45% Of Men Think THIS Is A Major Turn-Off

I didn't want to look like a clown in his eyes.

Updated 8 months ago, May 9, 2024

I once dated a man who told me my red Chanel lipstick made me look like a clown.

It wasn’t that I had any clown-like features, to be exact, but the color of my lips, that luscious red that I loved so much, he just found to be unsettling. Like a fool, I stopped wearing my red lipstick and stuck to lip gloss that had no color at all. I didn’t want to look like a clown in his eyes.

He was not the first man to negatively comment about makeup on women. Even my male friends would roll their eyes at the idea of any woman wearing makeup. In fact, I’ve yet to meet a straight man who truly loves a glammed-up lady. My gay friends, on the other hand, love my red lipstick. Lipstick, mind you, that I’ve started wearing again, because eff that guy.

A new study revealed something that most of us pretty much already know: Dudes do not like makeup.

The research of 1000 women and 550 men for St. Ives found that 40 percent of men think women wear too much makeup, with 45 percent of the male participants saying that all that makeup women wear is the stuff that just turns a guy off completely. What? They don’t want to be covered in bright red lipstick kisses?

Not far behind makeup in the turn-off department, at 33 percent, were fake tans, then my beloved bright red lipstick came in at 5 percent, and lastly, thick eyebrows and faux eyelashes were at 4 percent. These statistics don’t exactly correlate with the fact that over half of women wear makeup in order to feel good about themselves and 28 percent of them feel totally without self-esteem and confidence when they’re without it. Men hate what we love – is this really news at all?

Further research even found that 14 percent of women would absolutely refuse to leave the house if they didn’t have makeup on and 17 percent would call off a date, if they couldn’t get their face all gussied up first. Basically, we’re slaves to something that makes us feel better about ourselves, but that something is the biggest turn-off for men. Takeaway? If trying to please the opposite sex is your mission in life, you’re likely to fail. Also, don’t make that your mission in life anyway.

Although my makeup bag consists only of my red lipstick and black mascara, I can understand the confidence that comes with getting all dolled up with makeup. I, too, can feel my self-esteem make a huge leap when I put on that Chanel lipstick. I’m no longer me, but a sultry, sexy, woman-in-command version of me. But, at the same time, as someone who isn’t exactly a makeup person, I can see how men might see it as a turn-off. There’s something truly gorgeous about seeing the actual skin of someone, as opposed to the foundation that, according to some big cosmetic brands, is an absolute necessity for going out into the world. If 14 percent of women won’t leave the house without makeup, then those brands are winning.

I’m the last one in the world to suggest that any woman change herself for a man, especially when it comes to our appearances. I already did that when I kicked my red lipstick to the curb, and it’s something of which I’m not proud. But what I do think is that going au natural is really beautiful. While St. Ives new campaign may be all about nixing makeup for their own financial reasons, I suggest just giving it a try, if you never have. Confidence can come from the most unlikely places sometimes, and you might be surprised by how you feel. Besides, now that summer has officially kicked in two months late, who doesn’t want to skip the makeup for a few days?