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Why wear make up?

By Karen Gibson

Why exactly do ladies, and (increasingly so) younger and younger ladies feel the need or want to use make up to enhance their appearance?

 

 There are numerous reasons.  A healthy looking rosy-cheeked appearance mimics the flush of youthful skin (i.e. we want to look young).  Whilst a ‘full face make up’ can hide a multitude of sins, if applied correctly.  This will bring a smooth and clear complexion, colour to the cheeks where needed, eye make up will enlarge the eyes and enhance or highlight their colour.  Lip colour will enhance the lips shape, size and colour.

 

Many people used to believe that make up was worn to attract the opposite sex.

 

 However, I’m reluctant to agree with this entirely.  Make up can be worn for reasons of personal pride in one’s appearance and grooming – the desire to always look well-groomed, especially so for working in positions of contact with the public such as selling.  In turn the security and belief that we ‘look good’ enhances our own feeling of self-worth, increasing our self esteem and self confidence.  We know that we perform better at work when we are secure in the knowledge that we look good.  It can also be worn to disguise one’s feelings of low self esteem – much like a pretty mask to hide behind and to camouflage the fact that our insecurities may focus too strongly on negative self image, e.g. ‘I hate my lips, they ruin my face, etc’.

 

The act of choosing new make up is very often a therapeutic process.  

 

 We may wish to copy a ‘look’ seen in magazines and seek out similar products to reproduce the same effect ourselves, or we may be updating our make up bag to reflect the new season’s colours.  It should be a relaxing process, carefully thought out.  Our make up that we buy is often a real treat for ourselves, a little gift to ourselves to remind us that we are busy and hard working (usually looking after other people).  

It’s good for the soul to reward ourselves for our efforts and to remind ourselves that we are indeed beautiful and worthy.