Real women don’t need makeup
May 31, 2014
I stumble across a story online at least once a week making a huge deal about this or that celebrity appearing in public without makeup.
Why is this a headlining story? Maybe it’s just because I’m from Montana, and in my neck of the woods most women head out in public without makeup at least some of the time, if not always.
And in many cases, the celebrity in question is actually wearing makeup. She may not be wearing full stage face, but it’s obvious that she has on concealer and lip gloss, eyeliner or mascara.
Doesn’t the phrase “without makeup” mean… well… without makeup?
And who cares, anyway? Are there seriously women who won’t leave the house without makeup on? Is this really all that shocking to some people?
Again, maybe it’s where I live that people don’t care about all that.
I know women who don’t own any makeup. And I’ve never thought anything of it until now.
I remember growing up my mom would say she had to “put her face on” every morning. Still to this day I find that phrase strange.
Of course, my mom is a product of her time and it was just an expression. My mom has been known to leave the house sans makeup.
But you’d think the people writing these stories, and the people so fascinated with seeing a famous person without makeup, really do think that a woman without makeup doesn’t have a face.
There is a freak show element to it. They want to see a woman who didn’t “put her face on.”
It’s almost like these celebrity women have to paint themselves into existence. If their faces aren’t painted, they don’t matter.
I have had the same makeup routine since I was 14 years old. I wear makeup most days. Or at least I think I do. By celebrity standards, maybe I don’t wear any makeup at all.
When I prepare for work I put on under eye concealer, a little blush, brown eyeliner, a single quick coat of mascara, and I’ve worn the same neutral shade of eye shadow for the past 23 years.
I do this, and I consider myself done up. If I’m going on a hot date with my husband, I put on lipstick, which inevitably ends up on my teeth.
Apparently I don’t know how to apply it properly. And I don’t care enough to learn otherwise.
I do not know how to apply foundation. I’ve only worn it maybe five times in my life. And every single time, someone else applied it.
I know they say you’re supposed to throw out makeup after three months. The people recommending this obviously think money grows on trees.
Makeup costs a fortune.
I’ve had the same eyeliner pencil for at least 12 years. I sharpen it when it gets dull. I have never had an eye infection from it. I will use it until it is gone. I won’t replace it unless it is lost, broken, or dries up.
Deal with it, makeup police. In the real world, makeup is optional. Real women don’t need makeup.
This article first appeared in the Lewistown News-Argus and the Sidney (Mont.) Herald on May 31, 2014.