Women Constantly Making Themselves Look Good: Why?

Women want to be attractive to men. If she is looking, she wants to look her best.

If she is taken, she has many many reasons:

* professional. If she has a career and is ambitious, she will try to look like where she wants to be.
* envy. She wants other men to envy her husband.
* envy+admiration. She wants other women to envy her & tell her that they do.
* perception of ugliness. If she thinks a certain look is ugly she will do her best to hide it for the rest of her life.
* principle. She believes in it as a rule of life. A value that all must follow.
* fashion. She loves the latest look and wants to be a trendsetter.

I'm sure there are more...
 
Stu said:
There do seem to be levels of it, with men and women. Certain status groups require a particular look, a specific wardrobe, BMI, type of hairstyle, an attention to personal appearance.
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This. I don't understand the "frequent checking/primping" but I always make a trip to the ladies to powder my nose just before going into any formal meetings.
 
Why should it matter to anyone else what a person likes to do? I often feel like people who cake on the make up have serious insecurities and I wouldn't make fun of them because women are bitches.
[MENTION=11651]Artisan[/MENTION]s post was very good and there is a lot of truth in it. Women can be very judgey and very bitchy and often times women will do themselves up for the benefit of other women.

People treat good looking people better. It's just a fact. I'm not an ugly person, but everyone looks a little better with a touch of make up. I learned that if I need to go into the toy store during a busy season I'm best off putting on some minimal make up and gloss as the young male staff will bend over backwards to help me where if I went in with my hair thrown back in a bun and no make up I'd get ignored.

It's also a professional thing. Whether you like it or not, people want women to wear make up. Minimal make up is usually required for a job interview and to not wear it makes it look like you haven't made an effort. It's desired in the work place.

I don't wear much make up, but I do wear minimal every day make up -- why? A self confidence thing. I'm a very busy person that gets very little sleep. Sometimes, when I'm under the weather I look like crap and it helps to put a little bit of make up on to boost my self esteem. No one likes to look in the mirror and feel exhausted and gross. Make up doesn't just stay put either...it wears off, it can get shiney through out the day etc. It needs to be touched up.
 
PintoBean said:
What if they use this amount of makeup but they are so good at it, so smooth, so mad skilled in the art of cosmetic application, that you have no idea? That you think their skin is just preternaturally glowy and smooth, the eyebrows a perfect shade of whatever, their lips, a healthy moist shade of whatever? When really it's all FAKE.
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To this point, I think guys who say they don't like makeup are basing their opinion on whether they notice, which is the shittiest gauge to measure such a thing - the common dude's perspective. At least in terms of the conclusion as to whether a girl is actually wearing makeup. Whether it is too much, is a different story.
 
Gender Difference in Brain Activation to Audio-Visual Sexual Stimulation. That's what this boils down to at its most basic and primeval level. Men respond to visual cues and are aroused by visual stimulus to a greater extent than women are. Women are stimulated by a broader spectrum of stimulus.

Here is where you can read about it http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/808430

So given this reality, its natural that women should put more effort into maintaining their appearance than men. Probably a bit too "reductionist" but someone had to bring it up.

Also reminds a bit of reading Desmond Morris' The Naked Ape which is an interesting read and dives into these type of ideas in greater detail, like: Why is lipstick red and why is this attractive to many men?
 
ruji said:
To this point, I think guys who say they don't like makeup are basing their opinion on whether they notice, which is the shittiest gauge to measure such a thing - the common dude's perspective. At least in terms of the conclusion as to whether a girl is actually wearing makeup. Whether it is too much, is a different story.
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This. Men are often super bad at seeing natural, minimalist make up. They think its natural. Most men do actually prefer a woman to wear a little bit.
 
I did this more when I was younger, learning to apply makeup and I would check more often to make sure it still looked okay or that nothing smudged. Now that I'm in my thirties, more confident in my appearance and makeup application I rarely check so much unless I'm on the way to a party or an interview. Then I'll check right before I get out of the car. I don't want to face people with a mascara glob on my face or something.

Also if I've just had a haircut or new highlights, or put on a new color of lipstick I look in the mirror a lot more because it's new, different and (hopefully) pretty...Like a shiny new toy. :) Or they might be checking because they hate their new hair/makeup choice (I've been there too) and can't stop looking at the train wreck lol
 
Because evolution has taught them their survival depends on it
 
Because women are ugly.
 
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[MENTION=731]the[/MENTION] You couldn't possibly be more wrong in my world.
 
typo

Seeking said:
Women want to be attractive to men. If she is looking, she wants to look her best.

If she is taken, she has many many reasons:

* professional. If she has a career and is ambitious, she will try to look like where she wants to be.
* envy. She wants other men to envy her husband.
* envy+admiration. She wants other women to envy her & tell her that they do.
* perception of ugliness. If she thinks a certain look is ugly she will do her best to hide it for the rest of her life.
* principle. She believes in it as a rule of life. A value that all must follow.
* fashion. She loves the latest look and wants to be a trendsetter.

I'm sure there are more...
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Actually I am not sure that this is all or even mostly true. Most women I know (myself included) do things to enhance their appearance simply for themselves, not for men or to create envy and admiration or to be a "trendsetter." Doing things like making one's hair and face more attractive are acts of self-care. It is saying "hey self, I care about you, I am tending to you." And let's face it, if I don't care about myself, who else will? When my hair and makeup looks nice, my clothing, accessories chosen with care, it is saying to the world "I respect and like my person." A show of self-respect gains courtesy and other types of chances, (social, romantic, professional) with others. I don't perceive I am ugly without my makeup and I certainly don't enjoy the (rare) instances of envy from others. Really, beautifying is all about me. And I don't do stuff like primp publicly or apply makeup while driving.
 
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Because society tells me to and I am a sex object. Usually. Who am I kidding. I work from home and sometimes don't shower or change out of pajamas before noon unless I have meetings. I often go to the grocery store without makeup or styling my hair. I go an entire winter without shaving my legs usually. (No SO has ever complained about these things, either. So I suspect men don't really care as much as the make up companies and Cosmo would have us believe.) I'm low maintenance when it comes to appearance. When I was younger, I cared much more and could spend hours doing my makeup and fixing my hair. But back then I think I had an unhealthy obsession with looking like women in magazines, and of course, never hit the mark. What a waste and time and money. I do have friends who collect make up and are very into it. I think for some of them, it is more an art form. I can see that. If you become really skilled there is artistry in it.
 
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PintoBean said:
Actually I am not sure that this is all or even mostly true. Most women I know (myself included) do things to enhance their appearance simply for themselves, not for men or to create envy and admiration or to be a "trendsetter."
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This is a common belief, and something I hear often. You're not wrong, but you're
not 100% right either. There are three main points to address the logic of
your statement: 1) there can be more than one reason for something. 2) multiple
reasons can depend on each other. 3) something can indirectly - whether significantly
- affect something else. 4) you can't dismiss indirect cause if significant.

Basically I think women at a fundamental level, want to be attractive. I think it
is ultimately for our natural need/want to procreate. Maybe another way of looking
at that is to say it is for men. I can see how it seems like this takes away a
woman's power, but it ain't about power. It's about nature confining us to bond.
We have the freedom to do anything we want, yet of the many things in the universe
we could do, we seem to want to do human shit like love and sex. Men are the way
they are, and one could argue that men base their lives on being attractive to
women. It goes both ways. Maybe we're not thinking of women when we do whatever
it is we do, and conversely women aren't thinking of us all the time. I think our
entire lives are based on each other. With such a long time to do so, I can see
how easily we would be distracted from our purpose in life.
 
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