You Aren't Wearing Any Makeup!

Yesterday morning, I had a small emergency at my house - the water heater sprung a leak.  And my water heater is in a cupboard in my kitchen, so before I could figure out what that whooshing sound was and turn off the water supply, it made a nice, large puddle on the floor.  So, instead of doing my hair and makeup as usual, I spent the time while I was waiting for a plumber to come mopping and tidying up.  So I ended up going to work with my hair pulled back and no makeup on whatsoever.



Now, I wear makeup every single day.  It's just part of my routine.  Even Saturdays when my only daytime plans are to do laundry and grocery shopping, I'll put on makeup after my shower.  However, I spent a good year or longer NOT wearing makeup every day because when I worked in Providence, my coworkers reacted really oddly when I would dress nice, so I just stopped.  So, while it's a habit I have, I don't feel completely naked without it.

Unfortunately, I guess I should.  In the kitchen at work while I was waiting to heat something in the microwave, one of the DRS guys remarked with surprise and some shock "You aren't wearing any makeup!" I explained my boiler issue and he seemed sympathetic.  But the damage was done.

Now, in the best of circumstances, he was genuinely concerned that maybe this indicated I was sick or something had gone wrong (like my boiler exploding).  But regardless of that, it shows that the difference between me with makeup and me without makeup is noticeable.  To a guy.  Immediately.  And I have dyed my hair from blonde to brown and back again and gone weeks before I got so much as a "is there something different about you?"  What this tells me is that either my makeup is very un-subtle so that it looks like I am wearing makeup (instead of the mantra I was always taught growing up "They should notice your eyes, not your eye shadow") or that my face without makeup is so hideously wan and broken out that it stands in stark contrast to my "normal" face.  Or worse, both!

This does lead back to some of the differences between LA and Boston, however, because the other recent makeup-related comment i received was back east.  We were gearing up for a fall outing over Columbus Day weekend and I noticed I was seemingly the only one who bothered with makeup (though my lucky friends all have gorgeous naturally glowing and clear skin, so why would they?).  At some point during the day, one of my friends who has also lived on both coasts remarked "Do you notice that girls in California wear more makeup than out here?" and I agreed.  Or, at least, it seemed they are taught an entirely different mantra - treating makeup like any accessory - nice shoes, a handbag or jewelry - that ought to be noticed and complimented.

So, I guess I'll just err on the least paranoid side and assume I've crossed into SoCal habits of wearing makeup that gets noticed as makeup.