How important is makeup to the average middle aged woman?!
Well-known Aussie journalist and newsreader, Tracey Spicer, is asking middle aged women to reconsider their beauty regimes, and is bravely showing her face without makeup.
She hopes that women will realise they don’t HAVE to be fully made up all the time, arguing that it is a ridiculous expectation of society, and can even be a waste of valuable time which could be better spent doing other things.
Do I agree with Tracey?
Sort of.
The Case for No Makeup
I’ll be honest. I work from home, so most days I don’t wear makeup. At all. Yup, generally I’m a middle aged woman without makeup.
As a middle aged woman, I’m comfortable in my own skin. I don’t have to impress anybody.
It’s true – years ago, I refused to leave the house without my war paint on (much like Miss-18-this-week!). The hubster tried to convince me I was beautiful just the way I was, but it took a long time before I believed it. These days, I’ve realised that actually, the natural look isn’t so bad (and I just can’t be bothered LOL).
If I have to pop out to the shops or run errands, I’ll likely dust on a bit of bronzer, and apply some lipstick which takes me all of one minute.
When More Makeup is Required
If I want to look a bit more polished, for example heading to a client meeting, I might start with a good quality primer (but not always), and I will add mascara and blush.
When I get dressed up – for an event or special occasion, I’ll wear all of the above, with the addition of eyebrow pencil. (That’s Miss-18-this-week’s influence – and I’m glad of it! She’s helped me keep interested in my appearance, and break out of my style rut.) Oh, and maybe some pressed powder.
I’m not really one for eyeliner or eyeshadow.
Time spent in front of the mirror for a totally made-up look? Five to ten minutes, tops.
And that’s it.
I do enjoy getting dressed up AND made up but let’s face it, 90% of the time I’m makeup free.
So I really don’t feel it’s a waste of time, or getting in the way of doing other things.
I do applaud Tracey for going “au naturelle” and showing us that real middle aged women have uneven skin tone and fuzzy hair, but I think we all knew that anyways 😉 .
(In the interests of copyright I haven’t shared any of the images of Tracey here but if you Google “Tracey Spicer without makeup” you’ll find them easily.)
What do you think looks better on a middle aged woman – no makeup, a little makeup, or the works?!