SE you sound just like my hubby! I have never really worn make up, maybe for a year of junior high? I personally just think it looks silly and I completely agree with everything Knottysleeves and Ashley said. The animal testing and impossible expectation of fake "beauty" are appalling to me.
updated by @naturalwomyn: 07/23/15 08:15:57AM
make up
i LOVE makeup! but to me, makeup is fun and artistic. i don't feel like i have to wear makeup to make myself presentable, it's just something i enjoy doing. you can create so much with makeup.
i used to wear lots of make up thinking i was prettier, now looking back i don't feel the same. 99% of the time, i don't wear makeup, but the occasional, going out, or wanting to look cute, i will put some eyeliner and blush, but basically thats all. im a leo, and i love good attention and ppl thinking im attractive, after a month of dreads, im extremely more comfortable in my skin, like i could not care less what anothers feelings are about me. that i love my hair, and i love myself and my body. dreads are truly a life changing experience.
I used to feel so much anxiety towards my appearance. I wouldn't allow myself to leave the house without makeup on. I even took it along camping. Even if I wasn't able to shower, I was convinced my makeup was needed. I also stopped using makeup after starting my dreads. I never really made the decision to not wear it, I just stopped. It didn't feel needed anymore. My coworker put makeup on me a few months ago and when I went home my boyfriend told me I looked funny (which didn't make me feel good at all right away), he doesn't like it at all and either do I. My mom will be seeing me tomorrow for the first time in a year and a half so she hasn't seen my dreads yet. Hopefully she will be able to see how they have helped begin my transformation into a more confident, independent person. I feel like I actually get more compliments on my appearance now that I don't bother with makeup or hair products. Females that I encounter have made comments about how they think it's awesome I'm so "natural" and don't need makeup. I try to convince them that they don't either but I normally get some statement on how it boosts their self esteem. But for me, the fact that I don't need it is the greatest boost in self-esteem that I need. And the compliments from strangers never hurt either 
i used to wear makeup, everyday i thought i had to. i've come to realize that whats the point? im confident with who i am, enough to try and change my natural beauty to what society thinks it should be. I stopped wearing makeup before i got decided to get dreadlocks, so i guess it's based on perception. I just think letting go of ego has a lot to do with who i really am and i've realized makeup isn't something i need to be a happy person
i used to wear makeup when i was younger but as i've gotten older i don't feel the need. i will put a little on if i go to a wedding or my husbands work christmas party though. i just don't have the time to bother and my skin is much better off without it. one thing i can't live without though is my eyelash curler. i have super straight eyelashes and a quick squeeze of the curler makes my eyes look much more awake.
12yr old me: Couldn't wait to wear makeup because i felt self-concious and wanted to fit in.16yr old me: Liked dramatic makeup that made me look tough and rebellious, but no longer felt the need to wear it to fit in. Hated the way cover-up felt on the face18yr old me: Began to see the light in terms of the fact that i hated time consuming beauty rituals and the way make-up made me more self concious ( is it smeared? mascara running? eyeliner melting?) it began to feel like more trouble than its worth. Still, wore a little everyday due to it's socially-expected-norm factor.20yr old me: Stopped wearing makeup everyday. Just occasionally, even then just eyeliner and lip gloss. Skin cleared up.NOW: I don't feel socially pressured anymore. I now feel like makeup is just for dramatic effect, but not too much makeup. So I'll wear makeup with costumes or just because i get in a mood. But that, especially after beginning my dready journey, is not often.
I am loving everyone's thoughts here! It can really REALLY get under my skin sometimes, people saying oh but you're so pretty! My response (picked up many moons ago from my mother) was how would you know? You can't even SEE me. I was raised in the body modification culture thanks to my tattoo artist father, and was taught from a very early age to recognize and be open to all forms of beauty and expression. I became heavily pierced and tattooed earlier than most, hoping I was challenging peoples preconceptions of beauty with my metal and ink and 16mm earlobes (5/8) but most of all because I LOVED how confident it made me feel! I started wearing makeup because it was fun, and I'd get very dramatic with it, such fun! Then I noticed my skin didn't look as nice as it had before. I've since stopped wearing it, it's time consuming and there's no need. I also hate the idea of an industry that in most, but not ALL, cases, thrives on women's insecurities and relies on making women believe they're not good enough just as they are. My dreadlocks are related to my no makeup wearing and body modifications in that I am comfortable with myself, and all my forms of expression, and that I still really enjoy trying to shift the perspective of people who have a very narrow view of what they consider beautiful.
