Is it just ME?

Or is it rude to wear make-up just for men?

I LOVE, admire and give thanks for my women friends every day of my life. And their personalities, happiness and health matter more to me than their looks.

So why do I find it so rude when my girlfriends turn up to meet me without a scrap of make-up?

I think it’s because I’m sure that they would wear make-up if I were a man, or a colleague.

Maybe I should take it as a compliment: they feel so relaxed in my company they can be natural.

Maybe they feel feminism means they don’t have to look any more feminine than they are. To me, however, it feels as if they are not bothering.

I’m not in favour of lashings of slap, but I also feel that even the closest friendship isn’t about letting it all hang out.

The weird thing is we all used to wear make-up in our teens and 20s, when blessed with perfect skin.

But so few of my girlfriends now wear make-up that I actually feel relieved to see the one in five of them who is acquainted with Clinique. Or, heaven help us, Boots No 7.

To me, putting on a little concealer, mascara and lipstick is an act of consideration. I don’t want a friend to worry about me, which she might well do if I appeared looking as dreadful as I do after another night of insomnia.

Concealing the worst is like brushing my hair. I can’t see what I look like: she can. If I spend a couple of hours with a friend worrying she’s terribly ill, I will be preoccupied.

Puritans believe that make-up is only ever fakery — but they’re wrong. It’s not about hiding your age or pretending to be something you’re not, it’s about accepting who you are — and putting your best face forward.

AmAndA Craig’s novel, The Lie Of The Land, is published on June 15 by Little, Brown.

I hate lashings of slap, but even the closest friendship isn’t about letting it all hang out