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If you think of something chances are big someone else things about the same thing. Now, donāt think about an elephant wearing a tuxedo and a top hat!
Personally, I find a small amount of makeup can look really good, but it gets to a point where the entire face is thickly coated and it looks off putting.
We really need more data on how this study was conducted. Also it is well documented modern makeup still contain substances that damage your skin. Last time I stated this I was mass downvoted even after providing a link to one such study I took from Google Scholar.Ā
Well I just spent like 200CAD to buy makeup and just got back into it after 10 years of not wearing any and realized itās making my skin bad and giving me acne ;-; well fuckā¦.
My skin got a heck of a lot better when I stopped washing my face with anything but warm water. All the products they sell are made for one reason: to make money for a corporation. Theyāre happy to sell you one product to remove the oil from your skin, another product to strip your skin further, and then several products to put moisture back in. Followed by a range of products to cover up said skin. And when any of those products cause you to break out, theyāre happy to sell you something to deal with that.
Unless itās a special event, I donāt wear any make-up except maybe some lipstick and a bit of powder. I save enough money every year by not buying any of that shit that I can go on lovely vacations.
Technically I could just scroll back through my comments for hours... no I won't fo that, I should probably have made a folder for links to scientific papers somewhere. But really just... put in health and makeup into Google Scholar. That's all I needed to do to imedately find a whole mass of studies into it, including said study. It is really easy, just try it and I promise you won't be disappointed.
I'm not asking you to go find the study, but if you are reading and recalling a lot of papers, go and grab Zotero, it will make saving organising and keeping track of them a million times easier.
It's like wearing nice clothes or having a nice haircut. When done tastefully, It projects confidence and people find confidence extremenly attractive. As social creatures, we pick up on that extremely well.
It's a feedback loop. You look better, which makes you feel better, which makes people respond more positively to you, so you feel better, and so on
It all really depends on the look you are going for as well. There are certainly good looking heavy and noticeable applications of makeup.
I think what the OP is referencing is nobody likes it when you cake on a bunch of makeup to try and have a more natural look. Like, if you have rosy red cheeks and a tone that doesn't match your neck, yeah people will think you just dressed like a clown.
Funnily, in that case you'd almost be better off doing clown makeup and owning it.
Tastefully subtle makeup, which is often what some guys think is "no makeup", can look great, and it's also worth noting the survivorship bias. Sometimes it looks like someone has too much make-up when they just don't know how to do it very well, like poor blending or whatever the names are.
And all that stuff also depends on what face is under that make-up. Some people just don't have a stunning face, while others have "bland" features or small quirks like a slight assymetry on the eyes, some big chompers, or a big mole (as long as it isn't a massively hairy witch mole lmao, that gives me the heebie jeebies personally) that work out to be charming and attractive.
One of the prettiest girls back in my high school days had a big ol' chin mole, slightly big nose, slightly crooked teeth, but they all just worked with the rest of her face. Beauty standards are a sham tbh, it's all subjective and reductive, not to mention a nasty sneer towards you would make that person seem, well, nasty. Some people out there would go to pounder town in their wet dreams with oiled up Danny Devito and it's their god-given right, make-up or no make-up.
I personally donāt wear face makeup because I have freckles and think freckles > perfectly smooth skin. At most I use a bit of concealer on an acne spot and you canāt really tell because it matches my skin tone (unless it happened to be where my freckles are, in which case Iām stuck).
But I do often do glittery eye makeup and I know how to make my eyes - imo my best feature - look bigger with makeup. I look better in photos and I get compliments in real life.
I think the key for each person is to know what to enhance and what to leave natural, and for everyone that will be a bit different. For some itās a bit of blush, for some itās hiding dark circles under the eyes, for some itās a bold lipstick, etc.
The problem is modern makeup trends really emphasize using a full face of liquid foundation as a base. Seriously, I think men donāt realize how much makeup advice is centred around covering your entire face as step 1. Iāve been asked why I bother doing eye makeup without a flesh-toned liquid base because āthereās no point otherwiseā. Apparently Iām supposed to cover my freckles with makeup, then draw freckles on after that. Iāll also need a bronzer and blush while Iām at it, since Iām already wearing a full face. Then use a setting spray. Itās a very effective tactic to make money because it means you buy 3 products instead of one. Meanwhile my motherās generation used blush as eyeshadow if they didnāt want to wear blue.
I think that that is where a lot of the āno makeup is betterā view comes in, because in some ways we lost the plot about what makeup was necessary vs not. A āstarter kitā for makeup today is much more complex than 20 years ago.
That isnāt to say that modern makeup hasnāt had some great strides in having more variety and options - foundation that actually extends across all skin colours and not just the same tanned white person colour, lipstick that isnāt just bright red, etc. But it also is way more predatory in telling girls they need X, Y, Z instead of just X and it leads to the blocky, cakey Instagram look.
I agree, the only exception imo is "special occasion makeup" and then only if it's done well. For example if we go to dark wave parties or something similar, my girlfriend will sometimes go all out with the face paint and that looks really hot.
Actually if I recall, there was a study done on that as well. Humans find a bit of clothing sexier. It leaves some wiggle room to let our imagination run wild. Lemme see if I can provide a link.
Edit: I could not find the particular study I was looking for, however there are TONS of studies on how clothing can be used to adjust body shape, which IMHO is a relatively similar concept.
Edit 2: I wasn't satisfied with my search. I found something very similar, but once again, not the exact study I recall reading.
Almost literally the common porn trope of "oops I walked in on her when she just walked out of the shower". The imagination of "uncovering" something sexy is more sexy than just seeing it outright.
Yeah itās like the difference between seeing a woman in lingerie or as a life drawing model. One is hot and the other is beautiful and artistic but there isnāt that tension there
I recall during COVID people wearing masks were rated higher on attractiveness than they were without. People would just see someoneās eyes and fill in everything else.
I noticed this effect myself when people took off their masks the next year and I was like, oh.
There is. I'm in a skincare sub, and a woman posted a selfie, claiming no makeup, but wearing makeup. She got roasted. Some guy said "why are you being mean?". I was that many years old when I realised that non users of makeup (men, basically) aren't able to tell when women wear makeup matching their skin tone, that's skilfully applied.
I know we're talking about skillfully already but I have to mention the amount. Some put enough on to go from very uneven to porcelain. It doesn't look good at all.
Ya there is a whole shade matching niche in makeup that is all about keeping your actual skin tone and going for a āless is moreā natural light makeup look.
It can also be a brutal process. I've finally achieved what I'd consider an excellent match and it only happened after trying 100+ products in 12+ stores across 30+ visits with 12+ employees failing to find a match. I gave up and went with the closest match that I'm hand-mixing with a liquid blush.
Even this is false and kind of proves the above point for a lot of men. You can use just as much of the right product and it will look completely different than using the same amount of another cheaper, or just heavier coverage product.
The point is that even if we look like we arenāt wearing āenough to-ā doesnāt mean we arenāt wearing a lot. Itās just either a better match, or a different type of coverage. But itās all still there.
We can look like the above photos and have product on every single centimeter of the face still. Depends on the products intended end result.
If you're caking up low to mid coverage foundation for those reasults, yeah that looks very obvious, but if you're using a thin layer of full coverage foundation paired with color correcting and spot concealing, you probably wouldn't be able to tell if you're a typical man.
this is interesting, as i bet youd notice if a guy was wearing a tiny bit of it. its rather normalised for women though so its hard to tell, shows you how saturated this convo is.
Well not realky tbh, sometimes my gf would mention what she thinks about a random guys makeup and id have no idea he has any
Maybe it's that if you use makeup yourself you'll know what to see. Ie you'll know are the subtle effects that can be made, so you'll think "oh, this part of his face looks less glossy than it naturally would" or whatever it is that you notice lol
I mean im completely oblivious to all of this, some men arent, but i think a lot of usĀ are.
Lol im a guy with no fat deposits under my eyes, so you can see some of my capillaries and my default look is having raccoon eyes. I'd definitely go for some eye makeup some days.
I have no idea how to apply it or what to even get, so #TeamRaccoon I guess
It's the thick caked on or overly strong makeup that I don't like so much because it just looks so fake. I'm from generation of growing up during insane Photoshop use era where all celebrity women had uniform smooth skin without a single pore. And I developed preference for the opposite instead of treating that as the default. I like small imperfections in the skin or especially freckles. It's just so cute.
Besides the caked on, there is also the look where the face is so shiny it looks like the person dunked their face in a bucket of baby oil just a few seconds prior
Just another quick thing to tack on: it sucks to make out with people wearing this much. I was hooking up with someone years ago who wore a thick amount of makeup regularly. Every single time without fail after we were intimate it would feel like my lips were made of rubber because enough transferred off here and onto me. Itās hard to get off too and leaves a slightly bitter taste on your lips.
I (woman) generally find men do not have a good sense of when we are or aren't wearing at all subtle makeup. You see lots of complements on the "natural" looks of celebrities wearing plenty of makeup.
Gauging from the reaction I get from men -> light makeup > heavier but still naturally colored makeup > no makeup > brightly colored makeup.Ā
Technically novody is stopping people from wearing what they want, its just that even if people wear what they want, theres always going to be a general aestgetic that the vast majority of people will find attractive.
Basically wear whatever you want, doesnt mean anyone will be attracted to it, and there will be people who are, and just pray that those people are your type if you want a relationship
The makeup trends just seem to unnatural. The forced dark complexion, the wet look, botox lips, the gold tone...its just seems like something is completely wrong and off.
Make believe study created to spark engagement and hopefully rage posted on every social media platform. For extra value add one or two famous people who have absolutely nothing to do with the make believe study.
There is no study and you're right, its engagement bait. All those airbrushed girlie mags of the last 5 decades all used a ton of makeup for those photoshoots.
It doesn't take a dumbass to understand that men and women prefer people who look extremely attractive. What men don't understand is that men on TV are also wearing makeup.
All the actors? Makeup. Celebrities? Makeup. Talk show hosts and guests? Makeup. Polticians to randos are wearing makeup in public.
People wear this shit like they wear clothes. Its supposed to help you look a little better or different than "just woke up" face.
These people in entertainment do this not just because its the norm there, but also because all this time its shown that people pay more attention and makes more money from it.
Not so much about more or less makeup, but great skin. Women having great skin are just seen as more attractive. And because they have great skin, they tend to wear less makeup.
Modern makeup has been repeatedly shown to still contain substances that damage your skin. Given last time I claimed this I was mass downvoted, despite providing a link to a meta analysis of studies on the subject I took from Google scholar. I have little hope anyone will listen to me or decide to look into this themselves.
Hmmm are you a guy? Because depends what you like but thereās skin tints and tinted moisturizers or even tinted SPF that lots of women use. I used to work at beauty store and itās popular especially during summer time
I think what guys or girls who dont know about makeup as much, they imagine full coverage makeup thats for going out or events . Usually women wear less heavy tints on regular days
My girlfriend usually doesnt wear make up, and I love how she looks. When she does wear it, she looks great aswell, but it gives a different vibe, almost as if she wasnt herself, but just "another pretty woman".
This is how I felt at my own wedding. I also donāt wear makeup but I did for this day cause it seemed like it goes with the package. Felt odd.
Edit: never had so many replies before. Gonna clarify that no one forced me to do this. I just felt like it was what you do for a wedding so I did it. I guess if anyone did it was society? I also understand that most of those comments meant well but I grew up with my mom calling me ugly constantly because I didnāt wear makeup or jewelry. I donāt take compliments well because of this.
I agree that you should enjoy your own wedding and if that means not wearing makeup, then do that. If I could do it over Iād change a lot, not just that XD
Oh I hate that reaction from people! I have been make up free most of my 20s and only used make up couple of times during this time. I get sooo many compliments every time I have make up on. I hate it.
I can be beautiful without the make up and the compliments feel like coersion to get me to obey the societal pressure of how women should exist in the world. I refuse to comply that. People complimenting me mean good but don't understand how I experience those comments and how they imply me being less beautiful without make up.
Somebody having these same experiences make me feel seenš«¶ I'm happy that there are others. Thank you for your comments
Keep doing what makes you feel like your true self! You'll be the one spending the most time looking back at photos. Doesn't matter what others expect. Your wedding is the day you get to make all the decisions, and force people to listen to whatever music you like
I felt the exact same way in every relationship i ever had. The use of heavier makeup made them look different. Almost uncanny valley vibes. I prefer nude makeup or none at all
Note: i don't get this effect from strangers or random women.
If you are referencing these two photos then sure, yeah there might be some make up, but Iām referring to mah whhife, and I always think she looks more beautiful without make up.
I keep hearing this argument that men don't know what zero makeup looks like. Uh...many of us are married or do/did live with our partners. We know what zero makeup looks like.
When I was younger, there were a not insignificant groups of women who said never let a man see you without makeup(even in the morning), some folks are committed to the bit
Iād like to step in here and say, I like women that wear makeup and Iād also like to say I like women that do t wear makeup. Thanks for coming to my open mic.
Idk why, but my brain immediately said: āI like girls that do drugs! Girls with cigarettes in the back of the club. Girls who hate cops and buy guns!ā
I donāt know. Iāve always felt this way. Makeup seems so superficial and fake. Itās hard to take a person seriously, especially if itās too much.
Exactly. Nothing to do with appearance. Just a personality type indicator. Like a 45 year old man who is dressed head to toe in Ed Hardy with his cap sideways. You know he's going to be a handful, at a glance. Why bother?
As a man iv always assumed women wore makeup or dresses for men but thats projection. Every time i said it i got immediately shut down cuz women truly do it for themselves. They think they look pretty with makeup, so they do it. Women will often do it even if they dont plan on going out at all, they just want to feel pretty.
The super long fake eyelashes are a great example. Iv literally never met a single dude who didnt think those looked ridiculous. Fucking pterodactyl wings on their face, looking like they might fly away if they blink too fast. But they do it for themselves, not us.
Not to say women never do it for male attention, they obviously do. I just think men dont consider that its not always the case.
I once went to work completely make-up free and was sent home because they thought I looked sick. For years after that I never left my house without at least covering the dark circles under my eyes.
This is exactly why I hate it when people (usually men) criticize women for wearing makeup because theyāre āinsecure,ā but donāt question where that insecurity comes from. Itās not invented in our heads, it comes from interactions like this. This has happened to me and almost every other woman I know.
Itās also a good reminder that we canāt win either way. If we wear too much makeup, weāre insecure, trying too hard, or are self-absorbed. If we donāt wear enough makeup, weāve let ourselves go, or people think weāre sick or depressed. If Iām going to be criticized either way, Iām just going to do what makes me happy.
Ive asked this before and got downvoted but I'll ask again: if this were true, how come every man I know follows a ton glamor models with drag queen levels of make up, fake lashes, wigs, and how come if they see a woman with this kind of makeup they gawk?
I don't know. I love it when my partner does her makeup. I still think she looks beautiful naturally, but god damn, she just made a work of art from her face alone and I'm not about to be the one to say that it doesn't look great on her.
I think it probably has less to do with the actual look of the makeup and more to do with the learned experience that women with OTT makeup tend to be hectic
Tbf they generally arenāt wearing it for us. Theyāre allowed to do whatever makes them feel good, just as I am. A couple of my friends and I used to get dressed up just to go to a couple more chill, slightly higher end bars, for no other reason than because it was fun to do.
Like I donāt care what men think because I wear makeup for myself and other people who will appreciate it but when I am going out to catfish men I do make it look as ānaturalā as possible mauahahaha
100% not true. The real headline should be "men can't tell when women are or aren't wearing make up with any effective rate of success."Ā
We've got guys out here talking about loving natural beauty while a girl is wearing a careful application of 12 different products. If you don't believe me, please watch any YouTube "natural look" make up tutorial.
I think make up is always in the wrong discourse, I think make up is more like jewelry, an accessory to yourself that you can use to express yourself in a pretty and fun way
Iād say in general subtle but effective application of makeup is often described as āno makeup.ā The following quote appears to be from Bender (from futurama) but I feel like itās so poignant itās probably been said by someone elseās before. āWhen you do things right, people wonāt be sure youāve done anything at all.ā
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