I was just wondering, if you went to a party in the part of the world you live in, what would be the makeup quotient of the people attending? Is your city or town a place where you "put on your face" before going out?

The reason I ask is this past Saturday night I was at a party of about 25-30 people, men and women about equally, and majority French Quebeccers. The participants were college professors, a judge, lawyers, historians, government functionaries, writers and other professionals and some teenagers. Among the fifteen or so women only two (myself included) wore lipstick or makeup. I wore red lipstick (Nars Shanghai Express, to be exact) and one other woman wore makeup, the whole palette. She was also the only one wearing hose. All the other women (and some of the men) were barefoot in sandals or shoes except for a few who wore socks with shoes or sandals, including one woman.

This is a sophisticated group and makeup was obviously not on the radar. Hair was attractively coiffed, clothing was chic and a lot of it expensive--just no makeup, and this is a cosmopolitan city. At my former workplace, many of the women in management, while they wore exquisite business suits and quality jewelry, did not wear makeup. I guess it's a cultural thing in some places.

Aha! But I did speak to one person who discussed perfume and she is a signature-perfume person. She had deplored the passing of Empreinte by Courrèges and did not wear perfume for a mourning period of five-years, until she encountered Issey Miyake L'Eau Bleue for men, which is her signature scent now. (Smelled good!)

What was the makeup situation at the last party you attended?

I live in Southern California. I think that's all that needs to be said...

I've mentioned this before here, but New Zealand is the least image-conscious place I have ever been. Women here (on the South Island) seem to wear little if no visible makeup. I am the only woman I know who wears perfume every day - if others around me do, I can't smell it - and one of the very few in my office who wears makeup.

I haven't been to any formal parties here and maybe people would glam up for those, and I suppose girls who go out clubbing and have a wild night life wear a lot of makeup, but during the day I hardly see it on others.

The majority of my friends do not wear makeup. Many have told me that they are allergic to cosmetics. I believe these allergies are real in some cases and imagined in other cases. I have always loved makeup and I wear it everyday. I apply with a light hand for a natural "day" look, and I do like smokey eyes or a dark lip for evening. I never tease my friends for not wearing makeup because I feel it is a personal choice.
I, on the other hand, take plenty of ribbing from my friends for my interest in makeup. I've learned not to talk about makeup in front of them because it is clear that they find it a shallow and superficial interest. My blog is my outlet for sharing my interest in makeup.

Two weeks ago I attended a friend's BBQ. The hostess brought up the topic of perfume. She listened with interest as I described some of my favorites. When her husband sat down she turned to him and said, "Did you know Noelle collects perfume?" He answered, "Really? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

-Noelle

Oh Noelle, I am sorry that people have those attitudes!

Collecting perfume is no more dumb than collecting anything else, and a lot less dumb than collecting many other things. At least you get daily enjoyment from your perfume.

And as for wearing makeup being seen as something shallow - do your friends wear fashionable clothes? Drive a fancy car? Send their kids to the most desirable school? Those are probably shallow things too! Just ignore anybody who belittles your personal choices, so long as those choices don't impinge on anybody else's life.

Seattle is a weird mix. It's neurotic. Women are decidely "natural and sporty" with the image they project, but don't believe that it's not carefully calculated. (not that it's a bad thing - I'm in this category when I'm not being lazy) In other words, there is very often some makeup, but it's extremely understated so as to appear "natural".

Women here don't wear much color on their faces, but the muted makeup they do wear is usually very high quality.

Thank you HoneyThief. I feel exactly as you do. I no longer am upset by the teasing, but it does perplex me. I don't see why my interest is sillier than another friend's interest in wine or another friend's interest in fantasy football. My friends are great, and I share many other interests with them, but I'll come to POL to read about and talk about perfume.

-Noelle

That was very tactless and unintelligent of your friend's husband.

As for the teasing and/or quizzical looks and barely-veiled insulting questions: I don't tell people who I think will be uncool about my love of perfume and anyone who is my friend and loves me sees is as an interesting twist in my otherwise tomboyish and nonfussy image.

Honestly - I would stop hanging out with anyone who said something jerky like that. I know lots of folks who collect things that I find unexplicably dorky, but I've never felt that I needed to "approve" or "understand" - they're into it.

I suspect that some of my friend's who claim not to wear makeup fall into this category. I have a friend who claims she does not wear makeup, but I always suspected she did. Her face seemed too airbrushed and too glowing. I used her bathroom once and she'd forgotten to put her cosmetic bag away. Everything was displayed in full view. I was shocked to see that she had more makeup than me! I never said anything about it to her.

He'd had a few, if you know what I mean. I shrugged it off. Some people just don't have a filter.

-Noelle

Really? That's the dumbest guy I've ever heard!

If that's the dumbest thing he's ever heard, he definitely needs to get out more.

I wear foundation, eyeshadow, eye liner, brow pencil, the tiniest bit of blush, and a natural lipstick every day. Most of the women in my office do as well. The only difference I see is that brunettes with naturally dark lashes and brows sometimes appear to go without mascara or brow pencil. The colors are natural and matte. I wear lots of different finishes in my eyeshadows but I go for a very sheer application at least.

I don't see that much difference between day and night makeup -- usually you just repowder your nose and refresh your lipstick et voila.

What you do see is an emphasis on grooming. The hair might be up in a ponytail, but it's $200 hair, with perfectly placed highlights. Everybody' brows are waxed and their manis and pedis are perfect, tending toward French manicure or a natural looking polish.

Women around here wear a lot of makeup.

Women here usually wear mascara, eyeliner and/or shadow, and lipgloss or lipstick, even when casually dressed. I don't see too many women who are dressed casually wearing foundation, but you definitely see it more on women who are dressed for work or for going out.



Noelle, I'm rolling up my sleeves--if you need me to come up there to NJ and put a filter on that guy, I will!

Lol! He's pretty harmless actually. Thanks for the offer though.

It has been my experience that women in the southern part of the USA wear more makeup than women in the northern part. They also dress a bit more formally. My parents both still live in the South, and I notice a big difference when I go there.

Here in the upper Midwest, I see a mix. Generally (big generalization here), the more education a woman has, the less obvious her makeup is. Particularly if she's under, say, 50. That's not to say she's not wearing any, just that it's harder to detect. I rarely see dramatic lipstick, but I do see lighter, sheerer versions on younger women.

This is daytime, workaday grooming. As for parties, I'll see a bit more obvious makeup at those, including lipstick.

At church, I see a fair amount of makeup.

That said, where I work, almost NOBODY wears obvious makeup or lipstick. It's applied very, very lightly when it's there at all.

As for me, I'm blond and need some definition, so I wear light eye makeup to work and to church. On rare occasion, I'll wear lipstick, though usually not to work. (I love lipstick, but it just looks out of place there.) On Saturdays, I usually don't wear makeup at all. I like to let my face breathe once in a while.

At my company, which is an engineering firm, most of the women don't wear much makeup. However, in San Diego in general, I would say most women do wear makeup. Southern California is all about appearance.

I liked FTR's comment about grooming. My mother, God bless her nutty soul, was very poorly groomed and actually discouraged me from outwardly indulging any hint of vanity with makeup etc. So I picked up this idea a veeery long time ago that putting on a little makeup is somehow a big deal that one only goes through for something special. Yes, I know that's weird.

My best GF's mother has been a bit of a mentor to me in this area. She introduced me, by example and also directly in conversation, to the idea that "putting one's best face forward" is something that ladies do just as a matter of daily life...that it's an everyday thing. I still vacillate between the two ideas in my quest to become comfortable with all aspects of being a woman.

Here's something I've noticed for many years.

I have sort of two camps of friends. Among my more "intellectual" friends (lots of education, liberal, well-traveled, etc.), there is very little--if any--makeup worn. Even though it's not stated--and I believe it's not even conscious--there exists what seems to be almost a bias against makeup and perfume as perhaps...shallow pursuits? I love these folks for many other reasons, but I think their attitudes in this area are unfortunate. (And, of course, it's my lot to enlighten them! )

The other camp is made up of friends who are a bit less educated, perhaps a bit less culturally and politically sophisticated, a bit more traditional (but don't read "conservative" or "Republican"--they're neither). They are as dear to me as the first group. The women in this second camp all wear makeup (beautifully!) and perfume.

With few exceptions, that's how the makeup mores run in my circles. Has anyone else experienced this kind of a split?

I'd say that here (Atlanta) it's more about lifestyle than regionalism; we have everything, from the millennial-hippie Birkenstock-wearing bike-riding vegan to the well off older ladies who lunch -- and they put it on with a trowel. But I have noticed that even the heavy makeup is of good quality and skillfully applied. Then there is urban vs. suburban, racial or ethnic background, etc. Too many variables to draw a conclusion from! Personally, I wear eye makeup and always have, even when I'm not going anywhere. I'm more careful about how I dress than I was when I lived in California, where pretty much anything goes.

I can remember, though, a time here when you didn't go out to the mailbox unless you were in full hair and makeup.

I think we are a little more Makeuppy than New Zealand in Australia but not by that much. Would you agree Honeythief?

Noelle - I really think your friends husband was so rude - what does he collect I wonder?? Not compliments

*Noelle - could you please tell me what your blogs name is ? I would love to read it! Adore Makeup!

AWR, your post is leading me to think that perhaps I was in with an "above-makeup" crowd...

Certainly! It is called Twisted Knickers and it can be found at www.Newyorkdesigner.com

I'm known as Gemma there and my column is called Tuesdays With the Cost Cutting Cutie. I review budget makeup and clothing. Hope you like it!

-Noelle

More & more people are going for the sheer or natural makeup look. Tinted moisturizers, sheer foundation or mineral makeup (foundation powder & micas) & sheer lipsticks or lip gloss. It's harder to notice makeup on other people, makeup is used to even out skin flaws & blemishes not to cover them up completely with heavy makeup.

During the day it's tinted moisturizers & slightly tinted lip balm/gloss, during the evening either mineral makeup or a light foundation. I do see people wearing more mascara & lipsticks during the evenings but not during the day.

I find this very interesting. I believe in make up!! Always have. Do NOT think it has to do with being politically conservative. I am no school marm....trust me!! It's probably obvious where I stand.......but

I live in SW Florida where I'm finding people wear make up but not as much as the East coast of Florida. There's more N.Y. over there..........
Over here it's more Midwest.
I will ALWAYS be a make up wearer!! I've sold two lines for heaven's sake!

I go along with Helena Rubenstein? I believe it was she that said............."there are no ugly women, just lazy ones"..............
I'm NOT lazy when it comes to make up. I believe a lot of natural beauties.............will need to "paint up" as they grow out of their 20's and 30's.
Not many women can pull off the "natural" but to their 70's or beyond............but if you're one of them go for it.
I believe most every woman looks better with a little "help.." JMHO

Well then you come here and discuss away where you are among friends Noelle! The heck with those people, what do they know?!!

Now to the question at hand, most people in my area are discreet in the application of makeup. This means that they apply only enough to make it appear natural. Lip gloss is used more frequently than lipstick and eye makeup is conservative.

The only time I notice makup on other women is when it's either on someone stuck in a time-warp, wearing bright blue or purple eyeshadows...or hot pink lips. I also seem to take note of the nude lip look -- where women go out of their way to make their lips look dead...fish-belly white.
Otherwise...I honestly don't take note.

One thing is for sure, for all these people not wearing makeup...tons of the stuff is still being sold -- cheap stuff and expensive stuff -- stuff geared to the younger crowd and stuff geared to the more mature crowd.
It's out there, all over the place, and, yes, women ARE buying it.

.

Two weeks ago I attended a friend's BBQ. The hostess brought up the topic of perfume. She listened with interest as I described some of my favorites. When her husband sat down she turned to him and said, "Did you know Noelle collects perfume?" He answered, "Really? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

-Noelle
[/quote]


Is he as much of jerk, as he sounds?

I don't either, Glo. That's why I made a point of saying so.

Fiveoaks, you are such a kind soul, I don't believe you could convey an attitude of being "above" anything. I say that with great admiration!

I haven't been to Australia yet so I can't tell from personal experience, but I imagine you're right. I will find out soon anyway - my brother-in-law and his girlfriend moved to Sydney this week, so we now have family in Oz to visit on our next holiday

In La Honda, none.

In the SF peninsula, down to south bay, makeup habits are very mixed because we are very diverse.

Women at my company, pharma-biotech: No red lips (actually, red lips are not the norm in NorCal for the average woman above 25). I wear lipstick, but it's a pale frost. Most other women at my company do not. I wear eyeliner, mascara, and soft shadow. Some of the other women I work with are getting braver and starting to, seeing me. No detectable blush (I personally wear enough to avoid looking tired). Often no foundation. No powder. So: minimal in this techie-oriented culture. I wear perfume, which is rare: women around here complain about perfume smells in order to appear politically correct. And yes, it is fashionable to have allergies. This IS the PC motherlode, hardware and otherwise.

Wide variety around here. I see lots of bad makeup--blush "stripes", black liquid eyeliner, heavy mascara, thick sticky looking lip gloss, on the rank and file customer base at the bank where I work. My crowd of 30-45ish sports moms, both wage earners and stay-at-home Moms, all wear some makeup. A lot of the stay-at-home Moms I know go for a natural look, not sans makeup, but neutral eyeshadow, minimal mascara, maybe a touch of blush, and a natural lip (light gloss or lip balm). Most of the working women I know step it up a bit, foundation, blush, neutral eye makeup, light lipstick or gloss. I'm a little more adventurous, as I occassionally wear more daring plum, wine, and red lipstick. But I've always been a makeup queen--even if I have no intention of leaving the house, I pretty much wear the same makeup every day. My sorority sisters used to joke about it because I wouldn't even go to the library to study on weekends without makeup. You just never know who'll you'll run into! I was usually choosen to give new pledges the standards lecture on appearance.

I'll tell you one thing that I just don't 'get': heavy, spikey, blobby mascara. I see so many women wearing mascara that looks like they applied it with a putty knife.

My impression is that in New York, most women wear at least some makeup. Depending on the neighborhood, it's can be subtle or blatant, but I think wearing makeup is just part of getting dressed. For me, even if I'm home alone all day, I wear eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. Lately I've been using tinted moisturizer, too, so I look a bit more polished, at least to my eye. My friends all wear the same kind of makeup during the day, although some use gloss rather than lipstick.

Thanks, AWR! That's so sweet of you.

It's really a treat to read about makeup tendencies around the world. There seems to be a lot of trend toward the natural, with some exceptions.


Sandra, with makeup as with everything else, my guess would be New York has every extreme and everything in between! I can just imagne your sophisticated look!

The only "makeup" I wear is cornstarch as face powder (for a "finished look") and lipstick. For some reason, I have always liked LIPS!

FiveO, I'd love to see a photo of you!


I love lipstick as well. I almost always have some sort of lip color on, at least a sweep of mineral makeup on my face, and some eyeshadow. I don't really do a full-on face unless I'm going out somewhere special at night.

Not so sophisticated -- but you don't have to imagine: here I am!

VS, I think there's still a pic of me in the photo thread. Sorry I don't have a newer one.


Very pretty, Sandy! Smiling right back atcha!

I was thinking about this in more detail. I'm going to generalize here a bit; forgive me!

Here (Atlanta) we have lots of women from the Northeast and upper Midwest, as well as native Southern. Once they get over 35 or so, there is a definite split. The transplants really tend to go for no-makeup look, and even if they wear makeup, it's so subtle as to look like nothing -- I should also add that my circles tend to the arts side, which influences things, too. I think that the idea is something like, "I'm too busy with my career/kids/art to bother with all that artifice." And no perfume, or very little. And -- pet peeve of mine -- yellow teeth. I mean, c'mon, it's inexpensive to bleach your teeth now.

The Southern women pretty much uniformly wear visible makeup, take more care with their hair, see to their teeth if they need it, and tend to wear perfumes, although those usually are the "designer" type, not niche.

I'm a little of both, having lived for many years in Southern California, although I wouldn't dream of going out of the house without at least a little eye makeup -- I think that's bred in the bone with women from this part of the country.

Olfacta, my experience here in the Twin Cities area (upper midwest) echoes yours. Very minimal makeup here, even at work, and many women wear none. I wear considerably more than most, and I opt for a very natural look - light foundation to even the tone, light blush, liner, mascara, somes lipstick (though I just hate lipstick/gloss, it's a personal thing.) We just had a regional meeting and due to some corporate rearranging, there were several women from further south and they clearly were wearing visible, full makeup, quite the contrast to what I usually see.

It seems to be more about ethnic groups where I live. Eastern Europeans, Russians and Hispanics wear obvious, heavy makeup. They also go for skintight, sparkly tops and metallic accessories. Everyone else has a more natural look.

Here in San Francisco the range is wide; the young folks(under 30) wear almost no make up all the way up to a very extreme goth type look. Over 30s are mostly a natural but better look. I have never seen my 92 year old neighbor without her eyeliner and lips on. THe men here are pretty well groomed I must say, I see alot of good hair and eyebrow maintenance. My particular look is very minimal - though I try to make an effort when I volunteer at my dd's school; what do you make of a third grade boy who says" I like the color of your eyeliner today, it's very good on you" ?

I love it!

Not much makeup where I live and way too much sun damage. People engage in a lot of outdoor recreation, like running, hiking, biking, skiing, boating and gereral sun worshiping. Women in their fifties look 15-20 years older than they should but tend to be in very good physical shape. Most have cookie cutter hair (I've never seen so many women in one place with the same hair cut and style) though most hair is in fairly good condition-clean and shiney and healthy looking.

I really don't mean to sound so judgemental, it's just what I've observed. I smell perfume now and then.

[quote name='Noelle' date='Sep 16 2008, 04:55 AM' post='404319']
The majority of my friends do not wear makeup. Many have told me that they are allergic to cosmetics. I believe these allergies are real in some cases and imagined in other cases. I have always loved makeup and I wear it everyday. I apply with a light hand for a natural "day" look, and I do like smokey eyes or a dark lip for evening. I never tease my friends for not wearing makeup because I feel it is a personal choice.
I, on the other hand, take plenty of ribbing from my friends for my interest in makeup. I've learned not to talk about makeup in front of them because it is clear that they find it a shallow and superficial interest. My blog is my outlet for sharing my interest in makeup.

Two weeks ago I attended a friend's BBQ. The hostess brought up the topic of perfume. She listened with interest as I described some of my favorites. When her husband sat down she turned to him and said, "Did you know Noelle collects perfume?" He answered, "Really? That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard."

-Noelle
[/quot

That was very rude and thoughtless of him to say. What a jerk.

My MIL collects Beanie Babies. To each her own.

I agree completely.

Morgan,
do you mind my asking which neck of the woods you're in? Just curious.

It could describe mine (neck of the woods) as well (sw CO), except (and I generalize of course) the hair might be
described as 'cookie cutter' too, only here it would mean: not styled, natural (no hair color) and long and loose, or maybe
the same look they wore in high school, and because it's not trimmed regularly and gets as much sun exposure --- not
great condition. Very 'au naturel'. As you said --- very active population, therefore not many overweight, but also lots
of sun damage and premature aging of skin/hair.

The urban 'transplants' -- generally from the last 10-15 yrs tend more to the package. Those who've been here 20 yrs and
more (also urban refugees but from an earlier 'wave') have mostly gone native. ;-)

Utah, but same could be said of Wyoming, Arizona, Idaho, etc. Yes, Colorado has very similar activities available and is a sportsman's paradise as well. Like you say, a certain amount of generalization here too. Page boy hair is everywhere!!!!

Yep! I'm a Chicago (suburb) native and I see the same thing.

I recently have undergone a change of makeupping habits. I recently turned 39 and I realized that, while my complexion was never that great, it's not getting any better. I probably have rosacea. Not a very sophisticated or elegant look, IMHO. So, I decided to be a Makeup Wearer. I am a stay-at home mom, but I want my family (the ones who see me all day long!) to think I'm pretty. I think it's important, too, to be a positive role model for my daughters. I hope they choose to care for their families full time too, and I don't want them to think you have to be a martyr (and ignore themselves) to do it.

It's funny, though, how the tables can turn! I used to look down on women who would wear foundation and the whole enchilada of makeup. I thought they were fakey - not to be trusted. Shame on me for thinking that!