Women Share How Differently They’re Treated Without Makeup

With self-love and body positivity affirmations ringing in our ears. Many women are packing away their makeup. They are choosing to showcase their natural beauty to the world as opposed to the dolled-up version of themselves. However, the same women find that they are not treated the same way they were when they had a full face of makeup. They have decided to share their experiences on Quora.

1. Akshara Joshi with and without makeup

Akshara feels the polarities of having makeup, or no makeup, on. “I’ll be very honest. When I have makeup on my parents ask to dial it down since I’m a huge makeup freak. And when I don’t have makeup on my friends ask me if I’m sick or high. It’s always a see-saw for me, never anything moderate.

“Here’s me with makeup and lashes and everything on my face. It’s an everyday look with subtle eye shadow and a bit of glow on my face. I’m without any makeup in a selfie with my dad. And I don’t look that bad cause I was in a place with an amazing atmosphere that helped my skin look fresh. So, it doesn’t matter if you put makeup on or not, what matters is if you’re comfortable in both or one. If you love putting on makeup every day and that makes you happy⁠—do it. If you find makeup is too much for you and you love staying bare-faced—do it. Don’t bother following what others do with themselves.“

Read: This Woman Admits She Wears Makeup For The Opposite Sex And Claims Everyone Who Says They Don’t Is Lying

2. Charlotte Green

Cara Green explained that makeup gives her the confidence she lack when she’s not wearing any. “Of all the parts of my body, my face is the only part I generally like. It’s nothing special, but there is also no particular feature on it that I necessarily don’t like. While my face is fine/average naturally, it looks 10000x times better when I’m wearing makeup. My confidence grows significantly when I am wearing makeup, and I think that is actually a huge contributor to the amount of attention I get. Confidence attracts.”

3. Giang Nguyen

Giang says makeup makes her look older and that she barely gets noticed without makeup. “When I’m very tidy, so much that people don’t consider me a 16-year-old girl and I’m wearing open clothes, guys can come and ask for my phone number, which means they see a woman in me. I can even buy alcohol at a store or bar and not show documents at the same time. And when I’m not wearing makeup, or when I have makeup every day (eyebrow pencil, mascara, blush, and lipstick), nobody notices me. Perhaps people think, ‘God, who is this child?'”

4. Karina

Karina explained how other people find her intimidating when she wears makeup, even though she is soft-hearted. “I get a lot of stares from males and females, yet I hardly ever get approached when out in public whether it be the club, bar, or social setting. I’ve been known to be the one that makes the move in the past. I know I get treated differently when I have makeup. Many can be judgmental, having preconceived ideas about me, thinking I’m stuck up or mean.

She added: “People can be really rude when they see me all dolled up and nosy as well. Asking what I do for work or if I have my lips done or any cosmetic surgery to my face, people aren’t the nicest, most likely from intimidation I like to think, so I pay them no mind. And then they get to know me and realize I’m very much the opposite.”

5. Ash Sab

Ash says that she often gets mistaken for an escort. But, she confirmed that she is not. “Get this, the amount of times I’ve been approached for escorting offers is uncountable. I’ve been stopped from going to an apartment party by the receptionist because ‘working girls aren’t allowed before 10 PM.’ I mean what? And by no means am I saying there’s anything with that profession. I’m just telling you my experiences.“

Read: Woman creates mind-bending optical illusions with makeup. They’ll make your skin crawl

6. Krysta Storer

Where some girls want to look older by wearing makeup, there are others, like Krysta, who feel it makes them appear younger. “I have been told several times that I look younger without makeup. When my mother was in the hospital about a year ago I had no energy to put on makeup, so I would visit her ‘au natural’. Every nurse that came in asked me which school I went to – and they didn’t mean university, they meant high school. They all thought this 34-year-old woman was a high-schooler. You would think this would keep me away from the makeup, right? Hell no – I enjoy wearing it, and it makes me actually feel like an adult. Especially with the response I get when I’m not wearing it.”

7. Abbey Miranda

Abbey is another who says people assume she is older with her mask on. “I don’t notice heaps of difference, but I do notice that when I wear makeup, everyone thinks I’m older than I actually am. This means that with makeup, I’m hit on by much older guys than when I’m not wearing makeup. Usually, when I’m not wearing makeup, I get hit on by guys my age (and sometimes younger!). Everyone mistakes me for 18 (I’m 16) and I’ve even been mistaken for 22 before! It’s always 18-year-olds that hit on me with makeup, but sometimes it’ll be men aged like 30. Other than that, I don’t notice much of a difference, just everyone is very surprised when I tell them my age.”

8. Ankita Srivastava

Ankita says other people struggle to see whether she is actually wearing any makeup. “Perfectly the same. I’d rather say when I am not wearing makeup some people would still come up to me and comment on my makeup. I constantly have to tell people whether or not I am wearing makeup. There are two drops of BB cream and some sparkly eye shadow. And my favorite nude lips”

Keep Reading: Miss England Contestant Becomes First Woman in Pageant’s 94-Year History to Compete Without Makeup