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Do people tell you that you look better without makeup? Do you believe them?
My family and friends have certainly said things like that, but I think it’s more along the lines of, “You look beautiful whether or not you wear makeup,” and less about better/worse. I believe them, only because I trust my friends and family 😉
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Yes, and it’s always from men, and it gets on my nerves. I don’t wear or don’t wear makeup to please men, at all. I wear it for myself and what I choose to put or not put on my face is absolutely none of anyone’s business.
An ex male friend told me I should abandon all makeup but my tinted moisturizer with SPF because “that has a purpose, nothing else you have on does anything and you’re not ugly” and refused to listen to my reasons for wearing it.
Preach!
Nope. If I don’t wear makeup people constantly ask me if I am sick. Maybe due to my yellow-greenish undertones, pale, translucent skin, and melasma.
Haha! Same here! One day I went to go get a subway sandwich (no makeup) and the guy told me I didn’t look good! So I thanked him, because I didn’t know what else to do. People just assume I’m I’ll when I’m bare faced. I don’t wear tons of makeup, but I guess it’s enough to make me look “healthy”.
AAAWWW! I am in the same boat. I have olive to yellow toned skin and if I don’t wear makeup it is inevitable that someone will say something. Are you sick? Are you okay? Why are your eyes so puffy? Usually at work, not at home. My family all have the same coloring.
hehe, same would go for me, they even say so when i do wear it cause i use a pale foundation just like my skin is(but it’s just tacky girls who tan all day).
i never go out w/o make-up tho. add very dark circles(hereditary curse)+blackheads(ughhhh) and a few pimples to your description and voila….you got me.
my bf finds me just as pretty tho and thinks my zombie eyes are cute(and i know that he’s being honest because he’s pretty unusual<3 good way)
Oh, yes, THIS. I have this problem too. It’s kind of amusing how many people, when seeing you wear heavier/more colorful makeup (whereas you usually wear more natural looks), will comment that “you don’t need makeup, you’re a natural beauty!” but then those same people will be the ones who ask you if you’re sick the moment they ACTUALLY see you with no makeup on. XD I do think everyone is naturally beautiful with or without it, of course… I’m not that superficial. But it CAN do a lot to make us look more refreshed, healthy and awake. I think for girls who tend to stick with very basic makeup, it’s one of those things you don’t even notice until it’s gone… haha.
People always think I don´t sleep well if I don´t wear concelear, because of my hereditary undereye dark circles, so I always have to wear it.
i feel your pain-i always have to reapply it x_X
*hugs*
Without any makeup, I look terrible. I dont always put on full makeup with brows, mascara, and lipstick. But I do have skin foundation/ powder and some form of eyeshadow with light blush. Otherwise, I look very young about 15 years young…too young to do the job.
My husband gives me the “You’re beautiful no matter what you wear” line, and he doesn’t always notice if I put on makeup; if he does notice, he looks baffled sometimes, like “Why are you doing that?” And my best friend will happily expound on unnatural standards of beauty and how making myself feel prettier with makeup is only buying into media stereotyping and so on and so forth. (She was a sociology major.) But I wear makeup for me, not them, and I do have friends who will notice and tell me if I’m looking particularly good with makeup (or without it!) on.
“Why are you doing that?” makes me think of how my stepdad reacts when I put on jeans and a t-shirt… I’m unemployed and was homeschooled for years, so I tend to lounge around in pajamas a lot. If I just put on some normal, casual clothes, he immediately asks what I’m “all dressed up” for. smh… people are so silly.
Yes, A lot, everyone in my family and my friends especially my husband most of all, he love how I look just after a shower with no makeup and my hair flat. Go figure
I’m 26 and my boyfriend hates it when I wear heavy make-up. Whenever my make-up is super light he likes it, but otherwise he’s not a fan. If he was in charge of my make-up collection it would be very small and boring, lol. I look young for my age, so a LOT of people tell me, “YOU DON’T NEED MAKE-UP!!” I try to explain to them it’s not because I feel like I “need” it, I just think it’s so much fun and love playing with it. But yeah, I get the “natural beauty” comments a lot…and the “you’re too young for make-up” even more, lol. But hey, I take that as a compliment 🙂
Ive told my mother in law that before. BECAUSE she puts it on in such a way that it is VERY unflattering and it ages her. Tammy Fae on crack. I adore her and when I do her makeup she glows and everyone compliments her, not because Im amazing at makeup (although I am haha) but because shes finally using colors that flatter and is blended ect. Sometimes people say that and they are full of judgement and other times its because your makeup method is off. Consider why they say it before you shrug it off. Maybe they want to help. We ALL know that beautiful girl that hides her beauty behind too much makeup.
No. That is not something that I have ever heard, lol. Now, people have told me they prefer me with less makeup, or more natural makeup, but no one has ever told me I look better with no makeup. I usually get comments that I look so pale, so flushed, or that I must have plucked out a patch of brows when I’m not wearing makeup, LOL. I generally look better with a little makeup, but I think I look fine with or without, and that’s what’s important, not what other people think.
Yes, but I don’t really wear makeup on a daily basis–and when I do it’s usually not typical “beauty” makeup. So I think people’s expectation of how I look is my bare face, and anything else is strange.
Two words: I wish.
Lol! But seriously, does it really matter what others say? It’s healthy to accept compliments graciously, but it’s not going to alter how I feel. Encouraging words are generous, but you need tangible experiences to change your perception, so to truly improve your self-esteem; hopefully to the point where you look for and “believe” in the best of people, even without them beliving in you.
Nah, most make-up-related comments (compliments, really) I get tend to be related to the colors and blending, not how it makes me look better or worse. I view make-up as a creative outlet, so that kind of compliments make me the happiest anyway. 🙂
“Wow you look so tired! Really, wow, are you OK?” – is what I hear when I’m going naked. I think people prefer to see me with just a little undereye concealer and mascara. Just to look fresh and awake. My family hates bright lipsticks and tell me I look better without.
No. They wouldn’t DARE.
Anyway, I started wearing makeup because I used to look so mch younger than my age that people assumed I was a teenager well into my late thirties if I didn’t. So whenever I had people address me as a child (this was in Italy: they would use the familiar second person instead of the third one – think the difference between “darling” and “madam”) I knew I really ought to put on makeup. I didn’t need foundation back in those days. Sigh.
Wow, lucky you! Good genes I guess, you’ll be glad for them later on 🙂
Yes some men don’t like makeup, they say it’s sophisticated and artificial which is quite true in fact. I just love makeup, I wear makeup for me, not for others ( never ever ), but on the whole I don’t wear much ( fav combo is a good high end blush + a pretty lipstick ! )
When I was a teenager and late for school, I would forgo the makeup. My Dad would say “your makeup looks good today!” I would say “I’m late. Not wearing any today” and he would say something like “I know” or “See?” I hope I do a better job of applying it nowadays (17 years later.)
Nope. I’m so pale that I don’t think people would think I look better without makeup. Mind you, virtually all my makeup looks are pretty neutral and subtle so most of the time, I don’t think people really think I’m wearing makeup, except maybe for lipstick – the rest of the stuff is just “me but better” effects.
Not really, but sometimes I feel better without makeup on. I wear makeup for myself as a creative outlet, but don’t feel a “societal pressure” or “sexist paradigm” making me slap product on my face. My boyfriend doesn’t notice half the time if I still have my makeup on, but (apparently contrary to every other man in the world) he does like when I do really bold and colorful looks. He thinks I look glamorous or something? lol He doesn’t know the difference between eye shadow and mascara but he fully supports my makeup hobby/addiction so I’ll humor him 🙂
my bf loves that too 😀 he knows the difference betwheen eyeshadow and mascara now, hehe
I don’t get it very often… I wear lots of bright, colorful and creative makeup, so more often than not I get compliments about how cool it is and how lucky I am that I can pull it off. 🙂 There have been a couple notable exceptions, though… my late step-grandma (who was not always the nicest) told me on many occasions that I should not be wearing makeup at all, that I wore too much, etc. I was well into my teenage years when she was making these comments, so I found it rather silly at the very least, hurtful at the worst.
The other one I can think of was actually just a couple weeks ago. Some guy left a comment on one of my YouTube videos in which I was wearing more neutral makeup than usual, and he commented “you look so much better without all that colored s*** on.” Ouch. I shot him right down, though, by explaining that I use those colors to express myself, and I’m not exactly trying to enhance my natural beauty with them. That, and if my looks were all he cared about, then he could just get the heck away from my channel because I don’t want him around. (I make videos of myself playing ukulele and singing covers of popular songs. You wouldn’t believe how many comments I get on them that don’t even mention the music and go straight to talking about my looks. Disgusting.)
I hate people who comment on things not at all relevant to the videos.
I pretty much wear makeup every day. If I don’t wear any my husband tells me that I look fine without it, but I would certainly not take his comments to heart and stop wearing makeup. At 52 years old, I KNOW I look better with makeup on. If friends and family told me I looked better without it I would seriously consider that I was choosing wrong colors, applying it wrong, etc. Makeup helps with my self-confidence. It also gets my creative juices flowing. I LOVE deciding how I am going to present myself to the World each and every morning. So many possibilites!
I did inherit my mom’s beautiful complexion. But, even without makeup I feel very plain and frumpy. I wear it to feel good about myself. Even if I am only doing errands, I at least put on powder, cheek color and mascara.
Most people don’t see me without makeup, and I tend to get compliments (from strangers!) about how beautiful my skin is WHEN I HAVE MAKEUP ON. I think it’s the makeup that makes it look nice, but since I don’t go out w/o it, I guess I’ll never know, lol.
I have very few friends that wear makeup. They’re either moms who don’t take the time or they just don’t really care about it. Having a mom that wasn’t into beauty stuff (in part bc my dad didn’t like make up) I had to learn everything on my own…including how to deal with crazy thick hair. Ever since college, I’m completely obsessed with MAC and any other beauty and hair products to make myself feel good. My husband loves me with or without make up but I think most girls would say they look and feel better with make up. It doesn’t have to be a lot. I feel best with a neutral eye, foundation and a clear gloss 🙂
I don’t wear make-up that often and I never got any comment on this. Well one time I was going out with a friend and she was quite drunk and told me I looked terrible with brigther make up (which wasn’t really that bright)
Yes! From my boyfriend and friends and family. But then when i wear makeup, i get compliments too! I love wearing makeup, i dont wear it because im insecure or trying to impress anyone, ive gone to work alot more times without makeup than i have with. But i just love wearing it. It helps me express my creative side.
No they don’t. Because I don’t. People ask what’s wrong with me if I don’t have make up on…
I’ve been told that at least once, even though most people haven’t seen me without my brows done. This is pretty much spot on – http://thecartoonery.blogspot.com/2012/02/girls-and-make-up.html
The makeup I wear daily is to create a put-together look. It’s not much different from wearing coordinating, wrinkle-free clothes.
I looooove that comic!
my family likes it when I wear very little makeup (mascara and lip gloss) , but I prefer a more finished face.
Yes, some people say both, so I agree with Christine 🙂 only trust in friends and family comments 🙂
btw Christine, would you mind telling me a lipstick color similar to CHANEL Rivoli. I have checked so many but none look even similar, so please, can you tell me which color and brand can work?. Thank you 🙂
i do not think anyone does.. and if they do it is an application issue. many men say they prefer women without make up but i am pretty sure most of them mean they prefer natural make-up.. usually the women they use as examples as beautiful without makeup are actually wearing makeup
I just started wearing makeup about 3 years ago (I’m in my 30’s), so my family is not used to see me wearing it. They like my plain face. Now I HAVE to wear it when I go out or I don’t feel right. I ALWAYS have to wear mascara because if I don’t I look sick. I try to do my eyebrows daily as well because they’re blonde with patches of brown and they look crazy.
Makeup should enhance and complement one’s features so if you wear cosmetics and someone says that you look BETTER without it…then you’re probably wearing the wrong tones or application. When I first started wearing makeup I wore colors like pastel pinks and purples and friends always said that I shouldn’t wear makeup or that I was prettier without it. It made me mad and I couldn’t figure out why I was being (in my head) insulted. Then I discovered that I was “warm” so when I started to wear corals, olives, oranges, etc the same friends said that my makeup was beautiful and they noticed things like my warm brown eyes, my full lips, high cheekbones, etc. Of course some people believe that cosmetics are unnatural and think women in any makeup (regardless of application or colors) is worse than than a bare face. Sometimes you see pics of celebs at the airport without makeup and it’s like “Dayymm, girl, you still look beautiful”. I’m talking about you, Eva Longoria and Halle B.
i agree, the friends of mine i think look better without are the ones applying it wrong. too heavy foundation, not the right shade…cakey and dry ect.
I feel like I never get that, at least not from people who know me. Online though, like on my networking and dating websites I’ve been trying out, I get messages from men being like “You shouldn’t wear makeup, you don’t need it, you have natural beauty, etc.” It kind of flusters my feathers, because I love to wear makeup and I never realized people might think it’s because I’m trying to change how I look to be prettier or whatever, if that makes sense. I more see makeup as a way to express myself than a need to beautify myself.
I do have some people who I know who seem to send me the opposite message, that I look BETTER with makeup. Like, there’s this one person where I work, and I’m inevitably wearing makeup on days when she says I “look good.” She’s so much more complimentary on days when I wear makeup. It always kind of makes me wonder what she thinks of me on the days when I don’t wear any makeup haha!
Every time I don’t have at least my concealer and blush on everyone thinks I’m too tired or sick… I just have natural dark circles and way too visible veins, despite my young age (23), I’m pretty fair and have thin skin around my eyes
every man in the world THNKS that and says it, little do they know…
Nope! The opposite, actually; people always tell me to wear makeup because I look ugly without it.
I can’t say that I often hear from people (friends and family) that I look better without makeup. I do get a few compliments here and there on a certain cheek or lip color or maybe the way I did my eyes. However, my boyfriend has said MANY times that he prefers me WITHOUT makeup. It’s mildly irritating because initially you want to swoon and go “Aw sweetness…thanks!” but then you’re like “Wait..what? Why?! DO I SUCK AT MAKEUP?!” He indulges my cosmetics hobby and certainly never whines about it. When probed about it he simply answers “I just prefer you as you.” I know. Swoon, right? Honestly, I think he believes that my face is hands and lips off when I’m made up and perhaps THAT is why he prefers me without it.
No. I’m super pale with light brown hair (which I dye a light auburn brown). Without makeup I have blue circles on my eyes because the veins show through. Without mascara, eyeliner, and brow powder my eyes all but disappear. I look ill without some color. I get compliments, not criticisms. My husband says he doesn’t care, but I feel more confident when I’ve got a bit of color.
I am lucky in the sense that I like my bare face a lot, but more so in spring and summer. In winter I can look really unhealthy without a touch of tinted moisturizer. I do get the “you don’t need this much makeup” or “you look better with less makeup on” by relatives, hubby etc. when I do more dramatic looks. I keep wondering if it’s that it really does not suit me or if they just don’t like it.. i do like it when I look in the mirror, so I guess I will keep going all ways: Completeley bare faced, light makeup, heavy makeup from time to time 🙂
Not really. I have heard that people would like to see me with more natural makeup (when I do wear any, I only wear makeup 40% of the time), but I already do wear natural makeup to my standards at least. I normally wear powder foundation built up to medium coverage, but it’s my eyeshadow and love of smokey crease shades that I think they hint at. LOL. My eyes are my favorite feature to play up.
My boyfriend, same as most of these other women 🙂 He thinks I am beautiful without makeup on. However, I feel gross without it on, especially if my skin is going weird… but I still don’t wear it 2-3 days a week just to give my skin time to breathe without liquid foundation and/or concealer and/or powder on it.
I mostly like to do my eyes as I don’t think they are feminine enough without being lined 🙁
When I wear makeup to work (once or twice a month nowadays), EVERYONE tells me how good I look. I don’t think they would ever be so tactless as to say I look better, but I can tell that that’s what they mean. I love makeup, and I love wearing it, but when I do, it’s for ME, not the approval of my coworkers or customers. Plus, I hate the idea that I’m supposed to wear makeup to look professional or if I want to succeed in the workplace. I’m just as professional without makeup as with!
I have pretty strong feelings on this subject, so I’ll just put it bluntly: unless you are a close intimate or specifically asked about a look, then I don’t want to hear what you think about my face/body/makeup/clothing/etc. I am twenty-six years old and past the point where I have patience with society and its preoccupation with making a woman’s appearance a public forum. If possible, I’d walk around with a sign that says in bold lettering, “I am not wearing this for you” so that I could save myself the extra step of telling men off for their faux-friendly, patronizing BS about how much better they know my body than me.
Exactly
I SO AGREE!
My husband and a couple other men.
I have had makeup artists exclaim that my makeup looks amazing, when I am not wearing any 🙂
But I definitely prefer being told (from females) – you look flawless and airbrushed
My ex-husband used to say that. No wonder I left him LOL. Usually I get compliments from other men when I’m wearing make up though.
Yes!
I pretty much always wear at LEAST base makeup– concealer and a powder. I’m super insecure about some scarring and my uneven skin tone from previous awful breakouts. Even when I’m NOT actively breaking out I’m convinced I must look like a freak. XD
But my parents have ALWAYS said I look pretty without makeup. My mom loves when I do fun or dramatic makeup, but she makes a point of reminding me when I’m feeling down that she thinks I’m beautiful either way. My mom is kind of amazing <3
My best friend, though–we've known each other since high school, almost ten years now. She's totally cool with my makeup interest, but she does look at me time to time and laugh while shaking her head, and says something like "It's pretty, the lipstick/eyeshadow/mascara/etc, but…you don't NEED it. I mean I really like it, but you do know you're fine without any of it, right?"
Basically tldr; Yes, my mother and my best friend tell me so pretty often, but I have never heard it from anyone else!
Generally, my mom and dad are the ones that beat down how I look with makeup on. They like to tell me I look like a raccoon, which is kind of funny because sometimes I’m only wearing mascara and nothing else….
My friends and people at school either make positive comments or matter-of-fact comments like “you’re wearing makeup.” I do tend to get more compliments when I wear makeup, whether they notice I’m wearing makeup or not.
arrggghhh! Lucky you! Even my grandma thinks I am better with makeup. I am way to pale for an Asian and everyone thinks I look better with at least a little color on my face *sad*. Try to get myself tanned during= summer but it never works…
My ex used to say that. I think what he really meant was, “Stop spending money on makeup.” 😉
Wish they did but no lol. The tell me i look tired n stressed without makeup
NOPE! unfortunately.
i don’t wear makeup everyday, and even when i do, it’s not that much. I like to have enough to enhance me a little, not make me look like a completely different person.
My husband is not a fan of make up (with the exception of lip gloss), so he often reminds me that I look just as good with make up as I do without it. Personally, I agree, but I like the way make up polishes my look, so I continue to use it.
No. In fact, if I don’t wear makeup its guaranteed at least one person will say “you feeling ok?”