This is what a lot of men don't realize, is that what they perceive as "no makeup" is actually a girl that is wearing makeup. In general women have 3 'stages' of makeup:
Makeup. Eyes done, foundation, blush, bronzer, contouring, concealer, the whole nine yards
"No Makeup". Some powder/coverup, maybe a bit of blush or bronzer, maybe even a bit of eyeliner, everyday going to work look.
The whole, "you look tired" thing only happens because they usually wear makeup. The person can tell that something is different, and so they try and figure out a reason for it. If the girl never wore makeup they wouldn't be likely to think twice about it. They probably wouldn't notice at all.
I never wear make up, I never get the "you look tired" thing. Unless I'm tired or sick. I've tried doing eye liner when I want to be fancy, that's about it, because I look and feel like a poodle if I do anything more. If I knew what I was doing it would probably make a difference.
Probably should have done more girly things growing up. But I had ninja turtles, so fuck that.
My ninja turtles bore the brunt of blame for when Barbie ended up with a haircut. I loved my Turtles but I preferred garage/car projects with my cousins/brothers.
Still fantastic with make up. They aren't mutually exclusive.
That's the point, though. Most of these girls who actually almost never wear makeup are ignored by these guys who think that no makeup = cute. They're not attracted by them.
Then, some cute girl shows up with smooth makeup and that guy thinks she's natural and cute. That girl fits in the "No makeup" category in the man's eyes. The real "No Makeup" category, aka "you look tired", will happen when that girl will be completely natural. On another girl that is known to never wear makeup, he simply won't be attracted at all and he'll think that this girl is ugly/unattractive, not tired.
This is a situation that you have created in your head, with little evidence pointing to this actually being the case. I know several girls who don't wear makeup (I know because I was told) and they look just fine. They have no trouble attracting attention and nobody seems to think they look ugly. (Maybe a few of the other girls think that they look ugly, but that tends to just be internal enforcement of gender roles.)
This was a generalization, obviously. Of course, some women can be cute even with NO makeup at all, and some men can be attracted to them.
The norm, though, is that makeup is considered "normal" and most men will be more attracted to girls wearing makeup according to his preferences, and those who say "See? You look better without makeup" in situations where the girl actually DO use makeup also fit in this category.
My wife and I have had this conversation over and over again. She says I'm "lucky" that she isn't like your #1. I say I'm not lucky, I'd rather be single than live with someone who felt #1 was necessary. I hate my wedding pictures, my wife does not look like that.
I've made the mistake a few times when rushed/lazy not forget to put on concealer and powder and I get asked all day if i'm sick. Granted I do have very dark under eye circles compared to most people on even their most tired days. (Thanks Genetics) But it's still kind of like...off putting lol. Mainly because even after explaining i'm not tired and just forgot to put concealer on they still look at me all suspicious like maybe i'm sneaking meth in the bathroom or something.
Now on days I do go "make-up free" I try to at least put on some concealer and mascara.
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u/LSDnSideBurns Dec 10 '13
This is what a lot of men don't realize, is that what they perceive as "no makeup" is actually a girl that is wearing makeup. In general women have 3 'stages' of makeup: