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When I see women with the natural look, I usually assume they actually are wearing a little bit of some sort of makeup, but it is natural looking.
Why would someone be against wearing all forms of makeup?
I can only speak for myself, but I don't want that sticky gunk on my face. I want my face fresh and clean. I want my skin to breath. I want to be able to touch my face, rub it, whatever, and not worry about smearing my foundation/blush/lipstick, etc. If I cry tears of joy or sorrow, I want to be able to do so without having to think about whether or not those tears will ruin my makeup. If I kiss my man, I want to do it with abandon, without caring about whether or not my lipstick/gloss/pencil will be smeared.
I've worn everything from a full face of makeup -- three kinds of foundation, one for one's skin tone, the other two for creating shadows and lightening, plus everything else on top (blush, three kinds of eye shadow, eyeliner, mascara or false eyelash bits painstakingly glued on, lipliner, lipstick applied with a brush, powder) -- to your run of the mill lip gloss and powder only routine. I care for none of it.
If other people want spend their time applying makeup, reapplying makeup, and fretting about whether not something as simple as rubbing one's cheek with one's hand is going to ruin their "face," good for them. If other people want to deal with the hassle of getting up early to apply makeup and dealing with the negative effects of using makeup remover and other cleansing systems required, that's fine, too. Whatever floats your boat.
But that's not for me. I keep my routine simple. I don't have time for makeup and the care it requires. I've got my life to live.
When I see women with the natural look, I usually assume they actually are wearing a little bit of some sort of makeup, but it is natural looking.
Why would someone be against wearing all forms of makeup?
People aren't "against" it, like it's a crusade; you'd be surprised how many people were raised in families or neighborhoods or towns/cultures where makeup wasn't part of the daily routine, just not part of people's reality, except maybe for special occasions, if then. For some women, it's just never been on their radar.
Meh, just because its the norm for academics to look like a mess doesn't mean it's a requirement. I've worked for a university too and yes, most professors looked like complete and utter crap - often you couldn't tell the women and the men apart, same short grey hair, plaid flannel, high waisted jeans and birkenstocks with socks. Blegh. That's not counting the ones who thought they were original by dressing like aged hippies, like my English lit prof who had long loose gray hair and wore those weird long gypsy skirts with birkenstocks, patchwork vests, floral embroidered blouses, you name it. She was probably around 45 with pretty features but she made herself look like she was pushing 90. Horrible.
Working with these people never impacted my style in the least. I continued to dress like I was working in a professional office, because I had a professional job and I liked to present myself well. I wore makeup, heels, pencil skirts or trousers, nice top and tasteful jewelry, and I was proud of standing out in a positive way, appearance-wise
I've never seen any academics who looked "a mess". Most women dressed professionally, a few wore jeans with a jacket. The one person I saw who fits your outrageous description was a part-time member of the secretarial staff in the office where I worked. She wore not Birkenstocks, but clogs. But she stuck out like a sore thumb in that environment. Most of the hair on the women faculty wasn't grey, because they were young. Some of the ones nearing retirement age colored their hair, and coiffed it elegantly. Women with grey hair were a small minority.
Not wearing makeup doesn't mean someone's a mess. All it means is they don't wear makeup. Women who go without makeup dress up like anyone does for the office or for going out. There's no correlation between the formality of dress and going without makeup.
I find that people who never wore makeup or wore it less often seem to have better eyelashes than the rest of us, go figure.
LOL, maybe that's it. Like I said, I have nice, full lashes... but like the rest of my hair they are blonde and you can't see them. Brown mascara is the one thing I always wear--the eyelashes don't look "made up" but you can see them.
Meh, just because its the norm for academics to look like a mess doesn't mean it's a requirement. I've worked for a university too and yes, most professors looked like complete and utter crap - often you couldn't tell the women and the men apart, same short grey hair, plaid flannel, high waisted jeans and birkenstocks with socks. Blegh. That's not counting the ones who thought they were original by dressing like aged hippies, like my English lit prof who had long loose gray hair and wore those weird long gypsy skirts with birkenstocks, patchwork vests, floral embroidered blouses, you name it. She was probably around 45 with pretty features but she made herself look like she was pushing 90. Horrible.
Working with these people never impacted my style in the least. I continued to dress like I was working in a professional office, because I had a professional job and I liked to present myself well. I wore makeup, heels, pencil skirts or trousers, nice top and tasteful jewelry, and I was proud of standing out in a positive way, appearance-wise
Sounds like a freeze-dried hippie. Was she a contra dancer, by chance? The folky look is common on the dance floor, as "gypsy" skirts are comfortable and flow and swirl attractively and are long enough not to fly up and reveal what should remain concealed. However, Birkenstocks do not work well for dancing.
Meh, just because its the norm for academics to look like a mess doesn't mean it's a requirement. I've worked for a university too and yes, most professors looked like complete and utter crap - often you couldn't tell the women and the men apart, same short grey hair, plaid flannel, high waisted jeans and birkenstocks with socks. Blegh. That's not counting the ones who thought they were original by dressing like aged hippies, like my English lit prof who had long loose gray hair and wore those weird long gypsy skirts with birkenstocks, patchwork vests, floral embroidered blouses, you name it. She was probably around 45 with pretty features but she made herself look like she was pushing 90. Horrible.
Working with these people never impacted my style in the least. I continued to dress like I was working in a professional office, because I had a professional job and I liked to present myself well. I wore makeup, heels, pencil skirts or trousers, nice top and tasteful jewelry, and I was proud of standing out in a positive way, appearance-wise
I recall in high school most of my female teachers wore makeup. I had some very beautiful young teachers, too. (including men heh heh)
For university it was a mixed bag for me. It seemed to be proportional with age/tenure, where older or tenured profs tended to look a lot more messy than younger, newer professors w/o tenure! Many of the young female profs did themselves up really nice most of the time, unless they were particularly stressed. Younger female profs tended to wear more makeup, too (and were confused to be students).
Students were also a mixed bag. Just like the general population. In research, one female colleague was so beautiful I'm not sure if she wore makeup or not! She had naturally dark thick lashes and smooth, even skin I think. Two others never wore it. Most females in my job don't wear it either. I work in a lab science.
Working with these people never impacted my style in the least. I continued to dress like I was working in a professional office, because I had a professional job and I liked to present myself well. I wore makeup, heels, pencil skirts or trousers, nice top and tasteful jewelry, and I was proud of standing out in a positive way, appearance-wise
I note the rhetoric when someone says they're "makeup-free." Almost always, that's someone who doesn't like it, or felt resentment about wearing it. This is one reason I think it's arrogant for me to expect it, or to feel anything less toward someone who's not wearing it. (I'd never describe someone without makeup as a "mess.")
I'm also reminded of something my Dad told me once. He said that if I wasn't attracting the kind of people I wanted to be with, I have two choices: change my expectations, or change the way I present myself.
I took that statement constructively, changed the way I presented myself (better haircut, lost weight, better clothes), and met my wife.
I'm wholly guessing here, and I realize it's risky to do that in an online forum, but I suspect a lot of people resent being put in that position. I can imagine any number of women who don't wear makeup, and resent the idea that they'd have to get "dolled up" to be attractive. That's a false premise.
It's not that women have to do that to be attractive - they're attractive exactly as they are - it's that if the average man finds something attractive, and they want the average man to notice them "that way," they're going to have to do things the average man would find noticeable "that way." If they want a man who wants a woman without makeup, don't wear it. If they want a man who wants a woman wearing androgynous clothes, wear them. If they want a partner who's vegan, they better stop eating bacon.
For example, EvilCookie's self-description I quoted above - I find it hard to believe that most men, or even a significant number of men, would look at a woman like that and say "ew, yuck, never!"
And of course, I'm not positing here that all attraction is male-female or female-male. I just short-handed it for convenience.
Simply not wearing makeup most of the time doesn't mean I'm AN ANTI MAKEUP CRUSADER, OPPOSED TO THE SUBJUGATION THAT IS COSMETIC APPLICATION, or that I PREFER LOOKING LIKE AN UNGROOMED HAG.
Makeup is fine. Most of the time, I don't feel like wearing any, but it's great for those times when I do. Going bare-faced if you choose to do so is not synonymous with looking ****ty, and it's not synonymous with being some kind of anti-cosmetics crusader. Makeup is all well and good if you feel it improves your looks. It's just not always necessary, for everyone.
I think the idea that you're "not presentable" if you're not wearing makeup is pretty iffy. There are plenty of people who look ill-groomed and unkempt while wearing cosmetics, and people who look completely pulled together without wearing makeup. People who want to look their best and be comfortable may find that they can do that with or without wearing makeup.
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Brown mascara is the one thing I always wear--the eyelashes don't look "made up" but you can see them.
