#anti-makeup

[lifewithchronicpain]

I really truly hate face contouring. And it’s not so much about the “look” as it is, it’s the new standard of “now you have to literally change the look of the shape of your face to be pretty”

When grew up and attempted makeup culture as a teen, it was corrector stick, foundation, eyeliner, eyeshadow, maybe mascara. I rarely put on lipstick, usually a special event and or later on for cosplay. I never got into eyebrow lining or lip lining. And I wasn’t big into blush, because I normally had red cheeks anyway. And to me, that was a lot to have to buy, eventually I just did corrector, foundation and eyeliner, and then eventually I fucking stopped.

Now when I watch videos of people talking about some drama while doing make up, I am just floored at the amount of products, most of which I have no idea what it is. And then when it’s all done, they don’t even look like themselves. Maybe I’m showing my age but these makeup trends are fucking wild to me. And all I can think of is how much of their paycheck goes into making them not even look like themselves? I. Hate. It.

I’m not a big makeup fan to begin with, but I will always believe that when using it to just hi-light your beauty for a fun occasion, less is more. Always.

[lifeofroos]

The problem with all those ‘but you can wear make-up if you want!’ ‘Make-up makes me feel good!’ ‘Some people use make-up as a creative outlet!’ comments under posts critiquing make-up and the make-up industry is that It’s Not About You. It’s not about you or any other individual woman liking make-up. It’s about the societal pressure women face to wear make-up. It’s about being seen as ‘unhygenic’ and ‘not taken care off’ when a woman doesn’t wear make-up. It’s about make-up being seen as a necessity and a rite-de-passage for women while at the same time, women get made fun of for wearing it, making it an impossible catch-22. It’s about a huge industry which revolves around women feeling not good enough about themselves. It’s about health professionals seeing women without make-up as less healthy than those with make-up while never applying this standard to a man. It’s about women as a whole, as a 50% of the planet, having to squeeze into a narrow beauty standard. It’s not about you liking the way lipstick looks or about you making big, artsy looks for yourself or about your mom who uses it to cover dry spots she feels insecure about. It’s not about the individual, it’s about how people think about make-up and women as a whole.

[maslows-pyramid-scheme]

It's unsurprising that so many girls struggle with sex dysphoria when they're raised so alienated from their bodies: groomed to dissect their own bodies (paint, pluck, shave, starve, weaken), shame their bodily functions (douche, take laxatives/antidiarrheals, take something to reduce the bleeding), and blame themselves for being sexually and reproductively exploitation...

[queer-as-used-by-tolkien]

if you struggle with remembering faces, try going into an environment where nobody wears makeup (yes, they do exist).

You will suddenly, without even trying, remember people's faces

BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT ALL JUST THE EXACT SAME AS EACH OTHER, YOU SEE

[deaddruid]

there is really nothing "artistic" about putting foundation on your face to even out your skin tone, concealer under your eyes to hide your natural colouring, black gunk on your eyelashes to make them look longer, etc. and you cannot convince me there is anything creative about trying to make yourself look the exact same as anyone else. if you want to put bright red glitter on your eyelids that's your business but we all know that very few people are doing extravagant makeup looks on a daily basis. the vast majority of makeup is about ridding yourself of all imperfections and looking the same as everyone else, often at the expense of your skin, eyes, money, and time.

makeup is fundamentally about preying on women's insecurities and convincing us that our natural faces are not good enough. why don't the vast majority of men want to participate in this fun artistic practice? why are their bare faces considered acceptable at formal events, job interviews, workplaces, auditions, etc.? there is something inherently demeaning about the fact that an entire sex is expected to paint their faces to be deemed societally acceptable. men have convinced us that our natural faces are too ugly and offensive to be seen without a coat of paint on. it is insulting, demeaning, and the furthest possible thing from empowering.

and the other thing is that wearing makeup does not exist in a vacuum. when you buy another $50 foundation, you are lining the pockets of men who have built careers of off women's insecurities. when you fret about "putting on your face" before leaving the house, your daughters, nieces, cousins, friends, etc. all see that and internalize those messages as well. they are learning that their faces are also too offensive to be seen in public, and they will in turn teach that message to the women in their lives.

the rise of social media is the biggest evidence of this: for the first time, girls as young as 10 and 11 are buying and wearing makeup to school. and not only are they wearing makeup, they are GOOD at makeup. they have barely hit puberty but they've internalized everything they see online that tells them their bare faces are not good enough.

i'm tired of pretending this isn't insulting. our looks are not the most important thing women have to offer.

[vulvader]

"Feminist" Youtuber make a beauty culture video critique without wearing a full face of makeup, false eyelashes, and fake nails at the same time challenge.

[life-on-the-spectrum]

Threw out the last of my makeup today, and I put the nail polish in the “give it to a new home” box to be passed to someone who’s actually into that stuff.

I used to only wear it for school picture days, or as a reward for the kids. “If you all get at least an 80% on the quiz this week, I’ll wear makeup. Or do my nails in  a silly color. It got them to study, so whatever. Drove me nuts, though, that all of a sudden they’d be like “TEACHER, YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!” Nah, kid. This is a funny thing, not an ugly duckling transformation. 

Then when we were all masked up I stopped wearing the makeup and it was all nail polish. I’ve been on hiatus for the last 9 months, and I haven’t touched the polish. 

This is the first time since I was ten that I haven’t owned either makeup or nail polish. I’m pushing 40. Even though I hadn’t touched it in months, it still feels so freeing to be RID of the shit. 

[glamerina]

Hey i have a question. I have been horribly bullied because of my bad skin since i was 12 till i was 16 i still dont have a perfect skin but now at home (i never wore makeup at home) i think i look olay without makeup but when i go out and someone looks at me i become that insecure girl again and it's like i'm 12 again and the whole class boys and girls are making fun of me again. How do i start not caring? I'm in my 20's but that feeling never left me when someone looks at the redness of my face.my face is not horrible now but still o get redness or pimples etc. Before i even thought i look like a monster at home when i looked in the mirror and now i don't so o do think i made a little progress. Any tips? I also hate wearing makeup during all seasons because after a few hours i feel like i have a cake on my face or something. Thanks for listening

I do care still, I don’t have a secret for how to escape expectations of perfection from women. When I really bad eczema on my upper arms, I wear longer sleeves because I worry people will comment. I’m so glad and impressed that you’re trying to ditch makeup because with you having been bullied that self-consciousness must be way more intense than I can understand.

It sounds like you’ve made loads of progress if you can look at your bare face in the mirror neutrally. Body-neutrality is where its at for me.

How often when you are out do you notice the skin conditions of other people? When you’re in class or at work, how much do you consider the skin of those around you? When you do, how often do you make a judgement about them because of it? When my acne was at its worst I was afraid people would think I didn’t wash my face or pity me and they probably did occasionally; ignorant and judgemental people still will judge you, like your bullies. Are those people worth spending your time and money covering up your face for?

The more you go out into the world with a bare face, the more you normalise that for everyone you meet. Everyone except the ultra-rich with access personal dermatologists and thousand dollar skincare budgets gets redness and pimples. It didn’t miss my notice a few years ago that the smartest and coolest woman I knew didn’t wear makeup despite having visible scars, active acne, eye bags, real human skin with blemishes. that made me feel better to be barefaced around them. What I mean by this is that even if you’re self conscious, it matters that you go out and do what you need to do.

It matters even if you don’t meet a single other person. Going out at the spur of the moment, having so much more time to live your life, get errands out of the way, eat a full breakfast, have leisure time. Taking the money you would have spent and saving it, or putting it into your food budget, or a hobby.

I think in time you will care even less but for now we all know that cliche that courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s getting on with things in spite of it.

Thank you for sharing.