Powder politics of make-up on the move
Four in 10 disapprove of people applying make-up while on public transport, with women most scornful
IT HAS become one of the most common and divisive sights of the morning commute; a woman rapt in concentration as she carefully applies her makeup, from foundation to the finishing touches of mascara.
But as her fellow passengers seethe in quiet irritation, wondering why she did not do all this at home, they might take comfort in the knowledge that many commuters find this behaviour off-putting. And it appears that women are even more likely to disapprove of others applying make-up on trains and buses than men.
It is thought socially unacceptable by 42 per cent of women, a survey by Ipsos MORI found.
While a third of men had no strong feelings either way, 41 per cent disapproved of the practice, with just 22 per cent saying it was no problem.
“Our advice is that a quick touch-up of mascara or lipstick is acceptable, but best to refrain from more extensive grooming in public,” said Lucy Hume, editorial manager at Debrett’s, the traditional arbiter of etiquette.
Wielding devices such as eyelash curlers on packed, and often juddery, trains is a different matter altogether, said Ms Hume, adding: “That is probably down to personal judgment, but the health and safety factor, apart from anything else, would be a concern.”
Pippa Bailey, senior director of Ipsos Marketing, which commissioned the research as part of a study of attitudes towards grooming and cosmetics, said: “It’s fascinating to see how divided we are on the issue of applying make-up in public.
“To think that around four in 10 of your fellow public transport passengers are offended by this, with men and women virtually aligned, with 41 per cent of men and 42 cent women finding it unacceptable.
“At a time when manufacturers are innovating ever more compact and convenient make-up for use on the go, it appears the attitudes of many Brits still lag behind with the feeling that the application of beauty products is best kept behind closed doors.”
The poll also found that women are more forgiving than men in attitudes to that other contentious grooming issue – beards. Overall 65 per cent of women said employers had no right to ban beards as part of uniform codes, compared with only 58 per cent of men.
But on one thing there is almost unanimous agreement. Overall 90 per cent of women and almost 80 per cent of men agreed that women are still under greater pressure than men to look well-groomed. “It’s still widely accepted that women are held to higher standards than men and are spending more of their time on personal grooming,” said Ms Bailey.
She added that future attitudes to make-up and grooming may start to cross the gender divide, as male makeup becomes more common. “As traditional gender roles start to become less relevant in modern society, it’s interesting to take a look at how this is affecting our attitudes to personal grooming,” said Ms Bailey.
“There are signs that younger generations have less rigidly gendered views. Looking to the future, the fact many people say men wearing makeup will be unremarkable could be a sign the gender divide for personal care will start to blur.”