Make-up is just fancy dirt

I’ve never worn much make-up. Most days the face I show the world is 100% sans liquids, powders, gels, pencil, paint. Untouched-up, unairbrushed.

I account for this partly because the aesthetic of my teen years was a very natural look, partly because I was always lucky to have nice skin, but mostly because the idea of putting all that glop on my face was/is repugnant. It feels uncomfortable, hot, itchy. Even now, on the brink of 50, I wear it only sparingly, as an uneasy concession to the expectations of business-formal occasions. Like the stage make-up I wore when I acted when I was younger, it signifies that I’m playing a role. Most of the time, I’d rather just be me.

I once had a discussion with a woman who earnestly argued that make-up is necessary to the “preservation” of skin. I’m sorry, but that doesn’t make any sense. Women are being sold a bill of goods.

Think about it: make-up — foundation in particular — is just fancy dirt. If you are young, you don’t need it. And if you want to keep your skin nice as you age, regularly putting dirt on it is not going to be good for it.

Addendum: from Salon Broadsheet, this article on lead levels in lipstick.