in typical rebekah fashion, i totally missed rabbit write's The No Make-Up Week Experiment last week.
which is a bummer, because i had been planning to participate (i saw the rockin' post on medicinal marzipan, one of my favorite body image bloggers). so, instead of posting my experience make-up free (which is most days), i have a question for you guys.
for most of us, what does our need for make-up indicate we believe about ourselves?
p.s. - thank you all so much for your support yesterday! it's wonderful to finally have another piece to this puzzle of my health figured out. if anyone has any questions about going gluten-free or dealing with food allergies/intolerances, i would love to help you!
i don't wear much now, i used to do the whole face routine in high school! my routine is liquid eyeliner and mascara and a tinted chapstick these days. gotta say i love myself more now for not being so high maintenance and my husband prefers a more natural look anyway!
ReplyDeleteahh make-up! I loved thats post on rabbits writes.. Okay I have a lot to say about this so hang in there!
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I get treated different when I 'dress' up and wear lots of make-up. NO, its not in my head, I've gone out with make-up on and off to be able to tell that there is a DIFFERENCE. This is incredible sad to me.
Most women wear make-up around here in NJ. I think if you dont have it on you dont look as 'put together' as other people, which is totally ridiculous!
as my self esteem gets better and better, I go out now more and more with no make-up! This is HUGE for me by the way..
Make-up in some ways is kind of like a mask. Your trying to cover something up or make yourself appear differently, it's a bit fake now that I think about it.
I use to think make-up was confidence booster. When my body starting changing during recovery a lot of people told me to dress nice and wear make-up to boost my self esteem. Sometimes it worked but it was only temporary. True confidence comes from within.
True confidence is waking up in your PJ's with not a trace of make up on and feeling beautiful. It's not thinking you need to cover up your acne scars on your face (yes, I have some. OH WELL!) Its feeling great in the body your given no matter what it looks like compared to others. Its smiling so much because you cant wait to help and share what youve learned with others. It's realizing that life is about so much more the what you look like and truly believing that!
That is true confidence and speaking from experience, it feels soo SOOOO soo much BETTER then a little 'boost' from wearing make-up!
Sorry for the rant ;)
Dana xo
http://happinessiswithin.wordpress.com/
I wear makeup almost every day except for when I don't have to work. I don't wear a lot (light eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara and blush)but I definitely understand how people can get too dependent on it. I'm not worried though, I DO know that I'm pretty without it (usually) and I'll go through stages where I wear none, wear very little, or wear the amount I'm wearing now. A lot of it does have to do with confidence though because on days, weeks or months when I'm feeling a bit unstable (like now) makeup helps give me that extra little boost in confidence. While I do like makeup and find it fun to play around with, there are some days when I wish that it had never been invented because it's blurred so many people's idea of what beauty is.
ReplyDeleteI've never been a huge fan of make up because it tends to clog up my pores and ruin my skin. Lol. So usually I stick to eyeliner and a bit of rouge for some colour. Of course, for special dinners and stuff, I put on a bit more or use brighter colours but on the whole, I'm too lazy to do that on an every day basis. I've always thought of make up more as enhancers rather than masks and while I have nothing against girls who go all out everyday - and I see a lot of them around Uni, I choose to stay as natural as possible.
ReplyDeleteLove this post by the way Rebekah! - As usual! Hehe.
xoxo
The question I always have to ask is this: am I putting on makeup because I WANT to, or am I putting on makeup because I feel too vulnerable without it, because I'm afraid I'll be judged or unaccepted or whatever. If it's the latter, then a make-up-free day is definitely in order, to remind myself that my worth doesn't depend on my appearance. If it's the former, then I just have fun with it! :)
ReplyDeleteI wear very little makeup and I wear it because I do like it. I like having fun with it and trying new colors. I don't feel like I HAVE to wear it though.
ReplyDeleteFirst I must say that is a great idea, including a no make-up week in our lives.
ReplyDeleteThat opens up the opportunity to ask ourself why do we use it in the first place? What are our motivation for making little, or for some larger changes to the way we look?
Do we do it because we find it enjoyable? Because we are affected by the pressure from society? Does it make us feel better about ourself, and if so - why? Are we not satisfied with the way we look all natural and naked?
Wearing make-up remained a mystery for me for a long time, I could not see the point or how anybody would spend time infront of the mirror to do their make-up. When I was 17 or so a friend of mine begged me to let her put on mascara and rouge on me, and I remember my first thought was that my eyes looked like creepy spiders. Haha :)
It took me some time after that before I tried mascara again, and today that it is pretty much all the make- up I use. A little mascara to help me wake up in the morning. Haha, yes - it is a good trick for shaking some sleep off your eyes ;p
I'm not particulary concerned about what other people might think, and it is not much of a problem for me to show the world my natural face. It is actually quite relaxing, allowing myself to just be me and let it be up to other people if they accept it or not.
After all we are much more than our appearance. If people judge me differently because I show them the true me with little circles under my eyes or some bad skin here and there, then it sends out a signal that they are people whom I never can feel completely secure with.
I've forgot to tell you, but your last posts have been amazing reads - thank you!
I have never been a fan of makeup. I touch my face too much for that!
ReplyDeleteFor me, it used to give me a feeling of grown-uppedness (haha). When I was in 4th grade, my sister started middle school. With that, she started walking to the pharmacy on her own and wearing cheap makeup. My sister for longest time seemed sooo old in my eyes (when in reality she's only about 2.5 years older than me) and the makeup only made her seem older. So when she'd offer to do my makeup I'd let her and I'd get to feel her age. But it's so freaking uncomfortable and I would always whine while she was doing it haha. After that I let her do only my eyeliner once or twice before banning it from my face completely. The last time I wore makeup was in November, 2006 in a 7th grade play I had a small part in. Everyone always says my eyes look sooo pretty with eyeliner on and I got that a lot during the play, but it's not worth it.
Besides, I always have this scenario in my head where I'm 25 and have my face covered in makeup, and then I meet this totally amazing guy and then have to slather my face with makeup every time I see him so that he doesn't go, "Oh, so that's what you really look like?" if I leave it off. :P
I'm comfortable in my skin. Not the most comfortable, but I think I would be less uncomfortable if I wore makeup constantly, because then as soon as I took it off I would feel vulnerable.
I think girls wear makeup because they think they're supposed to, because that's what women do and they want to be grown-up, mature women and feel pretty. Women wear make up because they're used to it and without it they feel naked and as though all of their flaws are exposed because no one's used to seeing their bare faces. I should totally go into psychology. Just kidding. :P
*less comfortable, I mean!
ReplyDeleteso thought provoking! i dont wear makeup often and when i do its usually just mascara but the effort i put into myself gives me a little bit of umph for the rest of my day.
ReplyDeleteI don't think make-up is a bad thing. I think people go overboard sometimes implying that in the quest for good body image, you can't like feeling pretty. I think it is perfectly fine and fun to get dressed up, the line is that it shouldn't define everything you think about yourself.
ReplyDelete