I suppose this one is for the ladies, but what the heck, if the gents wish to join in then fine.

Do you bother with makeup ladies? Do you feel naked without it and refuse to leave the house or do you not bother. Is makeup for special occasions or essential even around the house?

For the gents, unless you actually wear the stuff yourself, and why not if that is for you, what about the lady in your life, how does she feel about makeup? And you, how do you feel about women in makeup, do you like women to wear it or would you prefer her face as nature intended?

In the past I typically have not worn makeup except on stage, whether it's the greasepaint for acting or regular ol' street makeup done up dramatically for performing with a band. But often lately I've enjoyed a little eye makeup for daily wear if I have time, and I do tend to wear eye makeup and lipstick when I'm out of an evening. I prefer my face without unless I'm being theatrical (or as my mother would tell you, melodramatic), but my sis and another good friend of mine are pretty sophisticated, and I do feel naked, or at least self-conscious, being seen with them at the martini bar in my usual getup.

The only time I have worn make-up in the last 15 years is to attend weddings.
I figure that whatever I put on in the morning I just have to scrub off in the evening. Without make-up, my nightly face wash is a lot easier!

What about you Sue? You didn't say what you do make-up-wise.

Ah, that is what prompted this thread. When I was working I always put on make-up, if nothing else I always wore eyeshadow, without it I felt naked. Since losing my job I really haven't bothered unless I am going somewhere then I tend to apply the full works. A trip to the shops doesn't warrant anything, local shops that is, I might for a trip to town.

Today for reasons unknown to myself I applied full make-up just to sit around the house, it feels good. I am wondering if I ought to make the effort every day regardless of whether I am going out or not.

I only moisturize and put a bit of blush on if I am staying home. It is bad enough putting on all the slap for going to work. I am sure if I retired I would not wear the full works for sitting about in the house. I do wear makeup for work . I feel(and look) awful without it. But this is not an awful lot, just enough to try and disguise the piggy eyes and pale face.

I rarely wear make-up. I usually only wear it to things like weddings, job interviews, school reunions etc.

Edited to add:

The one thing I can't go without is my earrings. I really feel naked if I'm not wearing them.

As a 'younger' one, make-up is used considerably often.

Foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, and lipgloss are the most common ones i wear.

Me without make-up... Well that's a scary thought that i would rather not have

I go for the "natural look". I never wear make-up - never in my life Furtherest I go is wear a little bit of perfume on special occasions. As for ear-rings - nope, don't wear them either, clip on's or pieced. Had my ears pierced (a painful experience!) about 20 years ago, they went sore and the holes sealed up. Don't want ears pierced again thanks very much!

MG and Nic both raise interesting points.

Earrings (and finger ring) used to also be part of my daily routine and I felt naked without them but now I am at home all day I hardly ever bother (except yesterday when I wore earrings, ring and a pendant with my t-shirt). I really oght to keep wearing them to avoid my holes to close like Jane's.

Interesting that younger people, and it used to be me, wear lots of makeup and normally they are the ones who do not really need it, us older hags could do with polyfilla (spackle) but mostly leave the skin open to inspection.

I never liked wearing makeup.It made me feel like I couldn't breathe. I was never very good at applying it either and as I have really long eyelashes the mascara use to rub off on my lenses and after a hour it would start to make my lashes hurt.
I only wear it now for special occasions like weddings.
I also don't have my ears pierced.Not now or ever.
If I was meant to have holes in my ears I would have been born with them.

PF

Well I'm lazy about make-up, but do wear it every day for work. That's foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipliner, lipstick and gloss,blusher and perfume - no mascara. At home I tend to just go bare-faced. However, I have my ears pierced and I always wear earrings (often the self-same pair for months on end).

However, for someone who is not in the least bit vain, I cannot go a day without washing and styling my hair. I feel really really grotty if I don't shampoo it in the morning, and spend the day yawning and feeling half-awake. I can't honestly say that I have a particularly fancy style, but I like it to lie smooth and glossy, no matter how simple the cut.

When I was working in a restaurant, I would not wear makeup. All the grease in the air made me wash my face several times a day, so why put makeup on if it wouldn't last half a day? When driving the truck, again, why bother? I'm not trying to impress anyone. I'm already better looking than most of the other drivers out there

I never wore makeup when I was a teenager, and I never really developed a habit. Truth be told, my features are such that I don't feel I need it. There's nothing I need to emphasize. My mom has thin lips, so she regularly wears lipliner and lipstick. I don't have that problem. Or blond eyelashes, or very pale or blemished skin. I'm young, and I'm also not ashamed of my own face, nor do I feel a desire to make my face look like it was airbrushed onto the cover of a magazine. And the jobs I've had... a preschool teacher's assistant and a goldsmith, well, I spent all day either playing with kids or bending over a torch and polishing machine, neither of which is kind to makeup (and in fact, I washed my face throughout the day at the goldsmith's because I got polishing compound in my pores). The job I have now is the first where makeup would even be practical, and frankly, it's hardly worth the trouble.

I have naturally curly hair that once I figured out what it was all about is really all the styling I need, though I have to wash (or at least thoroughly wet it) every day, and wet-brush it to get the tangles out, and then I just let it dry so it curls up. If any of you recall the avatar I used to use, that was me, and my hair's natural curl, with no styling products or indeed, any styling.

I have three holes in one ear and two in the other, and I used to regularly wear earrings in all five holes, including two small diamond studs and an imperial topaz stud that is my daughter's birthstone, but I am more and more sensitive to metals these days, so while I usually wear earrings for "dress up" I dont wear them anymore on a daily basis. I always wear my wedding ring and my spoon ring (made from an 1880's sterling silver baby spoon) and I DO feel naked without those. Otherwise, the only time I feel naked is when I am.

Never wear makeup, though I did when I was younger. (never very much, even then; I haven't the patience for grooming beyond keeping myself clean).
I stayed at home when my kids were small, and got out of the habit and never got back in. I remember that I was putting some makeup on when I was going to get my picture taken for my driver's license. My daughter, who would have been aobut four, came into the room - "Oh Mom! Is it Hallowe'en?" I'm still not sure if this was because Hallowe'en was the only time she ever saw someone painting their face, or if she was commenting on the effect...

My sister-in-law is required to wear it at her job, due to the fact of what she does. In truth, she does not need makeup at all!

Required?? Is she a cosmetologist?

Maybe a flight attendant...they are still expected to be beautiful!

This whole thread, in fact, reminds me of that oh-so-true line in TS Eliot's "The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock", who was so painfuy self-conscious, yet so tuned-in to how people in general spend so much time and effort preparing "a face to meet the faces that we meet each day". It's a line which has etched itself into my memory and which pops up regularly when I become aware of just how often I succumb to that insidious pressure to always look your best, not show the real you, protect youself by conforming. A sad but true reflection of our shallow and superficially-influenced society today.

I agree, Santana. Fortunately, I honestly do not feel that "looking my best" has to include makeup. On a nice, sunny summer day, all I need is a good night's sleep and the sun on my face.

Hi Sue943, SilverMoonsong and Purple!!
(and everyone else)

Although I moisturise everyday (sometimes more), I usually "put my face on" when going somewhere - mostly to hide the broken capillaries on my cheeks - concealer, foundation, then some blue mascara on top lashes and blue pencil on my bottom lids. Then I finish off with a touch of blush and some dark brown eye shadow on my eyebrows as they are very pale.

Having written that, I think I had better reassess my routine .... sounds really yucky!

Hi and welcome Dreaming Dove

I'm another that doesn't wear make-up ... I don't even own any and would struggle to actually put it on if I had to. The only times I've worn it have been at friends weddings and then I have to get other friends to put it on for me. The bride did my makeup the last one I went to - well she was just sitting there and had nothing else to do that day. I am such a disgrace to womanhood!

Seeing the comment about "looking your best" made me think. I find that, in general, most people don't look any *better* with makeup on than without - they just look like they are wearing makeup. Unless the makeup is covering some flaw, like a scar, it doesn't really improve most people's appearance. It just changes it.

What it DOES do, though, I think, is signal that the person has taken some time and trouble with her appearance. In the same way, a man does not necessarily look *better* wearing a shirt and tie than he does when wearing a t-shirt. These are signals that in our culture mean "I am making an effort, what you think of me matters to me."

Now, anyone I have ever said this to has not agreed (maybe because I tend to say it while watching her put her makeup on, I dunno...) but take a look at women you see today. For most, the makeup they are wearing doesn't really improve on nature, it just changes it.

I'll just add a comment I heard at work yesterday. One of my co workers wore eye makeup, which is a very rare thing for her. A kid came up to her and said "Debb, there's something wrong with your eyes!"

It does seem to me that some women look ghastly without makeup. Mind you, I am really thinking of people that I know whom I am accustomed to seeing with makeup, if you see them without the difference is startling in some cases. When women just wear a little makeup then it hardly notices if they give it a miss.

When I used to work, in summer, unless I was going somewhere special, I might only wear eyeshadow and lipstick as my skin, although I say it myself, is pretty good regardless of my age. In winter I would be more likely to wear foundation and blusher too.

I can see what you mean, agony, and in truth the times I choose to wear makeup probably imply that I agree to some extent. But I also think that this culture's preoccupation with appearance is not really something I want to bolster up, and I think that if I look and feel my best, whether I'm wearing makeup or not, then I will make the best impression. If a person judges me for not wearing makeup, I honestly feel it is their loss, not mine. Sometimes it's a matter of saving time, but usually my reasons for not wearing makeup on a given day are that I feel I look my best without, and I don't want to look like everyone else. I don't want to wear the colors for this season, I look like a corpse with foundation on because my skin is so pale, and I think it is unfair that a woman who puts on makeup is judged to be more interested in a favourable impression than one who doesn't. I know it is so, but I don't like it, and I don't want to be a part of it if I don't have to. And fortunately, I don't. My work will never put me in a situation where the status of my makeup will make a difference in whether I get that promotion or not, and that is as much by design as chance. And in the end, "What you think of me matters to me," but my appearance is not at the top of the list of reasons why, and I've just enough rebel in me to make that an issue. Because I don't agree that society's idea of acceptable is always best.