The bulk of this theory is about makeup, but some bits and pieces of it will involve other things that "make up" a woman's appearance.
(pause for absorption of the pun)
Moving along....
My theory is that makeup is a woman's warpaint.
Now when i say warpaint (which i completely acknowledge that there might be a better word for it) what I really mean is warpaint, armor, weapons, etc...
A quick search on wikipedia to give you the definition of Warpaint says that someone's already stated that it can be referred to as makeup that women wear in the battle of the sexes.
So clearly I'm writing this theory KNOWING it's not relatively a new concept, but I thought it was worth elaborating on and talking about anyways.
If you're going to a friendly get together then you don't need to put on as much make up, you can just be dressed casually. That's just like if you have weapons. You don't need to be heavily armed if you're going to an ally's place or if you're just visiting some acquaintance because if you go and you're heavily armed you probably don't feel comfortable or trust completely the person you're going to see. No really close friend goes to each other's houses completely dressed donning their sexiest dress and makeup that took 30 minutes to put on up unless they're counting on seeing other people there that they need to be on guard for or that they dont' completely trust. Not that they feel completely untrusting but they DO feel some kind of "not being able to be themselves around you." Like they can't be theirselves and that they have to be cautious and on guard.
The different types of makeup she wears is for different situations. It could be used as a weapon, to disarm a man, or charm basically anyone you need something from. That's IF you know how to use the makeup right. Cause everyone knows that sometimes too much makeup is just WRONG.
Now although there are many ways to put on makeup, I have spoken here about 4 main types:
The Non-existent makeup: Some girls just don't wear a lot of makeup, if any. And if a girl doesn't know how to use makeup properly or dress well for that matter, she might be at a disadvantage. Makeup can be like armor. If a girl is not pretty and doesn't know how to present her face in the most attractive manner, there's a big chance life is gonna be cruel and harsh on her (unless her inner beauty is SOOO sparkling that THAT weapon is stronger than the need for visual weapons) Boys respond to pretty faces. They can say they're into personalities, but the majority of people REQUIRE something at least pleasing to look at before they even give the personality a chance. Also, a girl who doesn't take care of her appearance in our society is VERY harshly judged upon. Not just by men, but by other women as well. Unless they're one of the fortunate ones where the randomness of life kinda shows mercy on them, then they have no need for such warpaint and they're one of the fortunate ones who didn't need any armor or protection from the harshness of life.
The sneaky Makeup: Some girls are so naturally beautiful, that they don't need much makeup. But sometimes, even the pretty girls, know that JUST a little touch here and there makes a big difference. They say the best makeup is the one you can't tell a girl is wearing. This is sorta like a sneaky weapon in my opinion. Almost as if in war time you had the talent of invisibility or meshing in with other people so you can get what you want. It's more a spy thing, and in the right situations, a POWERFUL disarming weapon simply because it's so sneaky.
The Fierce Makeup: If you're the kind that wears fierce makeup, you could look like you're literally going to war. You'll even notice that it looks like a mask. Especially in the arab world, when women wear it for example at weddings, their makeup is REALLy harsh. If they were just home wearing a bathrobe and all that makeup it'll look like a clown face. But when they're decked up with their hair done and everything it suits it. IT's just like african or new zealand warriors or just any culture where people have warpaint on before the battle. It LOOKS fierce and is used to intimidate their opponents into submission.
The Personality Makeup: There is a fun kind of makeup that isn't really fierce, but rather random. It's the calm makeup, but bright red lipstick. Or the natural look but with blue mascara, the yellow eyeliner, the bright purple eye shadow.
Let me make this very clear.. I don't mean ARAB MAKEUP. For all those in the arab world who know what I'm talking about. <--- that makeup is when they take the random, and use it everywhere at once, eyes, lips, cheeks, glitter glitter glitter!, several eyeshadows, and completely different lipliner than lipstick..... and now i'm ready to go to my day job. NO.. this is not the personality makeup.
What I mean here is the girl who's got so much inside her that those are just those days that a burst of her personality is required to show on her face somewhere. It's those days that the urge for her colorfulness on the inside is just dying to burst through. It could be part of an ensemble, or to complete a "look" she's trying to give, but in the end, there'll be a burst of color somewhere on her face and boys I can almost guarantee you, that that girl on that day, is in a playful mood.
Make up in general is a mask that we wear. But it isn't always a mask to HIDE, sometime it's a mask to SHOW. If we're feeling innocent that day (so.. light make up with a cute outfit), if we're feeling goth and dark (black and red makeup to match or chokers and spikey bracelets), if we're feeling angry, if we're happy, or if we're feeling sexy, or if we just wanna play dressup and create a look (chinese, preppy, *cough*slutty*cough*, etc...)... makeup is very expressive and helps us display those feelings, whether those are our TRUE feelings or if we're trying to disarm someone ;)
I don't wanna make this theory too long, but feel free to write back and comment on this post with other Makeup styles you've noticed and enjoy the masquerade!
