Futility

My friend Meredith wrote a blog a couple days ago, asking her readers for their thoughts on wearing makeup.  Not surprisingly, my first impulse was to respond immediately.  I have lots of thoughts on the matter!  I know what I think about it right here and now!  But contrary to my natural behavior, I waited and used these last few days to further ruminate.  Is my opinion the same as it was 20 years ago?  I wanted to think on it.

Here are the questions she posed (and, yes, I cut and pasted them from her blog):

-Is makeup a big deal to you?
-What do think when you see a woman wearing a lot of makeup? Wearing no makeup?
-Do you feel different when you are wearing makeup v. not wearing makeup?
-What would be harder for you: taking a pic without makeup, first thing in the morning, or taking a pic of your belly, with no flexing or sucking in?


1.  Make up has never been a big deal to me.  I've worn it out in public exactly 5 times: 4 proms and 1 wedding.  I don't even wear chapstick unless it's absolutely necessary. We have no makeup in the house (unless you count nail polish, and if you do, none of it's mine), and if you gave some to me or Lucy, it would probably find itself in the garbage can in short time.  


It's not that I don't see any value in cosmetics-- a well made-up woman or man can look stunning under the right circumstances-- and like any good accessory, makeup can lend character to those who wear it.  (And this is a new development in my general paradigm.  It's one of those instances where I'm pleased that Charlie and I don't always agree with each other on issues because he helps me see things in new ways.) Whether used deftly as a beauty tool or as an egregious mistake, its application has the potential to speak volumes about its wearer... and sometimes the message is contrary to the one intended.  Which leads me to number


2.  I really wish women didn't wear makeup because it's so unnecessary, but I know it can be fun to use it in such a way that you can be someone else completely.  I understand how makeup can be a catalyst for positive change in attitude and in life.  But you gotta understand that when you wear enough to weigh your head down and permanently alter your posture, you're sending a message to the world, and it isn't necessarily, "Look how beautiful I am."  Wearing a lot of makeup can inspire pity in both men and women because, like it or not, it's often quite telling about your self-esteem. There must be some mathematical model somewhere that illustrates the inverse proportion between the amount of makeup applied and levels of self-esteem.  Granted, this is not always the case.  It might not even SOMETIMES be the case.  But if I'm being honest, there it is.  On the other hand, there are women who lord it over others, wearing it like a badge of honor, proving just how crunchy they are by the amount of cosmetics they DON'T use.  "I'm so super-crunchy, I don't even use soap!"  


3 & 4.  I feel utterly ridiculous when wearing makeup.  Where most women feel more beautiful or sassy, I think the cosmetics only enhance (exacerbate?) my features as they would a clown.  It feels a lot like covering up bad body odor with perfume-- a sad lesson in futility.  That being said, it would be a lot easier for me to take a picture sans makeup than to take a picture of my unfettered belly.  I may be virtually at ease with my sorry complexion, but I'm at war with my girth.  We are not at peace.