21.10.18 IN THIS ISSUE

I had the brilliant plan to sneak in a session at the gym before meeting my husband at a friend’s party. I’d swan in with a post-workout glow and a full redo – washed and blow-dried hair, fresh coat of make-up, the works. Oh, how smug I was feeling about Living My Best Life, finding a window in my diary where exercise and socialising could occur so seamlessly on the same night. Slight snag in the plan: with a scrubbed-clean face and dripping-wet hair, I realised to my horror that I had left my make-up bag on my office desk. I am not the cool, confident woman you’ll find on page 60 in Vikki Stone, who has stopped wearing make-up altogether. I’m afraid I’m very much in the other camp: my ‘nipping out for a pint of milk’ face takes 20 minutes. I texted my husband to tell him I wouldn’t be joining him at the party. He thought that ‘I’ve forgotten my make-up’ was the stupidest excuse he’d ever heard; but the women he complained to at the party texted me in solidarity: ‘We get it’ was their general message.

Vikki’s approach is incredibly thought-provoking for so many of us. My husband often exhales impatiently, staring at the clock with exasperation, completely puzzled as to why he can be dressed and out of the door in seconds flat and I can’t. But it’s because the appearance standards for women are, as we know, entirely different to those for men. I grew up indoctrinated with all the overt and covert cues that it is just not the done thing to inflict my face in its natural state on the general public. Make-up can be that extra reassuring coat of armour that boosts our confidence – but we’ve also been conditioned to feel that we need it. As I approach my 50s, I’m inclined to agree that I do. But on my summer holiday this year, I spent several hours every day make-up free. It’s bizarre to think how rebellious that felt.

I salute women who feel confident enough to greet the world with a bare face, but for now, please do pass me the foundation and mascara. And lip gloss. And blush.

Enjoy the issue.

‘ ON HOLIDAY THIS SUMMER I SPENT SEVERAL HOURS EVERY DAY MAKE-UP FREE. IT FELT REBELLIOUS ’