I wear makeup the majority of the time, weekdays and nights. I’m used to receiving compliments from employees at Sephora and finding strangers staring at my red smokey eyes or vampy lipstick. Most of the contact that I have with strangers begins with “I love your makeup!” So long story short, makeup is a huge part of my identity.
But there are times when I just don’t feel like “putting my face on” as they say. I’ve noticed that I feel different and get mixed reactions and looks depending on whether or not I have makeup on.
Wearing No Makeup:
I used to feel uncomfortable and embarrassed to not wear makeup, but as I’ve gotten older and more confident I don’t care as much. Of course I do still have insecurities like my under eye circles and the fact that I get really flushed when embarrassed. Now, they don’t bother me. These days I think of makeup as an extra accessory and wear it so often because I feel like my look isn’t “cool” without it—I wear it for fun, not as a necessity. That being said, there are some advantages (and annoyances) that come with wearing a bear face.
1. More real connections
People obviously look more natural without makeup and more real. In my experience I have actually made more sincere connections with people when I don’t have makeup on, even if it was just the employee at the CVS checkout. People look me in the eyes more and I feel more human as opposed to my superhero made-up self.
2. Old people like you better
Whenever I don’t have any makeup on and haven’t done my hair, my grandfather always says he likes the way I look. I think no makeup makes me feel both old-fashioned and younger. In some senses this could be a good thing?
3. “You don’t need makeup”
My least favorite reaction to not wearing makeup is when people tell me “Your skin looks great. You don’t need to wear makeup!” I know I don’t NEED makeup. I wear it for fun because it’s art!
Wearing Makeup
1. Creates conversations
One of my favorite things about wearing makeup is that it always starts small talk. People ask me what lipstick I’m wearing or how I do my brows every day. I love to talk about makeup more than anything. By wearing makup I find people who share my interest.
2. Feeling more confident
I feel more confident when I have a full face of makeup, not just because I am covering up what society deems imperfect, but for the reason that I like to make a statement. I build up the most confidence when I do a really dramatic look because I feel like I’m expressing my style and showing off my skills.
3. Attracts jerks
In my experience, one of the worst things about makeup is that it tends to draw the attention of the most annoying people. I think because me and other women wearing a full face of makeup look more like society’s ideal of beauty, we tend to get attention from people who either think they too are close to this ideal or think they deserve someone who is close to it. In other words, these “people” are jerks who think they are God’s gift to the world.
Wearing makeup makes me feel good and no one can take that away from me.