One in three women refuse to leave the house without wearing makeup, according to a new study by Superdrug, and St. Thomas students aren’t surprised by the findings.
“I feel with Facebook and everything, we are very connected to everything so we are very image conscious,” sophomore Kylee Joosten said.
Freshman Dee Her said it’s fine to leave the house without makeup.
“Honestly I think it’s ridiculous. Women shouldn’t feel that way,” Her said. “I go out in public without makeup whenever I feel like it. I personally care more about my beauty sleep rather than waking up early and spending hours on makeup.”
Freshman Dee Her talks about how and why she uses makeup.
So why do women feel the need to wear makeup?
“If you look at any magazine, any TV ad, any celebrity, you see they’re caked with makeup and I think for a lot of people that sets the standard of what’s normal or what’s beautiful,” said Sara Gustafson, Wellness Center graduate assistant.
Joosten agreed.
“I feel like today the media is very much ‘everyone needs to look a certain way,’” Joosten said. “I think makeup is very much the tool that people use to make themselves look the way that they think people want them to look.”
Freshman Ali Rohs said makeup helps make women feel more comfortable.
“I feel like it’s kind of a protection.” Rohs said. “They can make a different face, and they don’t have to be themselves.”
Freshman Tracy Becker agreed.
“You are trying to make yourself look better than you naturally look,” she said.
The study also found that more than 33 percent of women felt their partner wouldn’t have been attracted to them without having worn makeup.
“I’ve been seeing my boyfriend for about four years and the first two dates I wore makeup,” Joosten said. “By now I am very much just more natural, more comfortable, because I’ve got him; I don’t need to try so hard.”
Gustafson said women need to take makeup out of the equation.
“My advice would be to just put yourself in a situation where maybe the norm isn’t a makeup-full society to see the difference between the two,” Gustafson said. “You might find that you really enjoy not having to worry about those kinds of things.”
In an attempt to inform more people about body image issues, St. Thomas will be participating in Body Image Awareness Week from Feb. 21 – Feb. 25.
“We really try to focus on the whole person, men and women, and about loving yourself and your entire body,” Gustafson said.
Colleen Schreier can be reached at schr1207@stthomas.edu.
I can relate to the not wanting to leave the house without makeup, but one of my dietician friends recommended I read a book about how makeup is absorbed into your body and all the dangerous chemicals that exist within the simplest of products. It’s actually pretty scary because the FDA only has 9 ingredients that are illegal in the USA, while Europe has over 200 ingredients that are off limits… Ingredients include things like Aluminum, Mercury, lead, crushed beetles, etc…. Anyway, maybe we need to think more about what we are applying daily to our faces, or at least switch to more “clean” makeup products.
If this doesn’t bore you, read “No More Dirty Looks.”
I agree with Cara – I would also add that watching the documentary “America the Beautiful” will open your eyes to the beauty industry and how bad makeup can be for a person’s body. After watching this I tried not wearing makeup anymore and it just wasn’t for me. I don’t wear a lot – I probably spend 5-10 minutes putting it on, but I feel much better about myself and don’t worry how I look when I’m wearing it. After learning about the negative effects, however, I switched to Everyday Minerals makeup which is all natural and contains even less ingredients than Bare Minerals but for a less expensive price tag.
My opinion is that people should let others do what they want to do. I can’t ever see myself walking around with my hair all perfectly curled with layers of eyeshadow, blush, mascara, and what else have you on, but if some girls want to look that way that is fine. I also can’t see myself never putting anything on either. I don’t think it’s my job to tell anyone what to do or what will make a person happy.
After working for MAC cosmetics for several months I have seen the difference makeup can make in women’s confidence levels. I have helped clients cover black eyes, rosacea, problem areas and dark spots on their faces. When they look in mirror for the first time after having applied makeup to the area often their posture immediately improves and they seem happier and much more confident than when they came in.
No woman should feel guilty for wearing makeup, it is a right and a safe way for women to feel more confident in public. I say if you want to, cake it on!
go carolyn!!!!!!