HILLARY’S NAKED, BRAVE FACE!
I have a girlfriend who doesn’t use makeup, apart from a swish of tinted lip balm.
In 25 years of knowing her, I have never seen her wearing mascara, foundation, blush, eye shadow or any other kind of war paint. She has kept the same, short, plain hairstyle and her only concession to vanity is that once every month or so, she has it re-tinted her signature shade of red.
OMG! The time that woman has saved.
Let’s say it’s 30 minutes a day for 25 years – by my calculations that’s almost 5000 hours in front of the mirror.
It’s been fascinating to watch images of Hillary Clinton, 64, sans make-up (left), go viral after she appeared bare-faced (apart from her pink lipstick), with her hair loose.
She was visiting Bangladesh in her capacity as US Secretary of State and had been touring the region for three days straight. (If it had been me, I would have appeared in a balaclava.)
Critics on Fox News (surprise, surprise) said she looked “tired and withdrawn”. (I think they meant “drawn”.)
Millions of comments later, such was the brouhaha that Ms Clinton addressed it in an interview with CNN’s Jill Dougherty (below, with her “face” on, and flattering lighting, it would appear).
This is what she had to say:
“I feel so relieved to be at the stage I’m at in my life right now, Jill. Because you know if I want to wear my glasses I’m wearing my glasses. If I want to wear my hair back I’m pulling my hair back. You know at some point it’s just not something that deserves a lot of time and attention. And if others want to worry about it, I let them do the worrying for a change. It doesn’t drive me crazy anymore. It’s just not something I think is important anymore.”
Is it worth pointing out that male politician’s heads can look like dropped pies and no-one bothers to comment?
Probably not. We know all that by now.
What interests me more are the comments from so many women that Hillary was “brave”.
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61 Responses to this article
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Ella May 15, 2012
I don’t know what the fuss is about. I don’t even own any makeup. I’ve never worn it and at 38 I’m not about to start now
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Sue May 25, 2012
i’d like to hear your feelings about that when turn 60!! I was same but now 59, pigmentation etc., i think your opinion may change!!! You in your prime at 38, & who REALLY CARES. She is helping run a country, not in a beauty pageant . .. HELLO!!!!
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Ruth May 15, 2012
I keep my hair cut and coloured so I don’t look like my 10 year old son’s grandma. I occasionally swipe on a bit of lip gloss on the way to work if I think of it, and now I’m 50, pluck out the worst of the chin hairs. I’m happy to just be me and I don’t need war paint.
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serena May 15, 2012
Now I can’t get that image of a dropped pie out of my mind. We all know that the double standard that applies to males and females in the public eye has been a persistent and intractable fact right through all the steps forward that women have managed in the last x number of years. For as long as we worship youth & “beauty” without recognising intellect and talent we will carry on reading news about Hillary Clinton and anyone else who does not prioritise makeup and hair styling. Good on her.
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Christine May 15, 2012
I see a 64 year old woman that has great skin and shiny hair. I think she looks great. I just don’t get it?, why must people judge others so often these days for how they look rather than any good they may do?
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mama mogantosh May 15, 2012
I read a quote once that make-up was ‘an apology for your actual face.’ Food for thought.
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Deborah May 15, 2012
More practical than brave. And surely we’d rather she spent more time studying world affairs than browsing the shelves of Mecca Cosmetica?
I think Julia Gillard could learn a little from Hillary – she looks completely uncomfortable in make-up – as if it doesn’t fit her face properly and it’s only there because her minder told her to put it on.
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Louise May 15, 2012
I think it is nice to have the option to “put one’s face on”.
We live in a world where perception is a “reality” for most. I am happy working towards a world where women cheer the “woman” on and not the face.
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Katherine Cunningham May 15, 2012
Is there a term that can be/ is being used for the reduction of a woman’s “value” to her physical appearance, especially when that woman is in politic’s/business? Because it seems more than sexism that we are witnessing here… I am hoping for a term that can easily be used to combat this type of negating some one purely on surface features, dismissing their dismal.
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Christopher May 15, 2012
More power to her. I suspect she prioritises educating herself about the issues of the country and it’s people each morning before she sets out, over pampering herself or pandering to superficial commentators. I would love to see this woman as President in 2016.
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julie May 15, 2012
Confidence comes from feeling ok to say ‘stuff you’, I’m doing what I feel ok doing (as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else), and that is what shows. Good on her for basically saying ‘up you all.’ She’s showing her age, and her sense of humour, and is still an amazingly smart woman. She’s a fantastic role model and good on her for making it just that bit easier for those of us of similar age who are not supermodels. I stopped ‘colouring’ my hair 4 years ago and constantly get asked these days what colour I’m putting into it as it’s ‘lovely’.
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blue May 15, 2012
I think Hillary looks great. I think it’s the glow of a powerful woman who constantly challenges herself.
Margi, I think you make a great point. Why should we be commenting on her make-up-less face? Why the focus on it? It’s possibly a result of that overwhelming demand for women to look ‘finished’ and ‘well groomed’ in order to be taken seriously in virtually any field. It’s ridiculous but it’s real. I have noted in the past that when I make the effort to look ‘impeccibly groomed’ I’m treated with much more respect than if I’m wearing my jeans and t-shirt with a flannel shirt. It’s not a nice fact but it’s a fact I’ve experienced many times, and I’m 56,
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Erica May 15, 2012
I can’t believe this is worthy of discussion. Surely Hilary has more interesting things to do and talk about than this. As do we.
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hughesy May 15, 2012
Just how precisely, is putting a face on different from wearing a bag over your head? Hmmm?
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wendy May 15, 2012
This is barely worthy of a comment. Why does any woman need to wear makeup? She is gorgeous!
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blue May 15, 2012
Okay, forget the makeup issue. I’ve long beeng asking why does any woman feel they have to wear a bra? Unless it’s more uncomfortable to not wear one why do we persist in pretending out breasts are still at a youthful late teen level on our getting-older bodies? I’ve asked this question so many times. Why do women torture themselves with bras? Especially those ones with under-WIRES in them. Wire as part of our clothing seems to represent to me the real level to which women will constrain themselves painfully to meet some standard that won’t allow for the fact that women’s breasts often droop and move around. Forget the beauty industry making billions a year. The monetary cost of a bra is mind boggling.
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Daphne Alaksa June 13, 2012
It is absolutely necessary for me to wear a bra daily.
My breasts are rather large compared with the rest
of my body, and they become uncomfortable when
I go braless. It would be good not to have to wear one. However
I have to say if it were ever suggested that I should
wear a girdle I would flatly refuse. When I was much
younger and still working I used to do this. It was
expected of young ladies working in offices that we
would all wear stocking. Thank heavens those days
are long gone. It’s good to live at at time when you
can more or less wear whatever you like. What
fascinated me most was the day recently when out
shopping I saw this lovely looking girl who had a
beautifully made-up face with long blonde hair which
had a couple of rather pretty pale green streaks through
it. It looked wonderful.
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KJ May 15, 2012
I live in a Tropical climate (Singapore) which renders make up pointless, unless you like to resemble Alice Cooper everytime you venture out doors. So my beauty routine is pretty minimal.
Wearing no makeup is not brave,it’s practical. Now, if she rocked up to a day at work in her tracky dacks THAT would be brave!
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Alison May 15, 2012
I have a friend who only wears make up when she’s going out somewhere special because, she says, she’d much rather people comment on how nice she looks when she makes an effort rather than that she looks ‘tired’ if they see her when she’s not wearing any. Great logic! Wish I could follow it, but can’t seem to go to work without it
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jackie May 15, 2012
Hmmm, not that brave because Hillary is a naturally good looking woman with or without make up. There are a lot of woman who have skin conditions, pale eyelashes,no eyebrows etc whose appearance is transformed dramatically by a bit of make up. Now, if they decided to go without make up in a world where appearances count for so much, well then yes, there is an element of bravery in that.
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Joan Woolley May 15, 2012
As I front the public on a few occasions and are expected to look a certain way I feel it is in the best interests to apply makeup not a lot and certainly not caked on but it lifts your image and complements your appearance. I don’t wear it on the days at home, and sure as eggs I will front someone if I nick out to the shops who says to me oh you don’t look well are you alright, so work that one out.
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The Huntress May 15, 2012
I think make-up is a very personal thing. I actually love being a ‘girly girl’ in that respect and I love to put make up on every day. It’s a morning ritual for me and I like the way I can make my face transform into a million different looks or moods to match whatever my outfit is going to be for the day. I think it’s fun, but I can definitely see for other people it’s an inconvenient bore, rather than being a little girl, playing dress-ups.
Todays look, mood and outfit: Yesterday’s smudged eyeliner on cheeks, slight sense of bewilderment, old brown dress…LOL maybe I should update that bit later on.
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jools May 15, 2012
@blue, and I guess why do we wear shoes, everyone knows they are society’s way of constraining us. And why we are at it, any other clothes for that matter, since we were born naked.
p.s If you are torturing yourself with a bra, you need to go and get a new one fitted.
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blue May 15, 2012
Jools, I’ve had many bra fittings. After an hour or so, no matter how well the bra fits, I’m feeling like I’m being tortured by the damn thing. We pretty much wear shoes to protect our feet and clothes to keep us warm (plus there is a hygiene issue involved with going naked). I’m not saying underpants aren’t a necessity for me — they are. I think they probably are for most women for they save on washing if nothing else. But a bra? Am I the only voice in the bra-less wilderness wondering why, the bra?
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blue May 15, 2012
You know how women can take of their bras in an houdini like flourish without removing their shirt just as their front door closes behind them when they come home? Well it’s because the damn things are so uncomfortable they’ve learned to remove them with the ultimate minimum of hassle before they do anything else. If a bra demands that sort of manoeuvre and attention to get it off surely we have to rethink the bra as a neccessary part of our wardrobe? Think of the cost of the darn things. I have heard that some women with very large breasts do feel more comfortable in a bra. But I’m wondering if it’s more of a ‘looks’ thing rather than a comfort thing — if it’s that they are trying to minimize and keep them still and hence, ‘unnoticed.’
Guess maybe I’m just the last remaining 56 year old no-bra-hippie. It does make choosing clothes a little harder. Nothing remotely see through and I sometimes need to wear a singlet underneath — it’s still more comfortable.
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Brendan May 15, 2012
5000 hours in front of a mirror aghhhh! Most days apart from the squinty eye view whilst brushing teeth I reckon most men have no idea of how they are going…no wonder gals have so many appearance issues with themselves and each other. Add to this beauty salons and those who work there who always have a reflection going on and you have the same effect as those parabolic solar reflector power stations burning clear through self esteem. And we reckon Narcissus had it tough. He couldn’t even see himself on windy days and the toothpaste foam must have spread across his visage.
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linda May 15, 2012
I think Hilary looks great just as she presented herself without makeup. I don’t agree that makeup makes you “look” polished, her hair was clean and nicely styled -even if it were back in a ponytail, her presentation was fine. I don’t particularly care if she had makeup on or not – she was there on a mission and I think that reporting what happened there is more important and newsworthy than the lack of cosmetics
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shelley May 15, 2012
Why don’t we just not jump on the bandwagon? Why not just ignore this because it really is not newsworthy.
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blue May 15, 2012
Hi Shelley, I think it is newsworthy. Naomi Woolfe wrote a whole book on the beauty industry way back in the early 90s called The Beauty Myth. The stuff she wrote then still applies today, unfortunately.
BTW, I wear my lippy and eyeliner because I’ve gone grey and have absolutley no colour in my face without it.
I must admit to admiring those women on ‘Advanced Syle Age and Beauty.’ Have a search for them under that heading and their delight in dressing up is almost infectious.
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shelley May 15, 2012
Thanks Blue. My point though, is that perhaps there are more salient, interesting or confronting things to discuss than Hillary Clinton’s complexion. No judgement or comment on who wears makeup and why.
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robyn May 15, 2012
Helen Clark did it first and she is now No. 3 in the UN!
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Deanna May 15, 2012
Why should women be considered ‘brave’ to go out looking like ourselves? Are we so ugly in our natural state that we need to hide under make up in case we frighten the masses and turn them into stone?
There is nothing right or wrong about with or without make up, but just the fact that this is a topic for discussion shows that as women we are still uncomfortable in our own skin. Hilary has got it right, there are more important things if we are to be on an equal footing with men on the world stage, we need to concentrate more on performance rather than appearance.
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neeter May 15, 2012
I’ve long thought it’s terribly sexist of everyone to expect makeup on women, when only really particular men bother about their personal appearance. I once was approached by an old fashioned male manager perhaps ten years ago, who asked me to start wearing skirts to work. I said “I don’t own any, but I will if you will!!” Sexist old fart. Ptttth!
Good on ya Hillary, and yes, it’s OK to talk about it because it makes us think about the different routines women have to go through, that men never bother with.We’re talking about the contrast of the sexes. I bet Obama and Bill never wore makeup unless in a TV studio.
And yes, you can bet your lippy that there’ s a luxury tax on everything from makeup to tampons, on top of the GST. Correct me please, if I’m wrong on this.
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blue May 15, 2012
My daughter got married about a month ago. Hubby went to pick her up and her make-up and hairdo stylist was just finishing up daughter’s look for her wedding. She sat hubby down and touched him up with make-up. So subtle you couldn’t see it but took a good 5 years of his life. Hubby walked my daughter down the aisle with more make up on him than I was wearing and you couldn’t see it. It made me wonder how many blokes in high profile positions do actually wear make-up even when not going on camera.
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blue May 15, 2012
Sorry, I meant ‘took five years of his age’ not his life. LOL.
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Pam May 15, 2012
I go without makeup every day. The only time I put it on is if I’m going out someplace special, or going to a funeral or some kind of public appearance. I don’t care about impressing anyone, particularly, and if they don’t like how I look without makeup, they can look away.
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Andrew Page-Robertson May 15, 2012
A few years ago I met a Canadian woman recently returned to Toronto after five years living with her ex-pat family in Saudi. When my wife asked if she missed anything from her time there she answered, ‘taking the kids to school and doing the shopping in a Burqua! I could wear whatever I wanted under it and I didn’t have to think about the whole time-waste of putting on makeup and endless fiddling with my hair. I miss that freedom!’
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Seana Smith May 15, 2012
I saw this photo and first thought was: ‘Whaddya mean no makeup? She’s got lippy on!’ For me wearing makeup is slapping on some lippy… sometimes a bit more but not often. Did just accidentally have my eyelashes dyed and I could get into that.
What weirds me out is mums who have got a full face on but ‘had no time for brekkie.’ Whaaaaat??!!
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SandsOfTime May 15, 2012
Not brave, just confident, and oh my isn’t that confidence fabulous!
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Hoot May 15, 2012
I am 38. I love makeup. I love buying it and I love wearing it. But I don’t wear it every day. In fact I only wear a full face when going out for a special occasion (so probably only once or twice every couple of months). Most days I use Garnier BB cream and some tinted lip gloss. I don’t think we should be forced to wear make up or we should feel we have to wear it. But if we want to or like how it looks on us or just enjoy dressing up then I don’t see a problem with wearing it.
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Alex May 15, 2012
She doesn’t look like she needs any makeup anyway. Great skin and hair. I’ve always failed to see the connection with how a woman looks with how she does her job. Doesn’t happen to men. Some things never change.
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Shiralee May 15, 2012
Slow news day is it.
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Maria May 15, 2012
I quit makeup over 6 months ago. I wanted to cash out of an industry that encourages us to cover our faces in toxins. I wear a touch of natural mineral powder only on special occasions, very rarely though. It did take a little getting used to, showing your bare face to the world. But honestly now I feel liberated, and know that I’m saving my skin, and saving on packaging etc… Better for me, better for the environment.
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Valerie Parv May 15, 2012
Looking tired, try joi de vivre, says this intelligent and on-topic blog. I couldn’t agree more. http://fantasticthoughts.wordpress.com/2012/05/15/looking-tired-try-joie-de-vivre/
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Valerie Parv May 15, 2012
And don’t miss the great riposte from the woman dubbed “too ugly for TV”. The link’s in the blog or here http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2134146/Too-ugly-TV-No-Im-brainy-men-fear-clever-women.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
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Rex May 15, 2012
On occasion I wear make up, but generally not much at all. I have grey streaks in my hair as I am 39. I say to myself I am being brave about the grey, but really why, it’s just hair, I often think of my grandma and her beautiful natural aging. I Just want to age the way we are supposed to. My grandma lived to 94, she played bowls, played the cello, conducted orchestras, right up till she was 85. No amount of make up or hair dying enriched her life, she had real beauty in her mind and heart. That’s all I want too.
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Katrh May 16, 2012
I don’t wear make-up 99% of the time – I probably should because I’ve been asked “who hit you” as I do have dark pigmentation around my eye. It really doesn’t bother me. If we have a dinner or a do out somewhere, then I’ll put some on and look good, I have to say. As for Hilary, as far as I’m concerned she can do as she damn-well pleases. The woman is an icon, an inspiration and a tower of strength. More power to her, I say.
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veggie mama May 16, 2012
Oh Fox News. If I’m ever cold, I watch a segment or read and article and my blood boils. Problem solved!
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WENDY GREEN May 16, 2012
I wouldn’t describe Ms Clinton as ‘brave’ but she had to have courage to face the inevitable media onslaught about her looks by deciding not to wear makeup that day.
Like others here, I believe she is an attractive woman without makeup. Actually I see her as more ‘serious’ somehow without makeup.
My makeup routine has always been pretty simple and I never leave home without wearing foundation, blush, mascara and lippy because it makes me feel better about myself : )
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Louise May 18, 2012
Meh. Makeup makes me a glamourpuss and I get to do it every day at my work. I’m an accountant not a cosmetic counter girl. I can choose not to do it, but its so nice to feel beautiful, and face it, in our culture makeup is a part of beauty. I just as often don’t wear it, but it is fun to be admired ….:)
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anna May 20, 2012
I’m 46, I think Hillary looked great, I too don’t know what all the fuss is….obviously the paper’s had to fill in space and couldn’t think of anything better write! In fact I think it’s really sad and disgraceful!
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SlackHunter May 21, 2012
Bill must be so ashamed.
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Sue May 25, 2012
doesn’t matter anyway does it! She helping to run a Country!!
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Buttercup June 1, 2012
With our appearance it doesn’t matter if we wear makeup, colour our hair or wear crazy clothes what matters is inside us and our actions.
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Julie McG June 7, 2012
Hilary looks great. It would be so refreshing if those idiots didn’t feel the need to comment on what people look like – what does it matter? On the subject of saying that the bra is the enemy of the freedom and dignity of women, I have a little to say. I have boobulas that need a bra – a lot. Without a bra my breast sit against my chest and sweat on hot days; there’s nothing like two wet patches on the front of your shirt to make you feel free and liberated. If I run braless, I feel pain; again, I wonder where the freedom is in that. Leave the bra alone, it helps me quite a bit. And it has wire in it – comfortable, helpful wire. If you don’t want one with wire, don’t buy one with wire.
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alison June 18, 2012
I agree on the time and money we would all save if we just relaxed about how we looked. Hilary’s not brave on this, just smart, sensible and above the pettiness of the conversation on it. My gosh, taking on a job like hers, walking the path in life she has walked, being true to the beliefs she has always held, and doing it all under the intense scrutiny of the public eye. THAT’s brave.
Not wearing foundation? Meh.
