Photo: 123RF
Journalist Tess Nichol has a proposal New Zealand women – when it comes to makeup, you can just... not.
Lockdown is a good time to look at which social pressures we adhere to day-to-day and drop those that aren't serving us, she tells Jesse Mulligan.
Journalist Tess Nichol Photo: Tess Nichol / Twitter
Jess says she's finding it interesting and enjoyable going without makeup while working from home and encourages others to get comfortable with how their face looks like without it.
"I kind of just got used to my face … and it got me thinking I could 'just not' forever if I wanted to."
The rejection of beauty standards used to be a central tenet of feminism and Tess is bummed out that's no longer the case.
Today's 'choice feminism' – i.e. whatever you do or don't do to your body is your personal choice – is often subtly fuelled by social pressure, she says.
Tess doesn't want to criticise women for choosing to wear makeup, she'd just like those of us who do to take a closer look at what's behind the choice.
"If you ever have thought 'why do I spend so much money and so much time on all this personal grooming? I wonder how it would feel if I just didn't?' now is probably the time to do it because the only people who are going to see you are those in your bubble. And you've got a bit of time to reflect on how you feel about yourself when you look at yourself without makeup or see your legs when you haven't shaved them in a month."
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