just once I want to see a good post critiquing makeup culture that doesn’t turn out to be made by some janky radfem blog
oh hey!! I’m not a janky radfem I can do it myself!
makeup culture is wack and normalizes a ludicrously high bar as the bare minimum women can do. I saw a “lazy"makeup tutorial the other day that listed 22 separate goddamn products. you’re supposed to buy and know how to use 22 different things on your face just for the privilege of being considered lazy and that’s uuuuuuh what’s the word? bullshit.
Really, five products could work, even 3. Just frame the face, eyes, lips, and you’re done.
0 products also works great
because I’m gonna be real here, the idea that 22 products is a minimum sucks but it’s really upsetting that any amount of makeup is the bare minimum at all
I would really just suggest some powder foundation, concealer, mascara and lipgloss/lipstick, or tbh just mascara works too, but that’s up to you
I’m sorry if I didn’t express this clearly enough in the original post but I’m not really looking for more concise makeup regiments. my intention was to point out how it’s Bad that makeup is considered a bare minimum at all, regardless of individual feelings on the matter
Ooh Story! So. My friend’s boss sold Mary Kay.
I mean that’s an awkward situation from the start am I right?
Of course the boss keeps pressuring my friend to come to a Mary Kay party/demo. To keep in with her boss my friend agrees and begs me to come along.
Okay. Sure. When you’re autistic you cherish your friends and you do what it takes to keep them happy. Even if that means going to a Mary Kay thing when you never use makeup or products of any kind.
So there I am, sitting with my friend and a couple other women, while Boss Lady goes on about Mary Kay.
She starts talking about Face Care Regimines.
I mean, I was 20 years old at that time with skin like a baby’s bum. My idea of face care was sunscreen st the beach and avoiding high contact sports.
So she asks people what their face care regimine is and they (including my friends) start describing these elaborate rituals involving cleansers and moisturizers and black head removers.
I had no idea my fellow humans were engaging in entire rituals that I was ignorant of.
But maybe that’s because I never felt the need. I was constantly complimented on my good skin.
My good skin was like my only good point. Not charming. Not slender. Not big breasted. Not great hair. But dang it, I was zit free and that was something.
So the lady turns to me.
“And what’s YOUR face care regimine?”
“I just… like… wash it in the shower?” I say hesitantly.
“In the shower?”
“Yeah… you know you wash your hair and… and your face gets wet…”
“But what products do you use?”
“Umm…” what brand is my body wash? I have no idea. “Soap?”
The woman begins to realize that I treat my face as if it doesn’t even exist.
I begin to realize that this is not considered normal by the people around me.
“Well…” she says brightly, pulling out her Mary Kay. “Your face will CERTAINLY thank you for today!”
Suffice to say I left without buying Mary Kay stuff to glop on my smooth, pimple-free face.
And now, over a decade later, as fine lines begin to spread over my worried forehead and even the occasional pimple pops up, my daily face regimine is still a whole lot of nothing.
No mascara. No foundation. No powders.
Sometimes lip balm. I like the Burt’s Bees stuff.
And if that’s abnormal, we’ll, this is me not giving any fucks about it.
Makeup is frankly pretty terrible for your skin. If you have naturally good skin it might not be making much of a visible difference, but if you have sensitive skin like myself I guarantee it’ll make things so much worse.
Skincare is weird because most of it is dominated by a bunch of bullshit and pseudoscience that means nothing, but actual science-based skincare is definitely a health issue. It was a big special interest of mine for a long time.
I had a more elaborate routine when I was getting rid of my acne, but now I just moisturise at night and in the morning, and use sunscreen almost every day. Yeah, even if it isn’t visibly sunny it’s still a good idea, even just in your face.
But not putting irritants on your skin is one of the most important things you can do for it tbh.
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