Interesting article! I actually don’t wear makeup myself, for a variety of reasons, one of which is because of a lot of weird judgements around makeup, most of it actually coming from women. When I was the age where I was interested in makeup, I remember my Mon being very unsupportive of it and telling me I’m too young, not ready yet, I’m beautiful the way I am, ect. Then hearing other women bash each other for not wearing makeup, wearing makeup wrong, wearing too much, and just lots of criticism around it. Then there was that awful time in high school and in college when all my friends wanted to “make me over into a pretty girl!” Where they would do my makeup. Being a redhead with different skin coloring, they never quite understood the colors that worked with me. I did a lot of theater and learned a few things about makeup there. But I never really went full in. Honestly I have sensory issues and don’t really like the feel of it on my face. Then one day the same people who shamed me for wanting to wear makeup when I was younger are like “Why don’t you ever wear make up? What’s wrong with you?” and the whole thing just felt like to much drama so I said fuck it all.
I guess what’s missing is I never really interacted with makeup the way I wanted, or thought about what I’d like from it, I just heard all this judgement around it. Maybe it’s worth exploring.

I do recall hearing statements like “It’s important to know what a girl looks like without her makeup” from my former male partner, and other similar creepy phrases about how women are trying to “trick men” by wearing makeup. As if we are trying to sell ourselves as female partners and makeup is “false advertising” because our worth is our appearance. Kind of too much emphasis on the male gaze, as if the entire point of wearing makeup is to attract men, which I have no interest in. My lesbian girlfriend wears makeup, but I’m pretty sure it’s not for men, or women, me, or anyone except herself. She’s not “tricking” anyone when she wears it. I don’t think anyone accuses her of “False advertising” unless they assume she’s straight and trying to attract men. I think the misogynistic culture has hit pretty deep everywhere. Most of the weird stuff around makeup I heard was from other women, but still there’s this culture of both shaming women for wearing it and shaming women for not wearing it, from both sides. Either way it’s very strange.