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Add to FavoritesThe main thing that first attracted me to the woman I married is her pure, natural beauty. In my view, women without make-up can have a lot more to offer than those who plaster it on.
That's not to say that women should never wear make-up or it isn't a good thing. It can help them feel more presentable and give them a special glow, hide spots and blemishes and give our ladies that confidence that getting up first thing in the morning and rushing out of the house just can't compete with.
But for me, make-up not only hides that weary look but can also create a false look which hides the real person. I know plenty of women and girls who put so much make-up on they look orange and their clothes have a marks and stains of various foundations and concealers.
Most of the time it just isn't needed and my wife's living proof that women are attractive without make-up. That's not to say she doesn't look gorgeous with make-up, but just that she doesn't need it to look gorgeous.
God made us to be as we are, not to cover ourselves up with excessive war paint. Make-up should be an accessory rather than a necessity; it should be used to complement, in moderation, rather than define the attractiveness of someone.
I also think that women shouldn't be judged on their looks when it comes to attractiveness. Despite the cliches, personality is just as important as looks. So if a woman is caring, loving, kind and generous, these qualities would make her much more attractive than make-up ever could. It was my wife's natural attractiveness which first grabbed my attention and her personality which helped to keep it.
In this sense, I feel that make-up can create someone who just isn't there. It can be an attempt to compete with others or hanker for the celebrity lifestyle all the media pushes into our face every day. The same media which stir and criticise as much as anyone or anything else. It plays on the vulnerability of different people, which is also fuelled by the physical-obsessive views of many men.
So women don't need make-up to feel attractive. They should strive for confidence in their natural appearance because it's not the physical body which really matters when it comes down to it. It's how we feel in ourselves; and excessive make-up can sometimes be just a mask to hide behind rather than a tool to complement.
So come on women, you're attractive just as you are. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you are the one who has the power to show your natural beauty off to the rest of the world.
Learn more about this author, Ben Hughes.
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No
Those who argue that natural beauty is important are not mistaken. Seeing and appreciating someone as they are without layers added on is very important, particularly in a romantic relationship. However, use of make up involves time and expense, two of the most valuable commodities in society, therefore if cosmetics don't make a woman more attractive then why do so many women use them? Are all these people simply wasting their time, cash and effort? Of course not.
Importance is attached to what we see and interpret about someone because there is a level of communication occuring. The message can be about professionalism, fashion, trends or musical taste. Make up can be used very vividly to give a specific message or it can be used by some women to move their own looks closer to a perceived societal ideal and so gain better levels of acceptance from those around them. Make up, like clothing choices, is a way that many people use to tell the world something about themselves.
It's important to bear in mind that make up and clothes are not just tools to fit in but can be used to stand out. Many sub cultures develop a style of make up and dress that is intended to symbolize a rejection of the mainstream and a way to attract others with a similar attitude.
Often in life when we change the way we look we are trying to communicate something to people around us and this can cover many different situations. Make-up doesn't change who you are it sends messages about who you are. Appearance is a facet of the deeply rooted human instinct to communicate and tell others how we think we fit into the world, who we are and who we want to meet.
A major aspect of life that is shaped by appearance is the work and professional environment. Women are relative newcomers to the general workforce and sometimes people forget that men have been molded over a long time to look a certain way for work. They know what kind of clothes to wear, what kind of clothes to avoid, how to wear their hair, to shave and choose toiletries. They also know how to speak, act and present themselves in the work place, in business social gatherings and then how to shake it all off for the time that is purely their own.
When a person turns up to work they want to wordlessly communicate with others. For example they wish their superiors to know that they are professional, capable and, if appropriate, approachable for customers. You could be all these things wearing a pair of worn out jeans and a shirt with coffee spilt down the front but you would be indicating otherwise. Customers for example approach the people who look like they will be able to help them, they respond to what they see in presentation and manner.
The people we choose to approach, to promote, to trust and to get to know are people that we are in some way attracted to. With romantic attachment too, certainly the deeper levels are more important by far but we would never get to those deeper layers if there was no initial attraction. We all know what kind of people we like and we would not approach someone who looked like they were going to deviate vastly from that ideal we have for ourselves.
For women make-up is a visible aspect that moves through all areas of life. Some situations call for natural make-up some for more prominent use and some situations call for as little as possible. Some women get this balance wrong and this is when the people around them will probably comment that they would be better wearing none at all.
Human beings are instinctively strong communicators and this is not limited to the words we speak. With our body language, our appearance and tone of voice we constantly send messages and we do so by changing aspects of what we are doing.
Make-up can also be about hiding certain things that we don't' want everyone to know for example you might cover up the effects of a night out when turning up to work tired in the morning. You probably wouldn't walk up to your boss and tell them that you went out partying when you had work the next morning so why advertise it wordlessly?
Make up does not create qualities in a person but it does signal them. Equally, using make up does not mean that you hide who you really are it just means you are choosing to communicate what you think the people around you will respond well to.
Of course those close to you do not need to see an outward communication to know who you are, what you like, dislike, what to talk to you about and so on. With your close circle you are working on a deeper level but this is not the level at which you operate, or indeed would really want to operate, with the rest of the world.
Human beings naturally respond first to what they see. It would certainly be shallow to never progress beyond this level and access the deeper levels of communication that are so rewarding in friendships and relationships but initially we instinctively respond to what we see.
It is inappropriate to make a final judgment on someone and treat them badly because of appearance but in many cases we are not going to be close to people and we navigate our day to day life on what signals we can pick up.
To say that make-up does not enhance social interactions would be like saying that tone of voice has no purpose; certainly it's not the most important factor in communication but it plays an enhancing role. Communication is a wealth of different things brought together, sometimes a mix and match or various ways to get messages across and make up is another part of this equation for most women.
Once a deeper level of connection is established with a person appearance become less important and serves as an indication of mood and recent activity rather than personality. Realistically, however, very few people go through life only associating with those they are very close to or being exposed situations where it really doesn't matter what kind of person they are or what their abilities are.
Make up is about sending messages, communicating and expressing who you are, it can be about work and communicating your professionalism or it can simply be about finding others with similar interests.
How we choose to make ourselves look is part of the basic human instinct to communicate on every possible level. Presentation and appearance is a fully fledged language, even if you choose to do nothing at all that in itself is communicating something about you. If wearing make up did not have usefulness and positive effects then women would never invest time and money in using it.
Learn more about this author, Stefanina Hill.
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