Is makeup a more functional or creative activity for you?
Functional in the sense that it is what I do for a living now, but overall, it is more of a creative outlet for me!
Functional in the sense that it is what I do for a living now, but overall, it is more of a creative outlet for me!
We're here to help you make better beauty purchases that you'll enjoy and love! We recommend signing up to take advantage of personalized features like tracking products you own, viewing dupes that you already have, and more!
Here are some useful resources for you:
Curious how two shades compare to each other? Type in the shades below to get instant side-by-side swatches!
Comments that do not adhere to our comment policy may be removed. Discussion and debate are highly encouraged but we expect community members to participate respectfully. Please keep discussion on-topic, and if you have general feedback, a product review request, an off-topic question, or need technical support, please contact us!
Please help us streamline the comments' section and be more efficient: double-check the post above for more basic information like pricing, availability, and so on to make sure your question wasn't answered already. Comments alerting us to typos or small errors in the post are appreciated (!) but will typically be removed after errors are fixed (unless a response is needed).
We appreciate enthusiasm for new releases but ask readers to please hold questions regarding if/when a review will be posted as we can't commit to or guarantee product reviews. We don't want to set expectations and then disappoint readers as even products that are swatched don't always end up being reviewed due to time constraints and changes in priorities! Thank you for understanding!
We try to approve comments within 24 hours (and reply to them within 72 hours) but can sometimes get behind and appreciate your patience! š If you have general feedback, product review requests, off-topic questions, or need technical support, please contact us directly. Thank you for your patience!
I see makeup as a creative outlet, but itās also functional because I donāt go anywhere without wearing at least a minimal amount. Iām often short on time on work mornings, so I do looks Iāve worn before, but if I have more time and on weekends, I get creative. Sometimes I experiment with looks when Iām not going anywhere, just for the creative fun of it.
You are my makeup twin. Every time I read a comment of yours, I’m nodding my head thinking “same”. āŗļø
For me it is absolutely a creative activity with the benefits of a functional one. ā¤ļø
Definitely creative outlet – it is one of my favorite things to do and I wish I could apply makeup multiple times a day to make more fun eye looks. Question: do you have the description of the shadows you used in the eye look for the photo accompanying this article listed somewhere? Gorgeous!!!
Both, I use makeup to cover my redness but also to express myself. Iāve read somewhere that makeup is artwork for/on your face, and thatās how I feel about it.
Creative!! I am not good at creating and arts but I do feel comfortable experimenting with makeup. It is the one creative thing i think i am okay at š
Maybe 50/50? Makeup has a function for me in the sense that when I make an effort (i.e. complete my routine), I feel more mentally pulled together, focused, ready to face the day — just washing my face and moving on feels like the grooming equivalent of kicking around in my pajamas; I feel like I’m stuck in first gear.
Makeup used to be more of a creative outlet until end of last year when things got a lot more hectic at work, and my position got a lot more varied of necessity; For a long time I’ve had a very edgy style which would not be considered work-appropriate, but it wasn’t an issue as long as I was “decent” in appearance when I knew I would need to interact with people outside the office on behalf of my company on a given day. My position has shifted to more “make it so,” where “it” is anything and everything to make up for the loss of three people in our office, and it’s just been the safest and most reasonable course to make myself up neutrally every day to be ready for anything. I miss my blue lips.
Does your office have a casual Friday? Maybe you can get away with blue lips then ?
Purely creative! Yes, periodically I may wear makeup for a special occasion (personal or work) for a functional purpose (I guess it is), but personally I like makeup to “decorate” myself. Again, it replaces the jewels that perhaps one day, I’ll have. š
I’m planning on it serving a functional purpose soon, doing makeup for seniors, but for now…it’s just for fun!
Trust me, jewels are not a good substitute for makeup when it comes to feeling good about yourself! Iām fortunate to have a few pieces of beautiful jewelry and I would miss them if I had to choose but makeup never fails to make me feel great.
Functional in the sense that I need a little help from it when I leave the house. At minimum, BB cream, brows, and something simple for eyes, lips and cheeks.
However, it is absolutely a creative outlet for me when I either have enough time to enjoy the creative process or feel inspired to do something different or just more interesting than my usual!
It’s more a creative outlet for me, for sure.
I think that for me it is about 80% creative and 20% functional. I love the creative part of makeup and that is what keeps me coming back to it time and again. I use to only have makeup as a creative outlet but started doing more actual “art” after I retired and so I am not relying on makeup as my only artistic outlet. I do feel like going out in public requires I put on a certain amount of makeup since I have the hyper-pigmentation to deal with. I will do yard work or go to the dump without makeup but for the most part, I wear makeup if I am going out. It only has to be foundation and/or concealer. I did find myself going a few days without any makeup while on our tour of Europe. It had to do with timing and my having a bit of flu the day we went from Florence to Venice and by the end of the day I felt a bit like a wet noodle and my face was not attractive with sweat, travel grime and no makeup but I figured I wasn’t likely to see any of those people again so I wasn’t as embarrassed/self-conscious about it as I normally would have been.
As I get older, it becomes more functional because I have more things that I believe need fixing. But I am experimenting constantly so I guess that makes it somewhat creative.
My face is a blank canvas and I can paint whatever picture I want every day. So it is mostly creative but it serves a functional purpose.
Makeup is definitely a creative activity for me as I like to see how different eye shade combinations work out and pair them with different lipsticks.
Both!
I love at high altitude so I have to wear at least 50 spf every day AND I have to look professional as a gallery owner.
Makeup is a way to serve both of these practical concerns creatively!
Although I look much better with makeup to smooth my coloring and make my pale eyes visible, it remains a very creative activity for me. I love color and finish in general for makeup, clothing and decor.
Mostly functional. I’ve been sticking to my tried-and-trues lately, so I haven’t been too creative with makeup lately.
Functional in that it makes me look my best, but I’d say mostly creative.
Makeup is ?% creative for me! I love to study the human form and appreciate it for all of it wonder, uniqueness, & beauty! When I wear makeup Iām thinking of the eyeshadow as my paint, my face as the canvas, and my brushes are the key to creating the best masterpiece on that beautiful form! Then, at night, wash it all off and start a new masterpiece all over again the next time I wear makeup. I really love explosions of color and wish that high-end cosmetics company would release more bright colors consistently besides MAC and Colourpop.
Make up is a creative activity for me and a way of having fun. I live in Brasil.
Almost totally creative and exceptional functional for a business occasion.