No Makeup Week : The Aunties Face themselves, Unmasked.

AuntieWicked
Sep 21, 2010
4 min read

No Makeup Week

The Aunties Face themselves, Unmasked.

By Wicked & Illumi

No Make-Up Week is an exploration of our relationship with Make-up, This is a very huge issue for Auntie Illumination and myself both, we discuss on an every-other day basis our relationship with makeup. We love the concept of No Make-Up week, its a fantastic way to open up the floor for people to discuss their relationships with it.Official No Make-Up week post is here : http://rabbitwrite.com/no-make-up-week/As well as the lovely Zoetica’s post here : http://www.biorequiem.com/blush-response/blush-response-no-make-up-week-day-1/ (which will be a continuing feature for this week, from what I understand.Now in stealing Zoetica’s No Makeup-Week Format, I’m going to personalize by talking about MY relationship with make-up.

I am a nine-year old California Girl! I love makeup and girlie things, but I’ve already been told repeatedly that I’m not to wear makeup as a regular habit. I sneak behind my mother’s back to get awesome girl-cloths to feel fashionable.
At thirteen I ride horses and go to a very rural Nevada school. They chant on the bus every day about my fatness, call me ‘cow’, and pick at me in general. If sunglasses make me a bitch, I can’t even think about what makeup would make me.
I’m in the THEATRE now! I learn stage makeup, it’s the most glamorous thing ever to sit in front of those mirrors with bulbs, the smell of the grease paint… I’m in love.
I was always told at 18 I could do whatever I want, I cut all my hair off, dye it, and start wearing makeup. I struggle, and get frequent comments about the Drama of my makeup. Vermont Hippies start calling me “Goth”. I don’t even know what that means. (later I found out there was this whole thing called a ‘subculture’, and the people liked Victorian Horror novels and Post Punk music. WOW!)
New York City, I’m not slick like the Long Island girls. Rough around the edges, fighting against the slot of sweet stupid cow I’m trying to be squished into. I’m trying to be glam, I’m told my best feature is my beautiful skin.
Back in College again I’m full fledged. Makeup is my mask, it hides how I feel, and makes sense of my ‘crazy-sad eyes’. I find my makeup soul mate & future bff.
London is a slap in the face, not being the most glam person I know, not being the most outrageous, not even getting a second glance. My makeup has two personalities, simple and paired down (I learn to use sheer foundations), or GLITTER GLAM GODDESS!
In North Carolina I’m struggling with the life I wanted back in London vs. the bland one I’m living. My makeup creeps toward an over-the-top way to cope with the crap I’ve been given.
Makeup becomes an Art. I’m making other people’s faces, making their lives more interesting, dressing everyone up, chaotic Halloween’s and club nights. I start loosing interest in myself.
At 30 my skin is changing. Old things aren’t working, my skin is darker, my makeup is chalky and weird on my skin. I panic and start using stage makeup to dress up with, the rest of the time I don’t even know what to do.
Vikki is with me, we talk makeup, she makes herself pretty to go out. Since she can, I try to do the same.
Vikki is gone. It’s the proverbial straw to really lose myself for a while. I don’t wear makeup much. I don’t care about it. Something in me is gone, and its disturbing how much I don’t miss it. I don’t care what anyone thinks anymore, and I barely even twitch if nobody thinks my skin is beautiful, or if I’m wearing makeup.
I’m looking for myself. Why did I always used makeup to present a surreal rock-star figure (in my mind)? I wonder why I ever cared about expectations, why I needed to create the character people seemed to want, I’m working through looking like my Parents.
My friends are encouraging me to try. They give me reasons to care about myself. I’m more than my skin. More than my body. I’m worth caring about.
Balance : Makeup is about dressing up, about making myself feel beautiful when I need it, about not wearing make-up if I don’t care to. I don’t have paparazzi or a glamorous Artist’s life, and even if I did, I don’t think I’d deviate from doing whatever I wanted anyway.

As always Wicked and Lumi write from different sides of the country – it is always amazing to see how much the same we have to say – even for us!

What the Lumi? No make-up?

Seriously …

a.illumi

There’s a fine line between wearing make-up for fun every day and being so attached to your made up face that you no longer enjoy your natural one – No makeup week challenges us to discuss and explore our relationship with makeup and make sure we celebrate ourselves always – with or without makeup! Wicked and I were ahead of the game this year – about uhmm three months ago? she got brave a posted pictures of herself sans makeups! It inspired this auntie to do the same! Not wearing makeup for most of that week was relieving? I think i was afraid that without makeup I was a hideous beast or that I would found myself losing a social rung on the ladder…no one wants to be seen as that woman who doesn’t give a damn about how she looks!! But that was not the case – here’s me during the week of no makeup!

Five years ago I never would have felt comfortable posting a picture of myself without makeup – the only thing i ever did out of makeup was sleep! If you have never tried going without your makeup you should – it’s kind of nice to make nice with your plain face!

That is not to say that Lumi stays au natural all the time – whew – fun with makeup time is one of the good things about being a girl!