Women Who Don’t Bother With A Lot Of Makeup Usually Have These 11 Distinct Personality Traits
O. Kalacheva / Shutterstock Like everyone, women often have unique preferences for self-expression and individual priorities. However, society often expects them to conform to universal, rigid standards that may not align with their authenticity or self-esteem. They’re expected to perform a certain way, embody femininity in a certain way, and dress themselves in ways that might be pleasing to others, but may not make them feel they are being true to themselves.
While many women feel pressure to lean into hyper-feminine forms of expression, women who bother with a lot of makeup often have distinct personality traits that make doing so feel unnatural to them. They may feel that using lots of makeup will prevent them from being seen for who they really are, and they aren’t afraid to push back against what makes them uncomfortable.
Women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup usually have these 11 distinct personality traits
1. They are authentic, not performative
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Women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup usually have the distinct personality trait of authenticity. These women are genuine when expressing themselves and prefer not to be performative for the sake of others.
Not only are these women less likely to put on makeup daily for validation, but they’re also less drawn to social trends and expectations that fuel rigid beauty standards. They accept themselves, without needing to mask, filter, or change.
2. They’re intentional
If wearing makeup adds stress to a woman’s life or feels like a chore they have to keep up with, women who are intentional, meaning they are deliberate and conscious in the choices they make, may start to distance themselves from the practice. If it’s not feeding to their sense of confidence or internal security, but a practice they’ve continued out of habit, it’s not worth keeping up with at the sake of their well-being.
Especially considering women today are largely more stressed than the men in their lives, according to an American Psychological Association survey, carrying habits that are only for external validation or attention aren’t worth the trouble.
3. They’re not people-pleasers
Many women are pressured into people-pleasing habits from a young age, constantly urged to be smaller, quieter, and more appealing to the men in their lives. However, for women who learn to grow out of those behaviors and finally put their own needs and desires first, their lives start to fulfill them in new ways.
Women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup may not appease the rigid beauty standards and social norms of our culture, but they’re not people-pleasers. They don’t care about seeking external validation or attention for the way they look. All that matters is how they feel about themselves on the inside.
4. They're expressive in ways that are unique to them
Self-expression is powerful for ensuring people feel secure in their identity, seen by the world, and validated in their authenticity. Whether it’s clothing choices, makeup, or personal style, women who practice and cultivate their self-expression with intention are often happier and healthier across every aspect of their lives.
Women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup may not find that it aligns with the ways in which they wish to express themselves. They'd rather put that energy into other things. From work to social relationships, and their style of clothing, they invest in self-expression in their own ways, not necessarily in the ways society wants them to.
5. They’re confident in their natural features
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Women are consistently underrepresented when it comes to research on health and well-being. They’re often urged to be secretive about their natural processes and are shamed for speaking openly about their bodies. So, even if embracing their natural features and choosing not to wear makeup seems like a mundane, harmless choice, it’s actually more profound and powerful than it may appear.
Embracing their natural faces and entering the world without filtering or masking themselves to be more approachable to society is a statement in itself. Women who don’t bother with much makeup are confident and make an intentional choice not to mask their natural selves, which are often filtered and criticized by the world around them.
6. They prioritize their personal comfort
If a woman is more worried about her own comfort than how she's perceived by others, her makeup routine might fall lower on her list of priorities. Especially for women who may have sensory issues and find themselves easily overstimulated by makeup, or those who deal with skin irritation after wearing it for too long, a bare face might be their way of putting personal comfort first.
Even if it’s simply to avoid spending more time touching up their makeup during the day, women who shift their routines to embrace their natural faces on a daily basis are not shy about prioritizing their own comfort.
7. They’re internally gratified
Women are often socialized from a young age to seek attention from others, usually men, and to base their self-worth on how much external validation they receive. They’ve been pressured into changing their appearance, shifting how they show up socially, and seeking attention from others, rather than cultivating personal self-esteem and security.
Our societal norms largely work to keep women smaller and quieter than men, but when they feed into their own confidence and stop seeking external validation all the time, they grow more powerful. Women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup now may just be internally gratified. If they’re comfortable with their own bare skin in public, they don’t need to wear makeup to appease others.
8. They don’t care about adhering to stereotypes
Adhering to strict beauty standards for women can increase their risk for mental health concerns, health problems, and isolation, despite being so heavily normalized in our current society. While they do shift over time, alongside norms and trends, wearing makeup has always been pressured on women to appease others, whether it’s in the workplace or their personal lives.
However, women who don’t bother with much makeup often have distinct personality traits, such as self-acceptance, that reduce their need to adhere to gender stereotypes. They don’t need to fit in to feel safe and secure, because their authenticity and personal identity mean more to them than rigid stereotypes and beauty standards.
9. They care about different priorities when it comes to their time
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Women who don’t bother with makeup likely have different priorities in their lives. Whether it’s rest in the morning, comfort throughout the day, work responsibilities, or mindfulness in the morning without rushing around to get ready, these priorities take precedence over a makeup routine that no longer makes them feel empowered or secure.
“Selfhood” plays a big role in empowerment for women. Women who are secure and act on their own priorities are drivers of change in their own lives. They feel a sense of community with themselves and are no longer interested in changing their personal values or routines to appease others, even around things as seemingly mundane as wearing makeup.
10. They care more about their personal health
Even if they have the time and energy to put on makeup in the morning, women who care more about personal health and hygiene as they get older may prefer not to put on makeup in favor of other routines. Whether it’s a good skincare routine or a few more minutes of rest every morning, they’d prefer to invest their time in good health rather than put on makeup for everyone else.
Of course, the majority of women wear makeup because they enjoy the process or appreciate how it makes them feel, but for those who are confident and accepting of themselves without it, feeding into different habits can be more fulfilling.
11. They’re just secure
According to a study published in Personality and Individual Differences, self-security has recently become an indicator of personal and relationship well-being. The more secure and accepting someone is of themselves and their identity, the happier and healthier they are in every aspect of their lives.
Some women who don’t bother with a lot of makeup feel secure enough in their bare faces to skip this part of their daily routine. They’d prefer to spend that time doing other things, because they’re self-assured enough to leave the house in their natural state.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
