Makeup Tutorials

Women have a love/hate relationship with makeup. Who doesn’t adore a good cat-eye? Or a matte red lip? But at the same time, we tend to resent the need for makeup. After all, men aren’t expected to spend time each day magicking their face into a more attractive or appealing form. So women feel perpetually torn by our access to beauty products and society’s expectation that we’ll use them.

Given the complexities of this multi-billion dollar industry, it’s no wonder that women’s websites spend tons of time, type and energy dissecting makeup. Here at The Grindstone, we’ve discussed the levels of appropriate makeup and how makeup changes your perception in the office. We’ve given tips and we’ve discussed whether it’s effort or actual good looks that makes a difference. We may be a business-centered site, but we realize that a woman’s appearance can have an impact on her place at work. And we aren’t alone. Today, ForbesWoman is giving expert makeup tips for working women. Obviously, it’s a topic that women are interested in.

Except our beautification acceptance hasn’t come full circle yet. See, even though women’s websites have no problem giving our readers makeup advice, plenty of people are throwing a fit about a school’s decision to teach teenagers how to apply their rouge. Mount St Mary’s Catholic High School is coming under fire for teaching their female students how to “make a good first impression and also boost their self-confidence.” Parents are angry that educators would dare to focus on their young daughters’ appearances instead of their minds.

Really, when you think of makeup instruction for school-aged young girls, it’s easy to see what the fuss is about. When I first read the story, I immediately jumped on the shame wagon. Why was the school worried about a girl’s face, instead of the brain behind it? How horrible! 

Then, I jumped over to Forbes and saw adult women with plenty of intelligence worried about the face they present to the world. Who’s in the wrong here? Schools who acknowledge that appearance matters or women’s media that continues to focus on make-up and wardrobe instead of encouraging our ambition and discussing current events? [tagbox tag="attire"]

Obviously, age matters. One would assume that adult women understand more about the importance of their mind, no matter how pretty it looks. Younger ladies are more impressionable and could get the wrong message from a simple make-up tutorial. But the fact is that women at every age mostly accept that whether we like it or not, our appearance is important. We discuss make-up in conjecture with working women, because it does seem to have an effect on the way co-workers, bosses and clients view us. So should we talking with young women about this acceptance as well?

Is the school terrible for teaching girls how to apply makeup instead of worrying about their test scores? Or should women’s media stop worrying about hairstyles that portray confidence in the office and start focusing on ways to build your business without worrying about your appearance? What do you think?