The history of make-up includes uses by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. Minerals, ground-up stones, clay and even insects have been used to add a bit of colour to ones’ daily life.
The use of make-up and make-up trends are ever changing, sometimes with a lot of controversy on the wearing of make-up.
Why do women wear make-up? Is make-up just a cosmetic with no further advantage? Or can make-up empower you and help you to reach your full potential?
Here are some advantages of wearing make-up:
- Make-up can make you feel good by boosting self-esteem and confidence
One of the greatest reasons to wear makeup is to feel good about yourself! Enhancing your beauty by applying make-up can lift your self-confidence, especially if you receive compliments on your appearance. If wearing make-up becomes a habit, your confidence will be boosted often, resulting in that ‘feel-good about yourself’ feeling.
A study published in the International Journal of Cosmetic Sciences reported women felt more self-confident and sociable when wearing make-up.
Benefits of applying make-up includes using a concealer to cover up dark under eye circles after a long night up with a sick child, having stayed up all night to write the report which needed to be in the next morning, or even hiding the red, angry blemish screaming at you!
- First impressions last
A first impression is formed during the first few seconds you meet someone new. This impression is formed by how you make the other person feel and how you present yourself.
Make-up may help us to be more presentable and thereby creates a favourable first impression. It enhances your beauty and can hide any imperfections. A presentable, attractive appearance can give you a better opportunity in getting the new job since a presentable face is most preferred in jobs where meeting people is a necessity.
A study by Harvard University and Boston University researchers on 268 participants showed that make-up can improve the public’s view of a woman’s likability, competence and her trustworthiness.
Women with make-up are perceived more competent and in turn makes you appear more competent — even if you don’t feel it.
- Make-up shows that you care about yourself
Applying make-up forces you to spend time on yourself.
By wearing make-up it shows others that you have put in some effort to make yourself presentable. In turn, people then find you more likable. It is not only beauty that matters, but also your habit of taking care of yourself.
- It can help you transform into different roles
“My dad used to say that make-up was a shallow girl’s sport, but it’s not. It’s armour.” ― Courtney Summers, All the Rage.
Putting on make-up can help you step into the different roles in your life and can help you transform into the part you play, just like having different clothes for different occasions.
As Whitefield-Madrano, author of “Face Value” stated: “The act of applying camouflage becomes not only a way of making yourself look the part, but also a way of actually becoming the part.”
- Make-up can be a fun form of self-expression
Make-up can make you more creative because applying make-up is an art. You can experiment and become more talented like any artist. You can create your own style.
When applying make-up, you face becomes the canvas, your make-up brushes are your paintbrushes and make-up is your colourful palette. A fun reason to wear make-up is to transform yourself!
Wearing make-up also comes with disadvantages, here are a few of the disadvantages to help you make your decision about whether wearing makeup is right for you.
- It becomes a habit
Once you start wearing make-up regularly, your face feels “naked” and may make you feel less attractive without it.
- It’s expensive
It is estimated that in her life, a lady spends as high as R200 000 on makeup. Make-up is a costly investment. You need a healthy budget to spend on make-up to get the look you want to achieve.
- It takes time
Applying make-up is time consuming. Depending on the occasion, it can take some women up to an hour to complete the make-up look desired. A survey conducted by Today reveals that the average woman spend two weeks in a year on their appearance.
- Allergies to some makeup products
Each person’s skin reacts differently to make-up and you never know what type of makeup works for your skin unless you try it. Sometimes your skin may get an allergic reaction. But choosing dermatologically tested, hypo-allergenic, fragrance-free and non-comedogenic products are sensible.
- Buying make-up is not always easy
There is a great deal to be considered when shopping for make-up. Some aspects to consider include: quality, make-up colours, ingredients, skin type, skin colour and even animal-testing.
Summary
Make-up can be a positive experience for women because it has the power to make you feel confident and boost your self-esteem. When you make yourself presentable it will create great first impressions, because it shows that you value yourself. Make-up application doesn’t have to be much, you can obtain a healthy glow by only applying a touch of lip gloss and a tinted moisturizer.
Make-up can make a difference to your self-confidence by enhancing attractiveness and “outer beauty”. However, wearing make-up can be a major investment in time, money and effort. In the end, what is more important is “inner beauty” which is experienced through a person’s character. Inner beauty consists of traits such as kindness, humbleness, passionate, confident, empathetic, a genuine spirit, a good listener and a good sense of humour.
Women wear make-up for themselves. Reasons to wear make-up is not all about being fake or vanity. It goes deeper than what the eye sees. There’s nothing wrong with wearing or not wearing make-up, but you should only wear what you’re comfortable with and what fits in with your lifestyle and personality.
A nurse, humanitarian aid worker, and writer, Roberta Gately, once said: “Lipstick is really magical. It holds more than a waxy bit of colour – it holds the promise of a brilliant smile, a brilliant day, both literally and figuratively.”
Blog written by: Alida Fourie, Principal at Beauty Therapy Institute Bloemfontein.
Email: alida@beautytherapyinstitute.co.za
For further information on the Beauty Therapy Institute and their course offerings, please contact:
Email: bti@beautytherapyinstitute.co.za;