Is not wearing make-up such a big deal?

Post Reply New Topic

No, everyone is free to do whatever they want.

I was merely commenting on being told that I am "narrow minded" for understanding the intricate details of a particular societal system.

People are also free to smoke cigarettes containing thousands of industrial chemicals, shoot heroin while sharing needles, cliff dive, dump bleach down their drains, and whatever else. I was never telling anyone what to do or not to do, that is their own choice. But having a full understanding of just how bad something is does not a narrow mind make.

I do recommend that people go and spend a few weeks (or months) studying the makeup industry, as most people simply have no idea at all of what is going on behind the scenes, before they put it on their skin.

My god, you are not comparing the application of make up with shooting up dangerous and destructive drugs are you?

OK, I'll give a few names of my favorite make up brands so you can tell me how many dangerous chemicals they contain and if these prodocts are tested on animals or not.
- Jane Iredale
- Pur Minerals
- Glo Minerals

Keep me informed!!

Last edited by pokerface on 20 Jul 2011, 6:24 am, edited 1 time in total.

I was giving examples of other destructive activities that people do. You are allowed to do anything you want, I was not dictating behaviour on anyone.



I need the specific products of the brands that you use, otherwise I can only look at the combined total of every product they make.

For the first, Jane Iredale, the database has 87 separate products, which have ingredients that range in toxicity from 0 to 7, with 7 being High Hazard ingredients.

Some of the toxicity concerns include:

MERCURY, ARSENIC, LEAD, GOSSYPOL, PESTICIDES, PCBS, TITANIUM DIOXIDE, GOLD, MYRISTYL LACTATE, PHENOXYETHANOL.

These ingredients increase the risk of the following issues:

Reproductive, neurological, immune system, nervous system, behavioural, mutations/cancer, blood, muscle weakness, allergies/immunotoxicity, irritation of the skin, eyes and lungs, organ toxicity, and many others.

Please check them out yourself:

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/brand/Jane_Iredale/

I won't bother doing the other brands you posted, as you clearly do not want to know what you actually put on your body. I already provided you the link to do your own research on your own makeup.

As for the "not tested on animals" claim, that is also false. Virtually every brand of makeup tests on animals -- they have simply found ways to get around taking credit for the testing. The most common one is to sub-contract out to a third-party company to test individual and grouped ingredients in their product on animals separately. This way they do not need to claim that "their product" was tested on animals, as it never was.

The only label that would signify that it was not actually tested on non-human animals would be "Tested on humans".

It wasn't my intention to offend you Raven. Sorry!

I haven't been offended.

I was merely informing you that the makeup industry is absolutely toxic, and denying that shows a lack of knowledge of the topic, and provided you with some links so you could learn more about the topic. Unfortunately, you seem disinterested in learning about the significance of what you put on your body.

ok, well, i'll take that risk to apply a little bit of colour. i'm cool with it.

I started trying to wear makeup & attend to my hair more after reading the section about Alexander the Great in Plutarch's Lives. I see makeup as a barbaric and oppressive social ritual that I hope we will phase out as our species evolves. We are trying to look more like birds with the brightest feathers, no? When I read the part where Alexander assumed the dress & customs of the Persians in order to be accepted as not-so-different & be able to be respected there as an effective leader, it hit me that I should assume the dress & customs of society in order to hopefully help my ideas to be heard. (I say this, because I do think Aspergians are ahead of the curve in many ways & should lead NTs into behaving more humanely, intelligently & ethically if this is possible. I don't mean we are superior beings, but do think we recognize social problems faster & are possibly the best hope a society has of ever mending them.) The truth is, I want to write books. I want to be heard & understood on the occasions I plan to have to speak about them. I want to have a chance in life. I am afraid that I am weird enough as it is! lol

Jefferson, too, said, “In matters of principle, stand like a rock; in matters of taste, swim with the current.”

These gentlemen knew what they were doing. But, I seem to not be on their level intellectually or fashion-wise! lol I resent all the time it takes to try to look like other females. Every minute I spend on makeup is gone forever, and I cannot get it back! There are just too many things I'd rather do. I am grumpy about it & bitter! I think of how many women are doing the same thing... It seems like such a waste of human energy & brainpower.... (Naturally, I am happy, so that's really bad to start a day thinking about something as disheartening & confusing as the social mores women contend with in their lives!)

I can't say I'm so pretty without it. I'm average. I don't have a problem getting a date if I want one, but I will never, ever look like anyone on t.v. or in a magazine. My face isn't built like that. But, seriously? Is it my responsibility to not be an eyesore to someone, just because I don't have a Y-chromosome? Is that what being a woman is? If so, I think that's sexist & it's clearly time for a social change! Or, if it's so bad & I'm wrong, I'd rather design a comfortable kind of bag over my head or actual mask, because that would take 5 seconds instead of an hour! It sounds like I'm kidding, but I'm not. I believe we live once. Time is critical!

I am trying to get used to doing this, but my attitude gets worse & not better, as the mountain of time I lose to this endeavor piles higher & higher towards the heavens. It just isn't for me.

THE CAVEAT:

I do believe if makeup & fashion are your passions, all mediums are valid for artistic expression, and therefore have merit. :) I can see a beautiful idea there, that your face is a new canvas every day. When done right, it's a lovely art form. I've seen amazing eye shadow & illusion. I especially like what drag queens do.

But, it isn't MY art form... so the truth is, I resent the time it takes away from my real passions.

In many jobs, it's important to look a certain way. So, it is a big deal sometimes. =/ I wish it weren't.

ANOTHER NOTE ON FEMALE NT's (in response to some other comments here):

I have had wonderful female friends. Some wear makeup all the time & some don't ever wear it, because they are beautiful without it anyway. These friends are not extraverts and may have some Aspie traits, but they are more "blendy" than me. These female friends have never been cruel to me, never tried to make me over or in any way made me feel like an other. Sometimes, when the subject of NT women comes up on this site, what people are really getting at is NT extraverted women, who are different creatures than introverted NT women, who can often be smart & nice, but mysteriously also aware of social rules.

I wore it as a teen (as you do), but soon decided I didn't like the look, feel or hassle of it.
30 years later, I am often asked how I achieve such youthful skin!
I am tempted to package soap, water and sunscreen and sell it for an exorbitant price - (Oil of O Rly?)

Seriously, don't be pressured either way. Do what makes you feel comfortable.

I don't wear make-up at all and haven't for a long time.

I also recently quit using commercial hygiene products. I use more natural stuff now.

^This lol. I wouldn't have a problem if Raven there wasn't talking down to us like we're ignorant sheeple.

Not even salons use Brazilian Blowout anymore due to the chemicals; repetitive exposure gave the hairdressers nosebleeds (increase in demand for the treatment meant some salon workers were doing the treatment several times a week). Formaldehyde based treatments are banned in some countries due to that, not due to it's impact on consumers. Even the most vainest female would only get this treatment done every 6 months. Its the fumes that get to you with those things, it's worse than hair dye or bleach.

But in birds, isn't it usually the MALES who have the bright feathers?

It baffles me why other women want to slather stuff all over themselves. Often stuff that has been produced via the suffering of lots of furry critters. Men don't so why should women? And the dreadful clothes women wear! And the horrible painful shoes!

My husband convinced me to let him paint my face with the stuff for a little while and I let him out of curiosity, but that only lasted a few months before I decided I had been right not to bother.

My face is too ugly for make-up to fix

Exactly!! ! I would think it is the men that should be going to great lengths to compete for OUR attention! ;p ( <--this is a joke, but also kind of not a joke.) That's one of the reasons it's so absurd. Men chase us anyway... so why all of the fuss? None of it makes any sense. People say it's for women, but I don't really know any women that care how other women look unless it's to get an idea about how to make themselves look cuter.

Yes, I should have specified that we are trying to look like male peacocks (or better yet, male peacock spiders! haha). Sorry about that. But, that just makes me think, too, that the flamboyance in males was natural evolution & they didn't have to DO anything to look brighter. It just worked out biologically... What we are doing is so unnatural... contrary to sex, to nature, & to reason. It's a weird phenomenon, & I can't believe it wasn't just a temporary fad.

Chances are, you are way more beautiful than you think. Most women are. There is an interesting thread where people are posting photos of themselves. So many people say they are unattractive or ugly on there, but it turns out they look fantastic. Have you seen it?

Joe, I was thinking about what you said here. I think not wearing makeup is the same as any other way of expressing your individuality. You are not happy with people criticizing you, and that makes sense. =/ When you go against the grain, you do open yourself to criticism, because the people who criticize you want everyone to be exactly the same and you aren't. But, what is the criticism worth? Nothing. It doesn't mean anything. It's invalid, because people are infinitely different & that is a positive thing!

When you wear YOUR REAL face, then you get the chance to see what other people's real faces look like, too. :) You are a litmus test. When people respond to you negatively or tease you, you know they aren't really friend material. And, they really aren't very kind. It's great when people like this expose themselves as jerks, because then you know not to deal with them. ;) You can talk to other people if you're so inclined, people with greater potential. Or, you can do something else more awesome with your time.

Being completely unable to blend has provided me with THE COOLEST friends. They were people who liked me anyway, people who weren't bullies, people who stood up for me. They are very good people with good character. I never have to consciously weed out bad people (not talking dates here, but friends. ;) ), because how I am & how I look is a natural process of keeping horrible people away from me. This is a great gift in life!

I hope it works for you in the same kind of way.