or if i was in an accident. rude? yep. but still, if i can avoid it with 25 seconds of clinique application, i'm ok with that...and i'm also one of those people that's addicted to lip balm. everyone that visits me from the states has to bring me dr. pepper lip smackers.

No it wouldn't. Well, it wouldn't be if said guy had a beard.

I think you've hit upon what irks me about it. It's become *expected* as part of a "polished or professional appearance" for women, when it's not expected for men. And I disagree that it's "professional" - makeup for me is a glam thing, a good-time thing, the very antithesis of "professional". It would be like wearing clubbing gear - leather trousers, a skimpy shirt, slut boots - in the office. I just wouldn't do it.

I wouldn't equate shaving with makeup. Women can look good in just a little makeup. In face, isn't the trick to have makeup work for you so that you look good but people can't tell you're wearing it? Like Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline?? But shaving/ having a tidy beard is very obvious and deliberate. (This makes me think of bf's aftershave again. mmm....)

I had a friend in high school whose mother wouldn't let her leave the house without eyeliner. I thought that was beyond ridiculous. She was one of those people who would always look perfect though.

I like makeup, but never the kind that takes more than 5 minutes to apply. Lipstick is the best. I'd always wear dark lipstick to work, and one day when I wore a more neutral color (with eyeliner/foundation), someone commented that I wasn't wearing makeup that day.

I don't ever get blemishes from makeup, but it is hard to find good foundation if you have dry skin. Often, liquid foundation just makes skin flakiness more noticeable (even the ones that claim to be all moisturizing). But I like the look of foundation, so I keep trying to find something decent. Does anyone know of a foundation that works well for severely dry skin?

Being expected to wear it for interviews is dud, but I kind of understand the expectation at the same time. I would wear makeup if I was on an interview. If they gave me shit, I'd say I was allergic or something.

I was thinking about this last night as I fell to sleep and lit upon the whole vestiges of military/schooling present in British office culture thing. The people who are the establishment about to retire are some of the last to come through boarding schools and/or national service, which were places where men and some women had it dinned into them that collective efforts required people to dress like a team, and of course we all know the dark side of the Brit uniform fetish. It also explains the shaving thing. So there's a trickle-down of 'teaminess' that dictates that you don't look *too* different and use cosmetics and accessories to express your personality laterally (ALL jobs have a 'uniform' of sorts). I would prove I could do this if I had to, eg. at the interview, purely to avoid it becoming one of those issues that are counterproductive to working in a team. I figure they'll notice my mind and abilities if there's no hangup on superficials either way, and after all they're paying me to come in there and be part of them. It's also easier to ultimately do as you please wardrobe-wise and cosmetics-wise, so I think if you see it as a sacrifice to capitulate even briefly for the sake of a better job then it's not playing the long game.

I have a vision of Kate going to the office coffeepot in full slap singing 'and we'll pretend that we're dead...'

Actually Mandee does have a good point about make-up being a relatively cheap way to play around with your image and feel good etc. Even I am not immune to the lure of a sparkly eyeshadow. And I wear nail varnish if that counts as make-up.

(Mandee totally on the money about the playing around with image thing.)

Rah L7 revival!

Same goes for moisturiser.

Personally Iam aiming for wringles and the sort of face where I can gurn my bottom lip over one of my ears.

Maybe I should stop using moisturiser and let myself get all scaly and then I would TURN INTO A TWELVE FOOT LIZARD!!!

I broached the m/f grooming habit split here, suzy, though I didn't really take it anywhere.

Maybe I'm not a "real man" as the only makup in my medicine cabinet is white clown makeup, with a black oilstick and red for the mouth.

There have been periods in my life where I wore full face makeup daily, but they were very brief periods. Now I'm likely to do so only when getting really dressed up. Luckily though I have really great skin so thus far such make up is unneccesary.

Most days I wear mascara, eyeliner, lipstick. When I go out I'll add some powder, sparkly eye makeup and darker lipstick. That's it.

My mom is one of the woman who's full faced all the time. I'm too lazy.

I always wear makeup, eyeliner is the thing for the gods.

Do not deny the power of your lord and saviour, Ally.

My wife of 23 years wore no make up 99 days out of 100, despite working in a proper professional job where she'd meet important people and stuff. It always seemed weird when she put it on.

as for other makeup, i'll do one of those all-in-one concealer/foundation/powder things, and it usually takes me less than 5 minutes to apply---and mostly because my skin has been a gigantic mess ever since i hit puberty. oddly enough, the stuff i use (Almay/Neutrogena/Shiseido) has honestly made my skin better. if i discontinue use for awhile, my skin gets worse. most people at work don't think i really wear makeup much; it's not very obvious. and the environments i've worked in (bar the few months i spent temping) have never been proper "office" jobs, anyway. no one blinks at my bright magenta hair, or the fact that my hair is regularly the most colourful thing about my attire as it's almost always baggy, black, comfy things. :)

of course, that all changes if something special's going on. if there's some Event i'm going to, i'll usually get dressed up for it---and i do tend to consider most makeup as being dressup type stuff. but of the sort where i'll do it when i feel like it, really. i do use it a lot for shows; can't imagine doing a show without a good waterproof black or charcoal eyeliner. :)

am also addicted to lip balm, however. nyum.

I just wish my skin wasnt so red and blotchy, which is the only reason I cover it up in the first place.

And, kate, I miss you!

OK, I need to go back and read this thread again.

But I do note that Pinkpanther didn't post to it... (I don't think? I didn't read it very carefully.)

Now that I'm not performing any more, I find that I just don't wear makeup ever any more. I kind of have to make myself make the effort for social occasions like openings or parties, because I fear I will forget how to do it. (Also, my makeup going rotten is a big fear.)

That said I lurve putting on my slap for a night out, nothing fancy but I do wear clinique foundation, mascara & lippy (sometimes I even wear eye shadow too!). I like the way it makes me look and my boyf likes to see me made-up too,but I think that's more to do with the fact that it makes me feel good and therefore happy ;0)

Still haven't worn any makeup in the intervening months. But I am actually missing it a bit at the moment, I think, because I can't afford the clothes I want and am feeling a bit despairing with my image in general. Maybe I will take my stifled creativity to my face instead of my body. Also I am in love with Stila packaging... though an eyeshadow probably costs as much as a new outfit anyway.

Aunt Sally blusher isn't too bad though - have you seen the Carlsberg bank ad? Rowr!

I have apples in my cheeks? Only when I'm eating fruit! See, this is just so confusing.

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2003-8/317688/mandee3.jpg

Sex is better than drinking as a beauty tip as drinking gives you bloodshot eyes.

I wish I looked like I do just after sex all the time. Only not naked. Er. Actually what I wish is not to have started this paragraph at all.

I dunno about you but after sex I usually just look knackered and sweaty with sticky out hair..happy, granted but still a state!

http://www.kissdominion.com/GNWEB.JPG
http://www.alicecooper.com/images/index_04.jpg

Naah, I'm just cross that I never got around to posting to this thread when it was first created.

Do people REALLY wear the stuff every single day of their lives, and if so, *why* would they do that to their skin?

Yes, I do. I do wear full-face makeup every day. It's a lot of fun, and I like to experiment with it. I don't, however, wear heavy makeup. I use a pale tinted moisturizer, light pink loose eyeshadow, very black mascara (one coat) on curled eyelashes, slightly sparkly light rose lipstick, and shell pink blusher. (I have hazel eyes, curly light brown hair with golden highlights and several silver hairs, and *very* pale ivory skin on a heart-shaped face.) It takes me less than five minutes to put on.

Cheek pinching is an emergency measure only as if you do it too much it has some kind of negative effect (I read this somewhere and have forgotten the negative effect. Broken veins? Wrinkles? Famine & Pestilence? Who knows.)

Broken veins. Actually, the *real* traditional way to make cheeks rosy without makeup was to scrape your cheeks with mullein leaves. Really.

in high school i was anti-makeup (in that high school way, that prides authenticity and likes telling deep dark secrets to all and sundry) and then it was patiently explained by a friend how girls i didn't think were wearing makeup were indeed wearing makeup albeit in a careful and subtle fashion.

but of course even not-so-subtle makeup can be quite dazzling. it can also be off-putting. so it is with many things.