The Sacred Ritual of "Making Up"

When asked what their opinion is of women wearing makeup, many man and women I talk to will give me the standard, "It's a mask that hides what is really underneath." And most of the "nice" guys I know will even add that they prefer when women don't where makeup because they find women beautiful just the way they naturally are. AWW. How sweet. However this is assuming that women wear makeup only to make themselves appealing to men. Hmmm not so sweet. But to be fair, a lot of women do wear make up and look nice only for that reason, to appeal to men; and once they are in a relationship or marriage, they stop wearing make up all together and just throw on jeans and a t-shirt and call it a day. A past boyfriend was often frustrated that I always dressed up and made myself up regardless of the fact that we were dating because he argued that, "since I already had him, who else was I trying to impress?" and he became jealous. Which yes, is preposterous. Because the fact was and is, I like dressing up and wearing make up... and not for anyone else but for myself, and here's why:

To me, putting on make up in the morning is a sacred ritual. Women have been wearing makeup for centuries since the time of the Egyptians and even further back still. When I put on make up, it is a way for me to really study my face, love my face. I don't put on eye shadow to hide my eyes, I pick colors and shades that enhance them.... colors that would not enhance another person's eyes. The same goes with lips and cheeks and eyebrows. It's a way for me to enhance and my natural features and love myself

In her poem, "Making Up", among the many thing she does with this poem, Eavan Boland suggests that applying make up is a sacred way for women to connect with women everywhere in the past present and future. It is a ritual that liberates women and their femininity rather than oppresses them. She's a fantastic poet, and I highly recommend reading some of her work.

(Eavan Boland)

Making Up by Eavan Boland

My naked face;

I wake to it.

How it’s dulsed and shrouded!

It’s a cloud,

A dull pre-dawn.

But I’ll soon

See to that.

I push the blusher up,

I raddle and I prink,

Pinking the bone

Till my eyes

Are

A rouge-washed

Flush on water.

Now the base

Pales and wastes.

Light thins

From ear to chin,

Whitening in

The ocean shine

Mirror set of my eyes

That I fledge

In old darks.

I grease and full

My mouth.

It won’t stay shut:

I look

In the glass.

My face is made,

It says:

Take nothing, nothing

At its face value:

Legendary seas,

Nakedness,

That up and stuck

Lassitude

Of thigh and buttock

That they prayed to-

It’s a trick.

Myths

Are made by men.

The truth of this

Wave-raiding

Sea-heaving

Made-up

Tale

Of a face

From the source

Of the morning

Is my own:

Mine are the rouge pots,

The hot pinks,

The fledged

And edgy mix of light and water

Out of which

I dawn.

A really good article by Jody Allen-Randolph which looks at many of Boland's feminists poems including "Making Up" in the last few paragraphs.

http://digitalcommons.colby.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2819&context=cq&sei-redir=1#search=%22making%20up%20eavan%20boland%22

The Golden Age

So one thing that enters my mind often is how society is cruel to the older female woman. When a man ages, oftentimes they look better- that the age lines, grey hair, and filling out in the face makes him just as appealing as if he were in their twenties. Society is not too kind to aging women... smile lines and wrinkles are more a sign of age and death than maturity. And it's a shame, because there are so many beautiful older women. I actually would like to interview my friend from college who is in his twenties but attracted to women 40 and older. He was completely enamored with our 60 year old professor, and I have to admit she was lovely. There was something about her many men in the class daydreamed about.

My mom is in her early 50s and she said that she was at the store and saw a man in his 30s and smiled at him. She said she looked all pretty and dressed up, but when she smiled at him she received no reaction, and then she realized, "oh wait, I'm not young and attractive anymore." And this made me sad... Sad that society does not smile upon the female in her 50s, and it also made me worried for my own future. There will come a time when I am no longer appealing.... and I'll have to make sure that I have a solid sense of self when that happens so that I don't rely on the affection and attention of others for self assurance.

As a way to contemplate the aging female. Here are just a few pictures of some of the most beautiful Hollywood Actresses in their 20s and then their 50s. (I have more but I might use them for another post)


Jane Seymour



God, if someone looks just as good as she did in her 20's it's Jane Seymour. She's 57 in this picture and she looks fantastic. She was and still is one of the most stunningly beautiful actresses in my opinion. I love that smart quirky thing she does on the left corner of her mouth... it's so subtly sexy. And those big doe-like brown eyes of her are just mesmerizing. In both pictures she just looks so sure of herself and happy with her appearance and life. Damn. I hope I look as good as Jane Seymour when I'm 57!


Rita Hayworth



Rita Hayworth has this bubbly carefree beauty in a Holly-Go-Lightly sort of way. Her big bright brown eyes and approachable smile make her the sort of girl that could win the heart of anyone, like Orson Wells. Although in the picture of her in her 50s she has a worn out expression, I feel she aged very well... very naturally. Her mouth is a bit taut as if it's holding a secret. Actually, there's something about her mouth in the second picture that reminds me of Monica Bellucci. I love that she continues to wear her hair long and wavy with that adorable heart-shaped hairline. Just Beautiful!


Lauren Bacall



It's a bit odd to me that Bogart and Bacall fell in love because I feel that they both have the same look in their faces. This smoke in the room lazy droopy relax of the muscles and the eyelids that reveal that they are suave and cool and collected that that they don't need to try to be recognized. That they don't give a care about anyone or anything. Lauren Bacall seems to hold that same looseness in the face even in this picture of her in her 50's but there is this womanly wiseness that she gained in her eyes, a cruel disappointment in her mouth.

Elizabeth Taylor



Elizabeth Taylor always seemed to be one of those actresses who were gilded in stardom. I mean, just look at the picture on the left. She knew what she was sexy as hell and used her bewitching violet eyes to do stop people in their tracks. It's no wonder to me that they cast her as Cleopatra... she almost lived like a modern day Cleo. I do like this picture of her when she is 50, I know nothing about her real feelings about her age, but just looking at this one image she seems to be pleased with the glamor and beauty and being surrounded by people, but there is something in those violet eyes that holds a slight sigh and I wish I knew what she was staring off into the distance at.

Grace Kelly



Grace Kelly has always been a favorite actress of mine. I love the picture of her on the left. There is something about the expression in her face that in my opinion is the purest expression of a woman: She holds a confidence in her body language- the way she holds herself that she is aware of her beauty and her womanhood, she is aware of the battles of men and women, she is happy with life and smiles with her eyes, and she is strong but there is a subtle sadness in her mouth of heartbreak that she never forgets, but rarely reveals. Now just as much as I love looking at the picture of her as a young woman, I like the one where she is in her early 50's, no doubt, shortly before she died at age 53, because there is a beauty in her entire face- the way she genuinely smiles with her mouth that pushes her cheeks upwards and curves beneath her sparkling eyes. She seems to be at a place in life where she loves, and she is loved, and she has reached a point of contentment.

Audrey Hepburn



I love these pictures of Audrey Hepburn because in both she has the same genuine smile like someone just called her name and she turned her head in surprise and smiled at them. I love in the picture of her in her 50's that she does not try to hide her wrinkles or neck, that she stretches her slender neck out and has her hair pulled back to reveal her beautiful elf-like ears. That really is something I've always loved about Audrey Hepburn is that there's something almost fairy-like about her.... her bright big eyes, her smart eyebrows, her doll-like face atop a long slender neck.




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