Layan:
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While waiting for Gaya’s fried Mars Bars at Far east Plaza in Singapore yesterday, Justin peered at my face and said, “You’re not wearing make up ya?”
I prepped myself up for some form of good skin flattery or another and said, “Nope..not today..”
He said, “Good! I like girls like you. My girlfriend also don’t put on alot of make up,”
In his opinion, girls who wear make up are hiding behind something. It’s like they are afraid of showing the world what is really beneath the layers of makeup. To him, a clear face signifies confidence and he gets attracted to that. He, doesn’t believe in make up and shakes his head at it.
I then turned to Chee Kiang and Daryl and asked them for their opinion.
Chee Kiang thinks that girls use make up because in the past, they have received ciriticism about their appearences and feel particularly traumatised by the fact that they are not blessed aesthetically. Hence, the girls don make up to improve what they lack. He also thinks that girls put on make up to impress guys.
Daryl, was the one that supported make up. He believes that if it makes a girl look good, sure, why not?
And of course, for the benefit of my fellow womenkind, I defended the pros of cosmetics. Justin challenged me and cited a few examples of really thick made up girls that we all know(and love as friends), I told them that those were the extreme cases and there is a line between girls who overuse make up and girls who use makeup.
Make up is more than a necessity to girls who come of age. At least a hint of blusher or a few slicks of mascara will do the trick for most girls. Of course, those of us with less than perfect skin may need more than a little bit of powder to cover up all those flaws and these are the type who will lay on the foundation even when they head out for a bite at the local mamak stall.
I believe that make up is a form of respect. You can’t go to someone’s wedding with a plain face. It’s like saying, “No, this occasion is not THAT important to me.” Make up equals effort. And effort means that you care.
But of course, you also get the type of girls who are too naive or confused as to how they should acknowledge the use of cosmetics. They do make good makeover guinea pigs to those of us who have too many makeup to spare. Understandably, if you’re of high school going age it is okay to be oblivious to all the basic necessities of make up. Eyeshadow alone is not make up. It’s child’s play. So even if I myself do not pay homage to the wonders of the COMPULSORY mascara, I still make sure if I am having make up on, I use my foundation, blusher, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, lip balm, lip gloss(no longer using lip stick) and of course, the eyeshadow.
Okay la, maybe I might be omitting out a few other crucial must-haves like a puff of powder after the whole make up is done and maybe some fake eye lashes. I’ve got to overcome the phobia of falling eyelashes first.
Furthermore, the belief that girls put on make up to impress guys might be true to a certaine extent but I personally believe that it’s actually the OTHER girls that we want to impress. We just want to be on par. We don’t want to be left out, you know?
I posed the question about wearing make up to work as a professional.
“My (future)sister-in-law is a good example! She doesn’t wear make up to work.” Justin chirped.
“Yeah Justin, but maybe that’s because it’s a a family business? I think most women wear make up to work,” said Chee Kiang.
Maybe it’s the nude look that Justin’s future sister in law is adopting, because I don’t think any woman who is a professional(ie. meeting clients all the time) will dare go to work bare faced. Heck, even when I was 15 years old, working at Nail Artz Sunway Pyramid, my boss used to berate the other employees to put on a slick of lipstick at the very least. I was the most heavily made up one despite being the youngest. 😛 Hiau por Lai, that’s me.
There are many ways to experiment with your face. Though I’m not an expert on make up application but I do believe that it is wise to at least put on some effort to show an ounce of respect. To stop being so..dowdy. So..unsavvy.
Just a bit will do!
MAHAI yeah la i fucking hate guys who say that they don’t like girls who put ‘a lot’ or ‘obvious’ makeup. yea yeah whatever then dont idolize those hot celeb chicks la since they spent like 2 hours putting on makeup to appear on the page they ripped off some magazines to wank to. ppl put makeup they like la! talk so much for what! they pain is it!
jo: ehehe.. maybe they dun like the no-skills-girls. some guys really find girls with make up damn eyesore. i feel damn shy one lor if i put too much make up in the presence of guys who think like that. ;P Â
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i think that make-up is a personal choice rather than a mark of respect, as fashion is. i have friends who pretty much underdress all the time but i don’t take it as they’re being disrespectful, but that they’re comfortable with their style and perhaps unfortunately don’t see that certain occasions require certain outfits.
i personally don’t wear any make-up because i have hyperhidrosis, which makes make-up absolutely pointless and a huge waste of money (that, and i don’t know anything about make-up also la). but i expect i shall have to get it treated once i’ve graduated and am accepted into a mnc or something. or unless i choose a job that doesn’t really require make-up.
i’m all for being pretty! make-up is just not my thing at the moment.
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jo: in some cultures it is really considered as a mark of respect. like in japan even. i think it belongs under good etiquette. .. i mean it is very variable lah, but it is my opinion lah:) i’ve got a friend who has the same problem as u. she can tear her exam papers by sweating on it one.:PÂ
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Its an interesting point you have here and I must say I agree with you, that makeup, when properly applied, enhances rather than disguises a person’s looks. Too much of anything is bad, as with makeup. Even a lick of lipstick or blush helps brighten up a girl’s face. There’s no need to go the whole way. However, from experience, when guy’s say they prefer girls without makeup, tell them to look again. Some girls are so skillful, they can make a madeup face look like they don’t have any on at all! Oh, and given a choice between a girl with a naked face and one with a touch of colour, I think they’d agree too, that the one with makeup looks brighter.
Sulz – if you want to try out some basic makeup, you could try using lipstick and maybe waterproof mascara 🙂
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jo: yeah, make up should enhance. but concealer works as a good disguiser and doesn’t necessarily means that it isn’t a good thing. some girls can do without the visibility of their dark rings and pimples. well, the nude look is in.(not sure how much longer since it WILL be 2007 soon anyway!) .. yeap. You ask a girl to go without make up on her wedding day, and I’ll come and slap whoeever who can say such a stupid thing.
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I personally would not put on make up to work when I can help it. Unfortunately in the corporate environment you are expected to, else you will face criticisms from your superiors, peers or clients. It cannot be debated the fact that when a woman wears makeup, she actually looks better (those crazy plastering of make up excluded from this statement) and “fresher”.
Putting on make up actually makes a difference especially when one works long hours… Dress codes, make up and accessories will give the “professional look”. Sad ain’t it?
jo: I don’t think it’s sad at all. 🙂 it’s a culture us women can share. and we can bond over it as well. I do agree that wearing full make up everyday is bad for the skin in the long run but there are alot of products in the market these days that cater to benefit the skin instead of damaging it. but i’ve seen friends who use foundation every other day suffer bad breakouts due to the long hours of clogged pores. got its good and bad lah, this whole make up thing. 🙂Â
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hahah make up is more essential than ppl think!! ‘natural beauty’ does adopt, but if make up can make you look prettier, why not look prettier??
haha women has make up talent built in them!! haha no seriously i’m not kidding, talking from experience…. once my friends and i were pretty drunk, but yet we still manage to put make up on our guy friends (it was a punishment game!), yeah surprised to see the pics the next day, how well we managed to put eye liner, mascara, eye shadow and blusher on the guys in such a drunken state, we couldn’t even remember exactly how we did it… not much memory… too drunk!!! hahah
natural instinct!!!
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jo: yeahh.. if can look prettier, go the distance right? ehehe. guys also look fine with a bit of meat. and some even look quite cute with abit of excess weight. but they still want to “buff” up. same rules apply. 🙂
hahaha.. eh.. next time when u come back i wanna see all ur wild mad cap pics. hahaha… welllll… i think the average age that girls come in contact with make up is age 4-5… at least tall and able enough to play with mum’s make ups.:PÂ
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*thumb up* good job, Jolene. I definitely agree with make ups 😉 *natural beauty* is a bit outdated already. Guys who think that not putting make up (so call natural beauty) are “leong” guys. No offences ya 😉
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jo: ahahha wahh..the make up pro come and give opinion adi:P ehhehe thanks! conservative lah:) got many diff types of guys ma. Â
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