How much make-up is too much?

[Mizmoon]

Do you think make-up looks better when it makes a woman's face look absolutely perfect - so thick that no blemishes or even pores are visible? (not clownish, just on the heavy-coverage side)

Or is it better when it's just adding some color and even tone to a normal face with normal, imperfect skin?

[GRLMGC]

1. I'd say this

[Mizmoon]

5. She looks damn happy

I'll give her that ...

[Deja Q]

13. Thanks much. My CRT just exploded.

:nuke:

[ragin_acadian]

17. day-um

britney scares.

i say: we made it 2 million years without revlon, so makeup is not on my mating priority list. gimme a six footer with unshaved armpits and legs, and i'll produce the master race.

[_testify_]

2. I like the minimalist look myself

[mikehiggins]

3. My SO looks beautiful without makeup

She has bought into the advertising myths too deeply to accept that, though.

Pity.

[TheProphetess]

4. I like a more natural look

and I've heard many men say that women tend to wear too much make-up and should go for the understated look. Trust me, though, I'm really not the beauty expert. :hi:

[JohnnyCougar]

28. You are right on!!!

Too much makeup makes you look like a clown!!!

You women just need to have confidence in how you look. Don't buy into the commercial bullshit image no matter how hard it is. Us guys really like you just the way you are!!!!!

[Swede]

6. Less is more in my books.

Same with hair,keep it simple.

[crispini]

7. I think it depends on the occasion.

I mean, for daily life, I honestly can't be bothered with a ton of makeup. Especially with that level of coverage. It would take quite a bit to cover all blemishes and pores, for one thing. And then it's all too prone to come off. But I would go quite a bit heavier and more theatrical for an evening out or special occasion.

[Left Is Write]

9. That kind of heavy makeup tends to pool and cake around

blemishes and lines anyway, and what was intended to be hidden winds up highlighted.

[flvegan]

8. The Less, the better, I aLways say.

[jmowreader]

10. Most people should stick to the second option

I prefer the absolute-perfection look, but if you don't have the time to get it absolutely perfect you look like you've got a ton of makeup on, not that you tried to look absolutely perfect but the bus came before you blended everything together.

For most people who work and have lives, something real sheer is a lot better. It's harder to fuck it up.

Your makeup tip of the day: Go online to one of the theatrical makeup suppliers and get a little jar of Joe Blasco or Ben Nye loose cheek color and a little jar of their loose powder. Buy two camping salt shakers. In one put two teaspoons of loose powder. The other gets two teaspoons of loose powder and about three-quarters of a teaspoon of cheek color. Shake the shit out of the second one to blend it. Now! Next time you get out of bed half an hour late, grab these two shakers, a fluffy brush about an inch and a half in diameter, an eye contour brush, and a paper towel. Shake a little bit of the pure powder onto the towel and brush it onto your face. Shake some of the blended powder onto the towel. Use the fluffy brush to apply it to your cheeks and the contour brush to apply it to your eyes. Add some mascara and either plum or mauve (depending on how dark your skin is) lipstick, and you're done.

[progressivebydesign]

23. Cool tip.. are you a makeup artist? Or are you just clever? :) n/t

[jmowreader]

29. Used to do it a lot more than I do now

I did three women in the past month, which is more than I've done in a couple of years, but I still keep up with it just in case I can get to the point in life where I can open a studio. (That point will be when I don't live in Fayetteville, the Cheapskate Capitol of the Known Universe.) Everyone wants a quick work face, so some makeup artists are working on two-component and three-component routines. One guy in New York is leading a "vanguard" of using two lipsticks for everything--mauve on the lips and eyelids, pinky mauve as blush. I think that's a little too far toward minimalism (and I fucking HATE cream blush, which is what this amounts to), but you get the idea: fewer products in your work face.

I REALLY wish they sold loose blush and eye color in department stores, drugstores and other places that sell cosmetics to regular people. You can get loose powder there, and that's the best kind for a couple reasons--key among them being you're not transferring bacteria from your face to your entire supply of powder every time you use some. (If you get a screw-top canister, you can carry around a little bit of loose powder in your purse. Carry a collapsible brush and an old-fashioned folding mirror with you. The old-fashioned mirrors had a little indentation you could sprinkle a little loose powder into. Tap a tiny bit of loose powder into the well, pick it up with the brush, knock the brush against your wrist a couple times to knock off the excess, and dust your whole face lightly with it.) But your powder colors aren't available in loose form anymore--even Joe Blasco's quit carrying it. (I really like using Blasco's stuff--his base has a ton of pigment in it, which gives you really nice results with a tiny bit of product, and his color products are superb. He also has a No-Color powder just for killing oiliness, which is kinda like the old trick of dusting the face with cornstarch except that it looks better. If I can open a studio, this is what I'll be using. http://www.joeblasco.com sells it.) The reason's real simple: the young ladies who have become the makeup artists of today used pressed color when they started wearing makeup themselves, and when they went pro they used what they were accustomed to; hence, the demand for loose color is restricted to old farts like me who learned makeup from other old farts. There is a little grinder you can get, though. I've got one. You run it over the product and it breaks it up into loose form.

[Floogeldy]

11. I find your post confusing

Did you mean to say that for a woman's face to look absolutely perfect the make up has to be so thick that no blemishes or even pores are visible?

If you did, then your premise is flawed.

B-)

[SheilaT]

12. A lot depends on what the woman's skin

is like to begin with, which will in turn depend on her age, how much sun exposure she's had, if she smokes, and so on. Many women have uneven skin tone which looks better with light foundation to even out the imperfections. Rarely does heavy coverage look good, especially close up.

"What Not To Wear" always includes a make-up portion, and their makeup person is very much of the "less is better" philosophy. On the other hand, about half of the women who are on the show have been wearing absolutely no makeup at all, and they invariably look better with a little.

[Spock_is_Skeptical]

14. I personally strive for perfection

Adequate coverage to even out skin tone does not have to mean thick or runny, pancakey ickiness... or makeup that 'collects' in the fine lines and wrinkles. Depends on the quality of the makeup and skin type of the individual.

I suppose it's up to the individual's tastes, but even someone with flawless, healthy skin will look more photogenic (in my opinion) with proper coverage of some sort.

That is all.

[unhappycamper]

15. My vote: less 'warpaint' and a lighter touch of foofoo.

[ismnotwasm]

16. How about a man's face?

Oh, yeah, they're more manly with their imperfections. Or something. ...Anyway, I found myself wearing less and less makeup the older I got, now I'm very minimalist. I don't like blush on ANYBODY, unless it is, like some other posters have talked about "perfect"--which means undetectable as a false color. I have no real beef with makeup, but you definetly shouldn't wear it the same way in your forties as you did in your twenties.. Thank the gods I work in profession where I'm not expected to wear makeup as a part of a professional image. Yuk.

[jmowreader]

30. Most guys are pussies

This isn't my work. There's a cat named David Nicholas (http://www.makeupdni.com) who does great corrective work, and I deeplinked to his site.

I think everyone needs to wear at least a little makeup, and yes I mean men too. In some cases it's really apparent--look at the guy in the second set of pictures. With some practice, you can get your makeup to look undetectable, as in the case of the guy in the second set of pictures. The guy in the first set is pretty impressive too, but I still can't figure out what's up with the white thing on his temples.

But there are a TON of men out there who will go to work then go home and hide because they've got some weird disfiguration and they don't want anyone to see them with it. Yes, they could fix it...but "if I put anything on it, they'll think I'm some kind of a faggit...so I'll just hide out in my house so no one will see me." As opposed to "I could fix this in ten minutes a day and have some semblance of a normal life."

[VelmaD]

18. Any makeup is too much...

if men's nekkid faces are perfectly acceptable in any situation then women's faces bare of makeup should be acceptable as well.

[Skittles]

20. I rarely wear makeup

but without mascara I am constantly told I look tired - blonde thing I suppose :)

[progressivebydesign]

22. I also have those light tipped eyelashes..

.. I had them dyed years ago with a vegetable dye so that they were nice and dark, but didn't have to bother with makeup. I may do that again.. it's a nice treat.

[kath]

26. Exactamundo, Velma.

[Historic NY]

19. When you need an air chisel to get it off............

I have an aquaintance that uses way too much, it must take her as long to get it off as it does to put it on.

[progressivebydesign]

21. I think perfection is overrated.

As a woman who is mid-forties, I rarely ever wear any type of foundation/coverage. I notice that it usually looks so fake on women.. like they are covering up something. I think it has to do with bad matching on the color. I think something with some luminance but sheer is nice for foundation at any age, if you are so inclined. Heavy makeup is not attractive IMHO as an enhancement. If someone is going for a strictly made up look where the makeup is more important than the facical qualities, then I guess lots of it is okay.

I think not smoking, not eating too much crappy food, no fast food, no heavy drinking, is probably the best beauty tool available. I am often mistaken for my early thirties, and I rarely wear makeup at all. I do wear a bit of neutral eyelining pencil and beige eye shadow sometimes.. but it's just more of an enhancement than any type of cover up. (I know that sounds corny, and vain, but it's true). I would never consider any type of plastic surgery or chemical peels... it's not worth it.

Reminds me of women who have been shamed into thinking that they have to wear dark colors to look thinner. I am so against that.. I say you look your age regardless of how much makeup you put on, and you look your size, regardless of the colors you wear. Better to enjoy and project your natural beauty in ways that please you. If you feel good about yourself, that is also a great beauty product. SElf confidence.

[Abelman]

24. None

Every girl I've dated has looked better without makeup. My last serious gf looked so pretty without it, so pastoral and fresh and pretty. She would wear it for special occasions - when she wanted to. I didn't care because it made her happy to "dress up" and she knew how to put it on. She always looked so beautiful no matter what she wore.

[Book Lover]

25. Makeup is overrated

Unless you are on camera or in the coffin at your own wake, why bother?

[leftofthedial]

27. VERY minimal

I love the way women look

"imperfect" is a crock.