I quit wearing daily makeup when I quit working outside the home. I'm 57 and just wear a tinted moisturizer/sunscreen when I venture out of the house. Nobody has turned to stone from my gaze yet. And I am bitterly disappointed in that.
I’m 62 and I stopped wearing almost all makeup in my fifties because it just seemed to accentuate the crinkles and creases. For a while I wore only mascara, but then ditched it too because there’s nothing worse than raccoon eyes. 👀 it’s so freeing to not bother with it! Good job Pamela, more of you and Dawn!
Over the years, I've become allergic to so many elements in a lot of makeup, so I wear hardly any, and it's very selective. Same thing, no one has run screaming or turned to stone - so it's a Win.
Thank you. This is a wonderful take on the stress of appearance.
Your picture is lovely and deeply relatable. I’ve always felt that women are more approachable when we’re not too glamorous. Sometimes I think the strive for glamor puts unintentional wedges between us.
Yes! And thank you for saying that. It's been mentioned to me that looking at young women - the ones who are doing the full glamour makeup and the fillers etc - they all look the same. I'm thinking of reality TV stars - the ones our young women find aspirational. Same with online influencers. To me there's something nice about variation and individuality.
Surgery tends toward monotony as well. If one chooses surgery, and that is a choice that many make, perhaps it would be best to submit for purposes of looking more like oneself than looking like someone else. Just a thought.
I stopped wearing makeup every day when I was probably 25. I’ve always hated makeup, and I was so over the worry of rubbing my eyes and looking like a raccoon while teaching. I had kids comment for a couple of weeks, but after that, nothing. I would occasionally have girls ask me why I didn’t wear makeup, and I told them you didn’t have to. Some had never been told that, and I hope they remember it. I’m 36 now, I maybe put on mascara for our family pictures once a year. Makeup was never anything I enjoyed, but felt I was expected to do. Now IDGAF. 🤷♀️
Ummm… how about we assume women have agency and let them do whatever the flock they wish with their own bodies, including deciding to look skinny, fat and everything in between?
Women don’t need makeup. We only think we do because that’s what it seems has been for so long. You look fantastic in your photo! You look like you are aging beautifully. I don’t wear makeup but sometimes wear lipstick for a bit of color on days I’m feeling drab or want to spice it up. We all have natural beauty. Women should not be criticized for how they look as nature made them. The best remedy for this is to do as Pamala does and not give a damn about those who think so small.
I do not know who glams up for whom. To each her own.
Agree, though, that a little can go a long way. The lovely Pamela Anderson, who I came to admire on learning about her before and after lives, could benefit from a tinted moisturizer to even out skin tone and some lip gloss. That could pass as "no makeup" and she would continue to look beautiful, only a bit more so.
Aside from when I tried in the 9th and 10 grade, I have never worn makeup. I hate it and think it is fake (for me, not judging others.) My hair is white/gray and has been since I was mid 30s. I refuse to dye it. I hear my coworkers talking about spending well over $100 on a haircut and dye. Just… no thanks. I think I’ll be me, even if I am “ugly” to the world.
I felt the same about Demi’s appearance. I was shocked at how fragile she looked. I was always naturally thin, to the point of looking anorexic. I ate like a pig and never gained weight. Super high metabolism. Menopause took that from me and I’m okay with it. I wear less makeup and don’t always curl my hair. I still feel that I look great for a 64 year old. I’m healthy and that’s what matters most.
Thank you for this. I still wear light makeup to the office and events but the rest of the time I am makeup free. I am now a 55 year old wearing less makeup than ever before. Its so liberating! Go Pamela Anderson. I love her strength!
LOL! Anderson is using an extreme to make a point and receive validation for “being so brave”! “Washed out” is a nice way of saying “you need a touch of makeup, especially around the eyes babe!”
After the news of Michelle Trachtenberg’s death yesterday, realizing that she was fielding comments about her appearance all while struggling mentally and physically both before and after her liver transplant makes this article hit a little different. Unfortunately many people are always going to see celebrity bodies and faces and public domain. But it made me really step back and think about the EXTREME circumstances that could be happening behind a major alteration in appearance.
Let's call it what it is. They look anorexic and it's the latest way of disempowering the feminine.
Kudos to Pamela Anderson.
I rarely wear makeup myself as I was blessed with good genes and a healthy complexion. At 68 I feel I need lipstick, eyeliner and mascara but that's about it. For myself to look more like the face I'm used to.
Great article. I’m so sick of women’s bodies being judged. I am sad to see the trend go back to the anorexic look. And actually, you can tell that those very thin women are not healthy. They have very little muscle. And as we age, muscle is critically important. Check out the work of Dr Gabrielle Lyon and Dr Stacy Sims. They are experts in the importance of muscle to women, especially post menopausal women. Women who waste away like this are shortening their lives.
I love this! As a newly 67 yo, I feel the same way. I never wore a lot of makeup. It may have come from my teen years when my mom and dad said I could wear it if they couldn’t tell I had it on. As an adult, I used neutral colors and little to no foundation. Rarely did I wear lipstick and found when I did it seemed to disappear. In my late forties,I got a stye and then another. Over time, I decided to stop wearing mascara and eyeliner. For the last five years or so, I wear no make up. I have friends who’ve had Botox and fillers done. I notice their mouths begin looking like Nicole Kidman’s. I’ve seen so many beautiful women turn into something else in the attempt to remain youthful. Not me. I am what I am. Great article!
Thank you for writing and sharing this! Finding balance as a woman, in a world that has always held women’s agency and self assurances at arms length, is a constant exploration. Shout out Pamela Anderson for choosing for herself, and inspiring others as well!
I would have never reocgnized Demi or Brooke had you not named them in those photos. Thin is not beautiful. And it makes them appear desperate. I wish with all that I am that women could just age gracefully, embracing their gray hair and lines and lumps without the world ripping them apart over it. Pamela is lovely bare-faced, and you are as well.
Demi looks OK, at least in these photos, but I did not recognize Brooke Shields. She is about a decade shy of late Madonna-hood, but she could salvage herself by dropping out of this ghoulish journey now. Here is hoping.
I quit wearing daily makeup when I quit working outside the home. I'm 57 and just wear a tinted moisturizer/sunscreen when I venture out of the house. Nobody has turned to stone from my gaze yet. And I am bitterly disappointed in that.
Hahahaha. Love it.
I’m 62 and I stopped wearing almost all makeup in my fifties because it just seemed to accentuate the crinkles and creases. For a while I wore only mascara, but then ditched it too because there’s nothing worse than raccoon eyes. 👀 it’s so freeing to not bother with it! Good job Pamela, more of you and Dawn!
Over the years, I've become allergic to so many elements in a lot of makeup, so I wear hardly any, and it's very selective. Same thing, no one has run screaming or turned to stone - so it's a Win.
I think this is the best comment I have ever read
Thank you. You’ve been spared from the stone gaze.
Thank you. This is a wonderful take on the stress of appearance.
Your picture is lovely and deeply relatable. I’ve always felt that women are more approachable when we’re not too glamorous. Sometimes I think the strive for glamor puts unintentional wedges between us.
May we all find our confidence!
Yes! And thank you for saying that. It's been mentioned to me that looking at young women - the ones who are doing the full glamour makeup and the fillers etc - they all look the same. I'm thinking of reality TV stars - the ones our young women find aspirational. Same with online influencers. To me there's something nice about variation and individuality.
Surgery tends toward monotony as well. If one chooses surgery, and that is a choice that many make, perhaps it would be best to submit for purposes of looking more like oneself than looking like someone else. Just a thought.
I stopped wearing makeup every day when I was probably 25. I’ve always hated makeup, and I was so over the worry of rubbing my eyes and looking like a raccoon while teaching. I had kids comment for a couple of weeks, but after that, nothing. I would occasionally have girls ask me why I didn’t wear makeup, and I told them you didn’t have to. Some had never been told that, and I hope they remember it. I’m 36 now, I maybe put on mascara for our family pictures once a year. Makeup was never anything I enjoyed, but felt I was expected to do. Now IDGAF. 🤷♀️
It's just what you get used to, right? You must save lots of money, too.
Ummm… how about we assume women have agency and let them do whatever the flock they wish with their own bodies, including deciding to look skinny, fat and everything in between?
I agree 100%! But we can't deny the pressure... it takes a lot of strength to exercise our agency, truly.
Ask any man! Exercise agency?
How about survive?
Women don’t need makeup. We only think we do because that’s what it seems has been for so long. You look fantastic in your photo! You look like you are aging beautifully. I don’t wear makeup but sometimes wear lipstick for a bit of color on days I’m feeling drab or want to spice it up. We all have natural beauty. Women should not be criticized for how they look as nature made them. The best remedy for this is to do as Pamala does and not give a damn about those who think so small.
Your “look” is generally for other women. You vamp up for them!
But a deftly applied bit of makeup can draw out natural beauty! Men enjoy a woman who understands that!
Moderation in all things!
I do not know who glams up for whom. To each her own.
Agree, though, that a little can go a long way. The lovely Pamela Anderson, who I came to admire on learning about her before and after lives, could benefit from a tinted moisturizer to even out skin tone and some lip gloss. That could pass as "no makeup" and she would continue to look beautiful, only a bit more so.
Please don’t deny evolutionary biology!
There is reason for many behaviors buried in that realm!
Aside from when I tried in the 9th and 10 grade, I have never worn makeup. I hate it and think it is fake (for me, not judging others.) My hair is white/gray and has been since I was mid 30s. I refuse to dye it. I hear my coworkers talking about spending well over $100 on a haircut and dye. Just… no thanks. I think I’ll be me, even if I am “ugly” to the world.
I’m sure you’re not ugly! Natural is beautiful!
I felt the same about Demi’s appearance. I was shocked at how fragile she looked. I was always naturally thin, to the point of looking anorexic. I ate like a pig and never gained weight. Super high metabolism. Menopause took that from me and I’m okay with it. I wear less makeup and don’t always curl my hair. I still feel that I look great for a 64 year old. I’m healthy and that’s what matters most.
I’ve always been naturally thin too, no matter what I ate! I haven’t met many people like me; glad I’m not the only one 👯
Thank you for this. I still wear light makeup to the office and events but the rest of the time I am makeup free. I am now a 55 year old wearing less makeup than ever before. Its so liberating! Go Pamela Anderson. I love her strength!
LOL! Anderson is using an extreme to make a point and receive validation for “being so brave”! “Washed out” is a nice way of saying “you need a touch of makeup, especially around the eyes babe!”
After the news of Michelle Trachtenberg’s death yesterday, realizing that she was fielding comments about her appearance all while struggling mentally and physically both before and after her liver transplant makes this article hit a little different. Unfortunately many people are always going to see celebrity bodies and faces and public domain. But it made me really step back and think about the EXTREME circumstances that could be happening behind a major alteration in appearance.
Let's call it what it is. They look anorexic and it's the latest way of disempowering the feminine.
Kudos to Pamela Anderson.
I rarely wear makeup myself as I was blessed with good genes and a healthy complexion. At 68 I feel I need lipstick, eyeliner and mascara but that's about it. For myself to look more like the face I'm used to.
Great article. I’m so sick of women’s bodies being judged. I am sad to see the trend go back to the anorexic look. And actually, you can tell that those very thin women are not healthy. They have very little muscle. And as we age, muscle is critically important. Check out the work of Dr Gabrielle Lyon and Dr Stacy Sims. They are experts in the importance of muscle to women, especially post menopausal women. Women who waste away like this are shortening their lives.
Yes, I interviewed Stacy Sims for my second book; I respect her work a lot. I'm a big fan of getting strong. :)
OMG! Demi is literally living her art! 🤣😂
I love this! As a newly 67 yo, I feel the same way. I never wore a lot of makeup. It may have come from my teen years when my mom and dad said I could wear it if they couldn’t tell I had it on. As an adult, I used neutral colors and little to no foundation. Rarely did I wear lipstick and found when I did it seemed to disappear. In my late forties,I got a stye and then another. Over time, I decided to stop wearing mascara and eyeliner. For the last five years or so, I wear no make up. I have friends who’ve had Botox and fillers done. I notice their mouths begin looking like Nicole Kidman’s. I’ve seen so many beautiful women turn into something else in the attempt to remain youthful. Not me. I am what I am. Great article!
Absolutely love your take! 💗 rock on!
Thank you for writing and sharing this! Finding balance as a woman, in a world that has always held women’s agency and self assurances at arms length, is a constant exploration. Shout out Pamela Anderson for choosing for herself, and inspiring others as well!
Nikki, I saw Demi and immediately thought about Tom Wolf's Bonfire of the Vanities where he describes the women as coat hangers....
"x-ray" women was also one of Wolfe's apt descriptions, along with "starved to perfection." Decades later his work continues to nail it.
I would have never reocgnized Demi or Brooke had you not named them in those photos. Thin is not beautiful. And it makes them appear desperate. I wish with all that I am that women could just age gracefully, embracing their gray hair and lines and lumps without the world ripping them apart over it. Pamela is lovely bare-faced, and you are as well.
Demi looks OK, at least in these photos, but I did not recognize Brooke Shields. She is about a decade shy of late Madonna-hood, but she could salvage herself by dropping out of this ghoulish journey now. Here is hoping.