“Is wearing makeup a habit or uncertainty?”

Patricia van Liemt is a radio presenter, writer and mother of Maria (12) and Phaedra (9). Every Friday she writes striking, honest, funny and above all recognizable columns about her life and motherhood.

‘I just want everyone to think, she’s going to be beautiful that child’ – Kids For Kids – Makeup

Let me be honest with you right away and admit that I have a love-hate relationship with makeup. Basically, I don’t go out without some make-up. And when it does happen very sporadically, I feel stark naked. As if I have to go naked on the red carpet, everyone stares at me and asks how I am, because I look so white.

Habit or uncertainty?

I started with mascara at a young age and over the years more and more layers were added. I don’t have a pancake face, but I do use foundation, powder, rouge, eye shadow, an eyebrow pencil, eyebrow powder, mascara and lip gloss every day. Sometimes I enjoy doing it, but more often it feels like a ‘must’. And then you can ask the question: is it habit or is it insecurity?

Superficial comment

Well, now we were recently at a birthday where a (slightly older) woman proclaimed that women without make-up are simply less beautiful than men. My feminist heart was immediately deeply touched by this super superficial comment, but what I found even worse is that she spewed out these kind of lyrics in front of my 9- and 12-year-old daughters. I find these kinds of statements very harmful to the self-image of (young) girls. We used to have Barbie as an unrealistic beauty ideal, but today it is buzzing with harmful videos on social media such as TikTok.

Read also: Patricia: ‘Everything, but everything feels wrong about a duck’s beak’

Stigmatizing

I kindly asked this woman to nuance these kinds of quotes, about the fact that women are less beautiful without make-up than men, in front of young growing children. When I complained to a friend a little later, she said to my great surprise that she understood her, because men really age better than women. And then it hit me. What we do as a society is based on a cultivated generality in which women often lose out. Also think of mother-in-law jokes. Many of these ingrained thoughts and statements are stigmatizing and harmful.

I’m afraid I’m beyond saving, but let’s make it a little easier for our growing children. With or without make-up: you are still the same person. And there is only one George Clooney, dear ones. Just take a good look at your seventy-year-old neighbor across the street…

Would you rather listen to Patricia’s column? Which can. Every Friday between 2 and 4 pm she reads it on Wild FM.

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