Covering up

It's disapp-ointing to read that almost half of women questioned about make-up say they feel negative about themselves if they don't wear it. And the dislike of their natural faces can start in their early teens or even sooner.

The 44 per cent who don't like going without make-up say that without it they either feel unattractive, or naked, or self-conscious. Where does this aversion to their given appearance come from?

As a bloke who's never used make-up and just accepts my face as it is, ugly or otherwise, I simply don't understand why women are so repelled by what they see in front of them in the morning that they have to conceal it and prettify it as fast as possible.

I remember that in the sixties and seventies many women decided to abandon or severely reduce their make-up as a protest against having to meet men's expectations of what women should look like. Gradually however they lost their nerve and went back to slapping on make-up as lavishly as before.

Presumably the more you wear make-up, the more you believe it's necessary and the more unnatural it feels not to be wearing any. Your real face becomes an embarrassing secret you have to hide from the world.

Older women are often trying to cover up wrinkles, a rather pointless exercise since men will assume straightaway that's the purpose of their make-up and wonder just how decrepit they are underneath.

Of course if a woman uses make-up, her boyfriends won't know what she really looks like until the moment they discover her without it. She must get nervous about their reaction. Will they be dismayed or will they prefer the natural look? Mind you, there may still be a few males out there so unobservant they fail to notice the difference....

And why is it only women who feel they can't be seen without a generous layer of make-up? Jeez, there are plenty of men out there badly in need of some cosmetic enhancement. Funny though, I can't see the average bloke getting up and putting on his face any time soon.
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Unfortunately I've had to reintroduce the dreaded wordcheck as I'm getting loads of email spam. Rats!

Hooked on faces

Men are supposed to think about sex more than anything else - once every six minutes according to some sources. But I don't believe that. Men must think just as often about other things - like money or coffee, or even the human face.

We think about the human face an awful lot. Our own faces, our partners' faces, our friends' faces. Faces that are young, old, beautiful, ugly, deformed, wrinkled, smooth, black, white, happy, sad. We see new faces all the time, in the flesh and in the media, and they linger in our minds.

We admire and remember faces that are beautiful. We note peculiarities like huge noses, scars, crooked teeth and dimples. We look for the nuances of feeling that words are hiding. We guess at age from the degree of visible wear and tear.

Particular faces can have a potent emotional effect on us. They can be uplifting or intimidating. Which is why political leaders like Saddam Hussein and Mao Tse Tung put their images in so many public places to reinforce their power.

Familiar and trusted celebrities are used to sell products, to suggest that only the very best of everything would cross their threshold.

An ex-lover's face can haunt us for years. Everywhere we go we think we see them, only to find it's not them at all. We seek out new partners with similar looks, sometimes not even realising the uncanny resemblance.

Whether we like it or not, we form instant reactions to people based on their appearance. It's said that interview panels do that so routinely they find it hard to disregard their first impressions and make a more rational judgment.

My mind is awash with sex? Decidedly not. I'm much more likely to be recalling a beautiful face I've just seen, or wondering why someone looks so exhausted, or watching a politician's forced smile, than I am to be contemplating a carnal workout.

In fact I could study people's faces all day. Every face is a human epic, an emotional symphony, a soul unveiled. Every face is a revelation.