Why Do Women Wear Makeup?

Aug 8, 2013

Like many women, I began nearly each day by applying makeup. Not every day, but, yes,
on most days I wear makeup. So, why do I — and countless other women — begin our
days with foundation, blush, and mascara? Well, I could feed you the "I wear it for myself"
line you've heard a thousand times before, but, if I'm being completely honest, that would
be a lie. Yes, in some way I am doing it for myself — but only because looking a certain
way makes me feel good. That's the part of the "I wear it for myself" argument that people
always fail to tack on. Now, maybe there are women who wear full faces of foundation just
to sit alone in their bedrooms, but I'm not one of them, and most of the women I meet
aren't either.

The reason most women are adverse to speaking candidly about their reasons for wearing
makeup ("I want to project a certain image out into the world. I wear it for myself, but so I
can feel more comfortable in how I present myself to others.") is because most people
would digest such a statement as a tacit admission of vanity. The assumption is that, if
you wear makeup and you admit it's not just for yourself, then you are shallow and vain.
But this is not necessarily true. The issue isn't whether or not women are applying makeup
for other people, but rather their impetus for doing so.

Makeup can be a form of self-expression and character. What's especially interesting

about makeup is that it's one of the only forms of expressions primarily for wome n. Even
fashion is becoming a more prominent way for men to express themselves, but, for the
most part, makeup has remained just for women. It's this idea that has paved the way for
many of the sexist assumptions that get made about a woman wearing makeup — that's
she's only doing it for male attention, that the only thing she's interested in is looking hot,
that without makeup she feels worthless and unattractive.

There are women who alter their appearances with makeup and beauty procedures for the
attention and approval of their male counterparts. I don't say this as a condemnation,
especially since it wasn't too long ago that I could relate. I spent most of high school
caking orange bronzer on my face and sitting with Crest White Strips on my teeth. In my
mind, being tan and having shiny, white teeth were top priorities. Only later, as I became
more comfortable with myself, did I realize that my goals for wanting to look a certain way
were petty, rooted in vanity and narcissism. When I do step outside my day-to-day routine
of tinted moisturizer, concealer, lip stain, blush, and mascara, the goal isn't necessarily to
look "hot" or "sexy," but it is to express myself in a certain way and then have others see
that form of self-expression. I'm not wearing makeup "for me," but I'm not wearing it for
males either. Those aren't the only two options.

What I — and most of the women I know who are passionate about cosmetics —like about
makeup isn't that the right gloss can make your lips poutier or that false lashes c an make
your eyes more doe-like. Rather, it's how women can communicate messages and
express ourselves through makeup. Certainly it's not our single factor of communication,
but it's one of many forms of expression that allow us to showcase our individual styles.

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Perhaps no medium has showcased this idea better than beauty blogging. There are so
many inspired beauty bloggers out there that don't just merely focus on product reviews
and doling out tips for the perfect cateye. Makeup artist and photographer R obin Black
uses her blog Beauty is Boring to showcase looks that are not just beautiful, but creative
and expressive, as well. For Black, the end game of makeup is not to be beautiful. She
writes in the about page of her blog, "For as long as I can remember, I've had a love / hate
relationship with beauty. It's a complicated, subjective thing." Instead of doing glamorous
or sexy looks, Black creates pieces of art through makeup, making everything fr om bandit
masks made out of orange lipstick to eye makeup looks inspired by the stars in the sky.
Black's blog is proof that makeup can indeed be a form of artistic expression.

Of course, not everyone is interested in wearing a mask made out of lipstick. Artistic
expressions of makeup do not have to be that overt. Arabelle Sicardi, the twenty-year-old
blogger behind Fashion Pirate, uses beauty products to help create the overall image that
she is interested in portraying. Her beauty blog, Powder Doom, provides tons of
information about beauty basics, but also has a distinct focus on the ways in which beauty
products can be used to showcase your personality.

Less conventional beauty looks, like Sicardi's and Black's, are certainly the best examples
of how cosmetics can be a form of expression, but that doesn't mean that women who just
wear plain black eyeliner and bronzer are victims of a misogyny. Rather, they're simply
interested in expressing a different message. And that is what is ultimately so wonderful
about makeup: not that it makes your skin brighter or cheekbones pop, but that you can
convey any emotion or idea you want, and then wash it off at the end of the day.

The common rebuttle to the "makeup is a form of expression argument" is that women
should not be relying on their image as a way to express themselves. This is true. No
woman should rely solely on makeup as a way to make her voice heard — and no woman
really does. Even the most fervent lovers of makeup express themselves in a myriad of
different ways, through photography, or writing, or simply just talking. Women have a wide
vocabulary for communicating, and makeup is — or at least can be — just one word in
their vast lexicons.

From: https://www.bustle.com/articles/3243-why-do-women-wear-makeup

By: Michelle King

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 Generally, make-up is a normal thing for women. Make-up represents women and
vice versa. Make-up is known as a thing that consists such as lipstick, eye shadow, and
powder which some women put on their face to make they look more attractive and good.
Make-up also uses for the actors to change or improve their appearance. It is because
make-up has being their priority and a part of women’s life to look more stylish and proper
especially when dealing with other people. When talk about dealing, some people thinks that
women without make-up or ‘bare face’ are worthless thus consider them unattractive. It is
continues to distort the thinking of those people around which women with no make-up is
lazy. However, some people did not know that make-up has their own benefits towards
women and also to others. Make-up can be a form as to improve self-esteem.

Make-up is the way for women to express themselves and also their character. With
make-up, they feel more confident and not feel insecure to show the real them to someone
else. Self-confidence is a one of the reason they need to have in their mind. Some women
always predict that they should not to apply for the modeling job because they too fat or they
should not to ask the boy to go out date because they too ugly. These are thoughts that
usually women have in their mind. It is because some of them did thought that make-up is
only way for them to be close with others. Sometimes, they feel afraid, if they did not wear
any make-up, they feel unattractive for people to see it. Women should believe that make-up
can give the power which can make them feel special, beautiful and attractive. Like a match,
they can choose whether they want to use it for good or bad.

Next, women can communicate the message through make-up. All people needs
communications and so make-up too. Certainly, it is not the single factor of communication,
but it is one of many forms of expression that allows them to showcase their individual styles.
Definitely, communication take place which anytime there is a sender, a message, and also a
receiver. The majority research of women and also their self-confidence have historically
been related in how they feel about their body shape and faces. However, make-up is a way
to invoke someone to communicate with other people. Rather, they are simply interested in
expressing a different message. All in all, women have a wide vocabulary for
communicating, and make-up is or at least can just be one word in their vast lexicons.

Moreover, make-up can convey any emotion and idea that women want. Nowadays,
women always do a make-up as an art. Usually, we use to see women are wearing make-up
beyond of their imagination because they want to express to others about their emotion and
the brilliant idea. Make-up come from the various colour and each of it have their own
meaning and emotion. For example, women are applying a bright and natural make-up, it

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shows that they have a cheerful and sweet characters. Less conventional beauty looks, are
certainly the best examples of how the make-up can be a form of expression.

In conclusion, make-up can be a form for women to improve their self-esteem. It is no

wrong for women to be pretty and look nice just to attract others, but also be confident in
what we do because only we know what the best to ourself. If the others talk bad about you,
just ignore it because we could not to make them satisfied with what we do.