I think you look great without makeup Caitlin! I don’t think there is anything wrong with making yourself up — I just choose not to.

That pizza looks soooo good! I love homemade pizza!
I actually hardly ever wear makeup, I always run out of time in the mornings, and to be honest I’m not that good at applying it anyways! My mum used to always call it ‘war paint’ lol
You look great without makeup though!

makeup is a tough topic for me. I am pretty self conscious about my skin, which tends to break out a lot (despite dermatologist interventions, trying every product under the sun, and three different birth controls…and despite being 26 years old). I find that my emotional state is connected to my skin, which makes sense but is kind of sad. Makeup definitely helps me feel more confident. But on the days where my skin is cooperating with me, I happily go without makeup, or just use a little bit, and feel much prettier than the days where I feel the need to do a lot of “covering up.”
Man, isn’t it such a giant topic to begin thinking about the ways that social constructions of femininity/gender roles impact our identity formation?

I often go without make-up and only recently have I begun to feel like I don’t always need it. I used to always feel “gross” or “sloppy” when I didn’t wear makeup. I’m happy that I am beginning to accept myself with out makeup…but I’m definitely still happy to have it when blemishes pop up 😉
Also the corn casserole looks sooo good. It might make an appearance at my thanksgiving too!

Those olives are calling to me. I’m craving salt like nobody’s business! Have a fun get together!

p.s. you look great without makeup 🙂

The make-up issue. I struggle with this one. When in my 20s, I wouldn’t THINK of being seen without it. Now in my 30s, I’m finding that I don’t want to wear it. I’m down to a little powder (I have red cheeks sometimes) and mascara. It feels good. I look around at others I work with (who don’t really wear much), and I think about how they’re beautiful women… whether they wear makeup or not. I feel like I’m more myself without it. I think maybe we hide behind it sometimes. Without it, we’re completely ourselves. And that’s perfect because there’s no one else I’d rather be.

I think that the most important thing is still to take care of yourself – we can’t do anything about hormones (pimples, etc) but we can minimise things like dark circles or uneven skin tone by trying to take care of ourselves better! I don’t wear makeup and I don’t plan to start anytime soon. I’d rather take care of my skin and have awesome makeup-free skin than use lots of makeup and have fake-but-perfect makeup’d skin. Just an opinion!

PS: Your blog had an internal server error for a few minutes just now…? Or is it just me?!

I usually don’t wear make-up on the weekends or whenever I do not have to work.

I cannot wait to hear about your marathon! I think it is amazing for anyone that completes the marathon distance! One day I hope to do it too…maybe when my daughter gets a little older!

I don’t wear make-up 95% of the time… weird, I know. I usually only wear it for what I deem to be a “special occasion”… so a night out, a special event at work, etc. I don’t know why I never got into it, I guess it’s because I was a swimmer, and the thought of mascara running down my goggles was never really appealing! I still have a hard time grasping the concept that people really do wear it every single day. I’ve tried it, but I probably never will!

I think it’s great you are going without makeup for the girls you coach! What a great message to send to them! I am in the process of transitioning to eating a vegan diet after being a vegetarian for 6 1/2 years. I can honestly say (and man…this sounds a little shallow) but one of the best benifits is my skin clearing up and looking younger. I’ve noticed since I’ve cut dairy out, I need less make up.

YES! Make-up free is the way to be! At least some of the time. I always wear make-up to work, but other than that, I often leave it off on the weekends. I feel so sad for those females who wake up every morning and slather on a new face. In the south, there are a lot of women whose husbands have never seen them without makeup. That is crazy!!

I think the make-up free movement is a GREAT idea! AND I think you are beautiful without your makeup! 🙂 I wear it on the days I feel I need to look at least a little professional and go without the good majority of the time. When I do wear it, I keep it to the bare minimums: concealer, blush, mascara. But, really, we should all feel comfortable enough with our awesome selves that we don’t feel like we NEED it in order to be beautiful/feel professional/be taken seriously/etc.

i saw their interview before you got to announce it and i loved it! story of my life, i don’t even know how to apply makeup! i think every girl is gorgeous w/o any!

any tips for a vegan sub on the sour cream for this dish???

“I feel like I’m not “finished” without it, which is so silly because I’m fine just the way I am!”

^ That’s exactly why I don’t wear any. I don’t want to fall into that line of thinking. :\
No offense! Just pointing it out.

Also, you look amazing, with or without the makeup. 😀 And good for you for setting that example for your GOTR crew!

OMG, the worst thing I see are girls wearing fake lashes or other such obvious makeup to marathons/half-marathons/other such races. I mean, really?!

I wear minimal makeup because I work a corporate job, not really wearing it before then. I, too, feel “unfinished” without it now, but when I’m off, I’m lazy and prefer not to have any on. Unless I feel like I’m having a bad skin day. Argh.

I would love to just get super clear so I wouldn’t need much/any, and save myself time/money!

I love that you’re such a great role model for the girls in your GOTR program! P.S. That corn casserole looks seriously amazing. If I can figure out how to make it over a campfire, I’ll be making it for Thanksgiving! Yum.

Your corn bread casserole looks great – yumm!
I’ve been going much more make up free lately too, I love it it’s kind of liberating, undereye bags and all ;)!

I’m happy about the perspective you present with makeup. I agree that there is nothing inherently wrong with it, but it should also not define me. I think your choice to be makeup free at GOTR is a great choice. Will you point it out to them?

You’re an inspiration.

As adults, we can do whatever we think it is right. But I love the message that you are sending to those young girls.
The recipe of corn casserole sounds so simple, guess I won’t mess it up.

WOW, Caitlin! What an inspiration you are are! You got me thinking about wearing makeup to work (I do therapy with kids and teens). Great message, for sure.

I think I’m the sole differing opinion here….makeup is awesome! It’s been around for thousands of years and the idea of decorating and enhancing one’s face and body is not a media driven concept. We are hardwired to want to put our best face forward! I’ve seen a few comments that say things like “I don’t want makeup to define me”…who thinks that?!!? You can wear a face full of makeup every day and not let it define you. I am perfectly confident and know that I’m awesome without makeup, but that doesn’t mean I need or want to show my dark circles or blemishes to the world. Also, the girls in that video have flawless skin…and I’ve seen a LOT of these types of campaigns, and all the girls have gorgeous skin. Some of us aren’t that lucky!

Good for you – you look great! My husband always tells me to go without makeup but I just don’t know if I could do it. As I’ve gotten older, though, I wear less and less but I have those blonde eyelashes and my eyes seem to disappear without mascara so I always wear that. 🙂

Good for you for going makeup free! If my skin was as even as yours, I probably would, too! The main reason I wear foundation is because my skintone is very blotchy naturally, and worse so as my skin dries out in the winter months. And I’m still trying to get used to how my eyes look in glasses (I just got them this summer), so I’ve been wearing eyeliner most every day. I’m not proud of either of these aspects, and hope that I can become more comfortable with not wearing makeup. My mom NEVER did– maybe a little in college, but she’d gotten over it even by her wedding day– and is the most beautiful woman I know, so hopefully that will start to kick in and inspire me!

I went all summer without makeup and any kind of hair maintenance. (no dryers or straightening!) It was incredibly liberating. Love the idea. We should make it a huge day…across the nation.

You look great without makeup girl! I pretty much am always makeup free to work because I’m lucky to have an even skin tone, but sometimes I feel like I should wear it to look more professional. I wonder if there are any studies on the effects of makeup and salary, like there are with height and weight.

I think it’s great that you are not wearing makeup when you volunteer with GOTR! I am very inspired by the time you spend with this group. We don’t have a GOTR in my town, and as a grad student I don’t have the time to start up a chapter, but as soon as I move onto my next location once I get a job, I’m going to look into joining this organization.

I hate to say it, but sometimes I feel like a little make up is a necessity – especially in some professional contexts, like meetings or interviews.

One more thing – that corn casserole looks so delicious. Every time you post it or talk about it I want some!

I very rarely wear make-up
so taking part in the No Make-up Challenge week at the end of September was very easy for me

http://gamereviewwiki.com/bikinibirthday/2010/09/23/no-makeup/

I rarely wear makeup anymore and I love the freedom. Learning to love myself exactly how I am is a hard but rewarding task!

I’m conflicted on the make-up front. I believe in feeling beautiful without it, but I think putting it on to look your best is okay too – just like I wouldn’t leave the hair w/bed head or wearing my pajamas – I’m beautiful w/messy hair and raggedy clothes but I also want to present myself well to the world.

I think it’s interesting the things that make us change our perspective. I was never a slave to make up, but I was very very very fortunate in that I never had blemishes or pimples. So, if I was feeling saucy, I would put on make-up, but usually if I wore anything at all, eyeliner and mascara were all.

When I got preggers, it was like I’d had an injection of testosterone and I got pregnancy acne, I felt soo mortified that, for the first time in my life, I started wearing makeup regularly. I don’t know why but I felt like I had to cover myself up. I’m obviously over it, but I could see how something so small could make someone feel so insecure and reliant on makeup.

I definitely think it’s cool that you are showing those young girls that they’re just fine au natural.

Kuddos.

I love getting all dolled up and playing with my makeup. I even love to do it for my friends. It’t a fun way to express yourself. That said, I oftne go without makeup on the weekends. It especailly annoys me when I see women at the gym in full makeup. Seriously. I am up at 6am to go to the gym most days and they are luck if I run a brush through my hair…hahaha. It should be a choice of preference and not self conciousness that drives you to wear makeup.

I rarely wear makeup because it makes me think I look worse when my face is squeaky clean.
That corn bread stuff looks yummmmmy!

I feel the same way about make-up: I know that I am fine without it, but I put it on anyway because I like the way I look better with it… I don’t wear that much makeup on a regular basis: a little eye liner, mascara and blush is really it…when I’m going out or on weekends, I do a bit more, but in general I don’t wear that much so there’s not a huge difference when I go without.

that pizza looks DELISH!

Caitlin – What kind of makeup do you typically wear?

hey caitlin, i know this is an old post. is it still ok to comment? 🙂 love the no make up idea. i hardly wear any make up. usually just wear it when i go out with the girls, weddings etc. but what i do always where is sunscreen. 🙂 i’m 31 and probably sorta blessed with the asian genes (i’m filipino) hehehe anyways, i have nothing against make up either. i have so much of it. i just don’t use it alot. and i think when i do wear it, it makes it more fun bc i don’t wear it often at all. p.s. you are beautiful with or without make up!