Would you give up makeup in your 50?

It may feel like a  really daunting step to take but sometimes going make-up free in our 50s might have some benefits (not only for our own levels of self-esteem).

It will save us at least 10-30 minutes in the morning, allowing us a half-an-hour extra sleep, and it will give our face a rest. In fact, we can’t deny that after a certain age makeup too often tends to reveal rather than conceals wrinkles and sagging.

That partly explains why more boomers and gen Xers are in on it too. 

According to the NYCityWoman magazine, the latest in makeup amongst the over 50s in Manhattan is little or none in favour of more artlessness, authenticity and a clean, unpainted face. Why? For one thing: “this city has long had an unobtrusive, unfussy, low-key, laid back approach to clothing, hair and makeup. Don’t draw attention seems to be the mandate“, writes Lynda Dyett. “And like much else that New Yorkers engage in, makeup antipathy is often a form of inverse snobbery—a riposte against suburbia and the Desperate Housewives look”.

For the rest of the world, this trend is mostly like a liberating movement. The increasingly popular #NoMakeup trend has taken over social media with women over 50 revealing their true selves.

Motivations behind getting involved with the movement are varied: whether putting make-up on has begun to feel like a chore, women want to feel more confident in their skin as it comes – ‘flaws’ included – or they are looking to nurture healthier skin by freeing it from the chemicals and oils that are in lots of makeup. Others simply consider this a feminist act.

This self-expression of the real age is perceived as another step for women’s liberation; it proposes to free women from the “slavery” of total perfection and the ideal concept of beauty, which condemns women to always look pretty. Basically, more and more women over 50 are not interested in looking younger, they want to look healthy and be honest about their age.

Clearly, the key to wearing makeup, especially in midlife, is this: less is more. Keeping up appearances doesn’t have to mean striving to look younger or even sexier. It’s our choice – we can slap up to please ourselves – or not – without seeking approval.

Here at CrunchyTales we believe that a woman should stop wearing makeup when she decides that she doesn’t wish to wear makeup any more. If that never happens, she should never stop. Makeup isn’t for other people, nor something to follow other people’s rules about.

In the end, as Barbara Hannah Grufferman, a fierce advocate for positive ageing and author of “LOVE YOUR AGE: The Small-Step Solution to a Better, Longer, Happier Life” mentions in the Huffington Post; “wanting to feel pretty and confident and embracing your age and power are not mutually exclusive”.

Minimal makeup mode, here I come. But please, don’t take the red lippy away from me. It’s such a mood booster!

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