# People of male persuasion: What does "no make up" mean? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 13, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555 "2015-04-13T11:35:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/1 "2015-04-13T11:35:11Z")
To you, what does it entail when someone says that a girl is “wearing no make-up”? I am asking specifically males here, as this is intended to be a question about how guys understand the phrase. This is in response to a remark by another poster in a different thread about what guys generally mean by the phrase “no make-up.” ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/2 "2015-04-13T11:36:57Z")
It means she is wearing no make up. There are alternate meanings? I’m confused. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/3 "2015-04-13T11:46:30Z")
I generally mean “no makeup” but could stretch it to “so little as to be unnoticeable without close inspection”. ---
**Author:** ![Dervorin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Dervorin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dervorin)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/4 "2015-04-13T11:47:34Z")
Literal definition. No make up. There is no make up here. It has ceased to be. This make up has gone to meet its maker (up). ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/5 "2015-04-13T11:57:22Z")
No makeup means no makeup. It does not mean “makeup applied in such a manner as to appear to not been used.” No makeup is not the same as a “natural look” although I do respect the skill needed to achieve an artificially natural look. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/6 "2015-04-13T12:19:45Z")
To _me_, “no makeup” means zero, nada, zilch of any kind. But I do think that many guys’ idea of “I prefer women who wear no makeup” is really “I like it when I can’t notice any. Whether there is some or not isn’t the point. Whatever makes her look best (to me) is what I want.” And a big dollop of “I’m not paying attention to the details, but it seems most women have much smoother face skin & more well-defined eyes than most men. I just assume that’s natural.” ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/7 "2015-04-13T12:22:41Z")
To me it means no makeup. None. But I’ve known women who used it to mean “less than usual”. ---
**Author:** ![steronz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steronz/32/11765_2.png) [@steronz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steronz)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/8 "2015-04-13T13:24:59Z")
I’ve known women who consider “just a little lip gloss” or “just a tad of eyeliner” to mean that they’re not wearing makeup. Those women are mistaken. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/9 "2015-04-13T13:27:35Z")
It means no makeup. I don’t mind light makeup, or no makeup, but there is a difference. ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/10 "2015-04-13T13:34:02Z")
I always understood it as a little bit of make up because covering up a few red dots does not count. I asked my sister once and she told me it falls under being mysterious. ---
**Author:** ![Lowdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c57346/32.png) [@Lowdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lowdown)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/11 "2015-04-13T13:49:30Z")
No make up means no make up. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/12 "2015-04-13T13:50:36Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > I’ve known women who consider “just a little lip gloss” or “just a tad of eyeliner” to mean that they’re not wearing makeup. Those women are mistaken. > [@Gothic](#): > > I always understood it as a little bit of make up because covering up a few red dots does not count. I asked my sister once and she told me it falls under being mysterious. These women are probably the ones who say broken cookies have no calories. And sorta believe it. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/13 "2015-04-13T14:27:35Z")
The word no is right there in the description. So I would have to say it means none at all. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/14 "2015-04-13T14:47:00Z")
To me (a guy) it means none at all. But I realize to women, it means something different. Exactly what, I neither know nor care. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/15 "2015-04-13T15:21:28Z")
I never thought it could have any other meaning. I guess words are just noises now. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/16 "2015-04-13T15:32:10Z")
Is this a trick question? On edit, what **LSLGuy** [said](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18284325&postcount=6). ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/17 "2015-04-13T15:33:00Z")
While I believe that many men think that the “no makeup look” literally means “none at all”, I also believe that many men seeing the “no makeup look” on women are actually seeing the results of much effort with makeup to achieve the “no makeup look”. ---
**Author:** ![DrCube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a3d4f5/32.png) [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/18 "2015-04-13T15:34:55Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > I generally mean “no makeup” but could stretch it to “so little as to be unnoticeable without close inspection”. What would be the point of wearing makeup that is unnoticeable? This is actually a common sentiment, and the other thread is full of statements that makeup should be done “lightly” and in such a way that “no one can tell”. It baffles me. The lightest, least noticeable amount of makeup is “none”. And then you can be sure no one can tell you’re wearing it! ---
**Author:** ![Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e47c2d/32.png) [@Hershele\_Ostropoler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hershele_Ostropoler)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/19 "2015-04-13T15:51:02Z")
> [@Icarus](#): > > While I believe that many men think that the “no makeup look” literally means “none at all”, I also believe that many men seeing the “no makeup look” on women are actually seeing the results of much effort with makeup to achieve the “no makeup look”. This. And if we’re talking about the aesthetics, the difference is philosophical. People (mostly men, since women are more likely to have the experience to understand how these things work) who say they prefer “no makeup” are more likely than baseline to think makeup=lying whore. And when someone who’s wearing “no-makeup look” makeup claims not to be wearing makeup I guess there’s something to that. ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2015, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555/20 "2015-04-13T16:02:49Z")
> [@DrCube](#): > > What would be the point of wearing makeup that is unnoticeable? This is actually a common sentiment, and the other thread is full of statements that makeup should be done “lightly” and in such a way that “no one can tell”. It baffles me. A little concealer dotted around the eye to mask dark circles would be an example of makeup that is unnoticeable. The purpose it serves is obvious: to hide imperfections. My default face is light makeup. I wear concealer around the eyes, a little eyeliner, and lipstick. Despite this, more than a couple of guys have praised me for not wearing any makeup, and I’m like WTF? So I see merit in the OP’s poll. Either some guys are easily fooled by makeup or they are using a definition of “no makeup” that has more nuances than the literal meaning. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-of-male-persuasion-what-does-no-make-up-mean/717555.md?page=2)