… and talk about what I did about makeup! As a refresher- I don’t wear makeup. I never have! Here I am on my own wedding day:
However, something interesting happens when you get into your late 50s. At least, for me. I look, um, well how should I put this… I guess the word is “older.” What a surprise!
Leading up to the wedding, I was fretting about what to do. I knew there would be a lot of formal photos taken that we would be looking at for the rest of our lives. I put it out there on the blog, and got lots of great advice. The best advice was, do NOT wear a full face of makeup, because I wouldn’t look or feel like myself.
The week before, I asked Jennifer (mother of the bride) if there would be anyone to help us with hair and makeup. Here was her reply:
You guys, at this point I was actually frightened. What are all these things??? Am I supposed to own these? When I got to Indiana and could talk to her in person, I told her that I don’t wear makeup and didn’t want too much- I just wanted to look like myself but a LITTLE BETTER.
She assured me that I wouldn’t look overdone, then went on to explain all the makeup that I could be wearing if I wanted her to do it, and I knew we weren’t on the same page. I can’t blame her- most people haven’t encountered a 60-year-old woman who has NEVER worn makeup!
As late as the night before, I still hadn’t decided what I was going to do. And then, my husband’s sister Claudia came to the rescue. She said “you don’t want all that. Here’s what you want. You’re going to get a little face cream, put a DAB of foundation in it, and apply that all over your face, including around your eyes. You’ll look like yourself but it will even out your skin tone. And lip gloss.” AND THEN SHE WENT OUT AND BOUGHT ME ALL THE SUPPLIES I WOULD NEED.
Important side note: I hadn’t been planning to use any kind of foundation, but my rosacea picked that week to flare up. So…. I thought maybe a dab of foundation wouldn’t be a bad idea.
The day of the wedding, we had photos at 1 pm. My sister and BIL stayed with us at our Airbnb, and my sister helped me. Another side note- I wouldn’t recommend learning how to apply makeup ON THE DAY OF THE BIG EVENT. My sister kept looking up Youtube makeup videos, and saying things like “Here’s one from AARP that I think might help you!” Between my sister, Youtube, and facetiming with Claudia, I got the cream/foundation on my face, thought it looked okay, applied the lip gloss, and then it was time to go.
Who knows what I actually looked like. My sister and Claudia assured me that I looked like myself, only a little better. When I saw Paul he said “Mom, you look beautiful!” But that really says more about the kind of person he is rather than what I looked like.
Here’s the thing though- once I was all ready, I didn’t think about what I looked like FOR THE REST OF THE DAY. I was so caught up in what was happening, I forgot. I remember using the bathroom at the church shortly before the ceremony, and I definitely looked in the mirror while I was washing my hands, but I was in a hurry and just barely glanced to make sure I didn’t have a big smear of dirt on my forehead or anything. It was definitely a day of experiencing, rather than looking a certain way… and that’s the way life should be.
In retrospect, I kind of wish I had had the confidence to say “I don’t wear makeup” and stick to that. OR… maybe knowing (thinking) that the foundation covered my rosacea was what helped me to not worry about how I looked??? Either way- nobody cared. No one cared that I wore makeup, and no one would have cared if I didn’t. I feel like there were important lessons learned here, but I’m going to hold off on the final learning until I see the professional photos, ha ha.
Are you a confidant makeup wearer? Is there anyone else out there that doesn’t wear it?
Top photo by Ben Rosett on Unsplash
31 Responses
I don’t wear makeup! I used to- eye shadow, lipstick, a little blush- sometimes in my youth. But over time, it became not so important. I haven’t worn it for decades. I tried some mascara and lipstick a year ot two ago- I looked like a clown. Not worth figuring out.
Three of my daughters got married- no makeup at all. I look like me- tired, pudgy, but familiar, so it was fine.
You looked so lovely in your pictures- a happy heart and glowing smile does more than any makeup can to make you look beautiful.
PS- if someone enjoys makeup- have at it! It’s just not for me.
I agree- I’m not OPPOSED to makeup, on other people. My daughter does some pretty dramatic eye makeup and it looks great.
Thank you for the compliment! I appreciate it. I do like how I’m glowing in the photo from my own wedding day. I seem to have lost that glow lately, but I’m not going to stress about it anymore.
Well I think this post needed to end with a nice headshot of you at the wedding so we could admire the final product! Haha. I am sure you looked beautiful. I saw you, what, 2 weeks ago? And you did not look old or even remotely bad with no makeup! I have too many little things I don’t like about my skin (melasma and some acne scars and probably some sun damage) to wear no makeup but I do no not wear heavy foundation either- mostly concealer in spots and a Covergirl light powder /foundation mix thing in a compact. I also get circles under my eyes and always wear concealer there! I always wear some eye makeup too.
It’s funny because the things you mentioned sound like a lot of makeup to me- but when I saw you it didn’t look like you were wearing much! I guess that means you’re doing it right.
I’ll definitely post some of the professional photos when we get them- it won’t be a headshot though (thankfully!)
I always put a little bit of tinted lotion in my actual lotion– it’s pretty much the best beauty trick ever. Here are 2 more you might like just as much: 1. brown mascara, just a little. It looks really good and natural and doesn’t feel like anything. I like Essence brand– it is literally $5 so what do you have to lose? 2. Concealer that is roughly your skin tone on your eye lids– just evens things out and adds to the you-only-better look.
I’ll keep those in mind if and when the next formal occasion arrises. I can’t imagine myself doing them for everyday- it sounds like too much work (but I can hear you laughing, because it would probably take me about three minutes).
Oooooh here for this!
I seriously think that a dab of foundation and lip gloss, while technically is wearing makeup, is kind of no-makeup. So I think your “I don’t wear makeup” still applies here, speaking as a woman who wears makeup every single day of her life. That is exactly what I hoped you would do (not the foundation, I was thinking just a bit of lip gloss) because I think I told you about my mom getting professional makeup for my brother’s wedding and WOW it looked weird. I just remember that I had to mentally tell myself not to look startled because it was startling. Her cousin looked at her and said “Um…do you have any blush?” because the woman had put this MASK of foundation on my mom that looked truly odd. Anyway. This is not about my mom, it’s about you! I’m happy you found something that works for you. And if you don’t wear makeup, you don’t wear makeup! The point is you looked good, you felt good, it’s all good.
(to answer your question with something you already know, YES I wear makeup. Tinted serum or moisturizer as a base, or a BB cream, depends on the events of the day, pressed powder, blush, eye liner, mascara, eyebrow colour, and always always always lip colour!)
Thank you Nicole! In retrospect just the lip gloss probably would have been fine. But then… I did have the rosacea flareup which complicated things! I think it’s probably good I won’t be going to any more formal weddings for a while.
I don’t wear any either! Other than lip balm, and moisturizer if my skin feels dry. In high school, I remember using eyeliner, and at one point I owned mascara and one of those eyelash crimper things, which I’m sure my cousin bought me—she was the one for makeup, as I wasn’t even then. When I was in her wedding, in fact, they did the whole makeup number on me, which felt super weird. And then her stepmother kept finding me to tell me I looked SO! GOOD! and since I didn’t do my own hair or makeup or choose the dress, it didn’t really feel like a compliment.
Ha ha, that’s funny- it’s almost like an insult, like okay well obviously I must look pretty bad in my natural state! I definitely didn’t have people telling me I looked SO GOOD, so either I did not look good, or I just looked like myself. Let’s hope it was the latter.
I do wear makeup most days. I’ve written about my routine numerous times and it’s fairly minimal, but enough that I suppose I DO look like I’m wearing makeup, but I want it to be natural.
I would say I feel more settled into my day if I have spent 5 minutes on hair and makeup, but that’s the extent of what I’m willing to invest time-wise. I begrudge even that amount of time (I get NO joy out of applying makeup, it is a means to an end).
I use a primer, foundation stick, sometimes a glowy layer (elf Halo Glow), blush (the most important beauty product IMO), a swipe of brown mascara, and a little bit of work on my brows. Sometimes I’ll put on some Chapstick, but I am a natural lip girl all the way. I never, ever use tinted anything on my lips.
To my knowledge my mother has never used a single makeup product at any point in her life! It saves so much time! And money! And you look great! Truly, Jenny.
Also, I LOVED SEEING THAT WEDDING PHOTO! You are beautiful and look so happy and content in that picture. Love, love, love.
Thank you Elisabeth! Yes, I definitely save time and money by not wearing makeup (although- it sounds to me like you do a lot, but it only takes 5 minutes!) Oh, and I don’t need blush, thanks to my rosacea. Eye roll.
I used to do a full face of makeup every day, and I loved playing with eyeshadow! I did this from college until a few years ago, when I started wearing less and less makeup. Now I might fill in my brows or do mascara every once in awhile but that’s it! I’m lucky that my skin is great (now…I had really bad acne as a teen though) so I may only have to use a little concealer but it’s so much less time consuming now to do the bare minimum and I can spend that time running hahaha! I always wore makeup because I have a young face and wanted to look my age and I still do but now I just don’t care enough to do makeup every day!
Wait- so you thought your face was TOO young and you wanted to look older? That’s not a thought I’ve ever had, lol.
Well, I’m also short so I get mistaken a lot (still!) for a teen or college student, which isn’t great when you’re in your mid 30s and trying to be taken seriously haha. Everyone’s like, you’ll love it when you’re older but we’ll see about that!
Okay I’m going to check back with you in 20 years!
I wear a minimal amount of make-up on the work days. Besides that, I do not wear make-up. And I cannot wear foundation. Even a tinted moisturizer tends to make me break out. As a result, I don’t look at “put together” as a women with a more comprehensive make-up routine, but I kind of don’t care? However, for my wedding, I had my make up professionally done and I wore way way way more make up that I normally would. But I knew I’d look better in photos with professionally done make up. And I still feel like I looked like myself on that – just a more done up version that photographed well!
From the few photos you’ve shared, I think you looked beautiful! And I think you could consider the make-up you wear to practically be “no make up”.
Aw thank you Lisa! It sounds like you’re happy with your makeup routine, as minimal as it is. But you were also happy with what you did for your wedding, and now you have those photos forever, so I’m glad they came out well.
I have friends that wake up and put on make up. They are never without it.
I wear very little – some foundation before it has sunscreen and lipstick because my lips get dry.
When I look at photos, I realize that I should do more.. those ugly bags under my eyes!!
I’ve never looked at you and thought you need more makeup- but maybe I’m not the best one to judge, lol. I think you might make yourself crazy by trying to have a lengthy makeup routine.
Here’s the deal: if I could tolerate makeup I would go all out. But over time my eyes became sensitive to it, and there is no greater buzzkill than eye irritation. So I haven’t worn eye makeup since my late 30s, and I stopped wearing foundation in the pandemic. It’s a very clear line: before the pandemic I always took 5 minutes to throw on foundation no matter what, and then out of nowhere it suddenly became “too much trouble”. If I have a special event then I’ll throw on a little foundation and blush, and if it’s really fancy then I’ll paint my nails. The simple reason that I don’t wear makeup now is that I simply don’t think about it since I can’t see myself. Exactly what you said: no one else cares!
YES! I can’t see myself, and the truth is no one else really cares. Truly, they don’t! I think that’s the main thing I learned from all this.
Yes, I wear makeup. Also, it looks completely natural. If you looked at me today, you might think “hmmm..she’s wearing mascara? maybe something on her lips?” but I’m wearing:
Face primer
Foundation
Eye primer
Eyeshadow
Mascara
Blush
Lip stain
I think I look washed out and dry if I don’t do this. *shrug* I would never consider going to a fancy event without adding eyeliner, bronzer, concealer, and a highlighter. I had a professional do my makeup for my wedding (and for when we did engagement photos). It was some of the best money I spent. I looked good.
But you know what’s great about this world? We can all do what works best for us.
Yes! AND, your makeup routine is obviously working for you, because you feel good, and I see photos of you all the time where you look great. I’ve never noticed or thought about whether or not you were wearing makeup. So you know what you’re doing, and how to make yourself look the way you want.
i wear: light foundation/tinted moisturizer/sunscreen type deal (Bare Mineral Complexion Rescue, love it), sometimes Merit blush, eye makeup (either Thrive or Ilia eye shadow), and always mascara. I feel kind of weird without mascara!
I bet you looked amazing (and agree with Kae you looked lovely without makeup in person too!!!)
You guys are NICE! I appreciate the kind words. And really- I wouldn’t expect you to be thinking critically about my appearance- that would be weird! Once again it just shows that no one really cares whether or not another person is wearing makeup.
I’m team “not sure what to do with makeup” either! I do wear basics – a swipe of eyeliner, mascara and eyebrow liner. Since I’m blond it looks like I don’t have any eyelashes OR eyebrows so I have to use something (of course you’ve seen that on my blog for my morning run pictures!). My face has age spots which probably should be covered up, but I don’t like the feel of foundation. I have discovered something fun lately though – bronzer drops from E.L.F.! One drop in my facial lotion and it looks pretty great and slightly sunkissed/shimmery. It’s a fun glow-up (pun intended) LOL 🙂
Okay, so I’ve never looked at your morning run photos and thought you needed eye makeup. And yes, the age spots. I have plenty of those! I notice that Supergoop has a tinted sunscreen- I wonder how that would work? I should probably just leave it alone though and stop messing around with things I don’t understand!
This is very relatable. I wear very little makeup. Most days year round I wear no makeup. I’ll wear mascara if we are going to a wedding or out with friends. In the winter, when I’m not tan, I’ll wear a bit of blush or is it bronzer disguised as blush? My sweet blog friend, Suz, sent it to me a few years ago. How did she know what would match my skin tone? No clue. I wear Oil of Olay lotion on my face every morning after I’ve washed my face with Dove bar soap.
When the girls Irish danced, I had to go buy all the supplies for the makeup they were required to wear on stage. I had no idea what most of the stuff was and had to have an associate at Ulta help me. Then the girls and I had to learn how to put it on. When they got to an advanced dancing level, I paid someone to do the makeup for us. During covid, no one would do makeup/get too close to you. Mini did a practice round of makeup on Curly on Thanksgiving – a few days before Midwest Championships. She watched YouTube videos in advance. I took pics and sent them to the teacher. She was like NO – SHE CANNOT LOOK LIKE THIS. The day before the competition she introduced us to a team of people who were putting on the wigs. She showed them the pics of what Curly would look like if we did her makeup. This team was from Ireland and they were like DEAR GOD, NO. CAN’T HAVE THAT (but spoken in their accents). They agreed to break the ‘covid rules’ and they did her makeup behind closed doors so other dancers wouldn’t know. Day saved.
I am sure you looked amazing and I’m glad you didn’t fret about what you looked like the rest of the day. I bet just a touch of something was exactly what you wanted/needed to feel comfortable and like yourself.
I wear mascara, period. I used to–when I was teaching–wear light foundation (liquid mixed with moisturizer), sometimes a little blush, and some lipstick/gloss. I was never a big makeup person, really. I probably wouldn’t have worn anything but mascara back then, but teenagers are tough critics, and I had to feel good about my appearance.
It’s a huge win that you remained true to yourself and didn’t give it a second thought during the wedding and celebration. AND–you don’t look so different from that early photo! I think you look great.
I know so many people in my life who don’t wear makeup! My mom will sometimes put on some tinted lip balm or fill in her eyebrows, but that’s about it.
I like wearing makeup because it makes me feel put together, but I’m also just fine not wearing it if I don’t want to! And my makeup routine these days is super simple: tinted moisturizer, a little face powder to smooth things out, eyebrow pencil, and mascara. Done and done.
I am so excited to see pictures from the wedding. I bet you looked amazing! And also, how have you not aged since your wedding day????