Makeup

[ACG]

I have always wondered, do any of you wear makeup while riding? I do not, I wear a moisterizer with sunscreen and thats it. But I've noticed some women with foundation, lipstick and eye makeup. Isn't this bad for your skin?

[Pedal Wench]

If I'm riding right after work, I end up leaving it on. It's too much hassle to remove it before I ride. On weekends, however, it' au naturalle!

[yellow]

I read somewhere once about a study that looked at skin damage and it showed that women who wore full makeup (that is, foundation, etc) had LESS skin damage over time than even women who wore just sunscreen. So I suppose if it doesn't run off and bother you, it's probably not bad. I wouldn't want all that on my skin when I was riding though!

I just wear a moisturizer with sunscreen in it every day. I think I wear makeup about 2X a year. On "big sun" days I also put additional sunscreen over my moisturizer (even though I know that once you're beyond SPF 15 it doesn't make a hoot of difference if you don't REAPPLY, which I'm not very good at doing).

[DeniseGoldberg]

I stopped wearing makeup many years ago.

When I'm cycling, I use the same sunscreen on my face as I do on the rest of my body (my sunscreen of choice is PreSun Ultra Gel 30, which admittedly is impossible to find in my area, so I buy it online here). If I'm not planning on being outside for big chunks of time (as in, I'm at work...) I use a moisturizer that includes SPF 15 sunscreen.

--- Denise

[Nanci]

I do, sometimes. I have red hair and freckles, so pretty light skin. My big makeup regime takes less than 30 seconds: lipliner, Origins lip gloss, Origins Underwear for lids, pink, blue Maybeline mascara. Tons of spf 45- Neutrogena is working well for me. Never foundation- I just never got into that, and I don't use blush any more, prefer a more natural look. Like blue eyelashes ;-)

Nanci

[Brandi]

yea I have reddish hair as well. So I wear makep just to look more awake. But I wear mineral makeup. I have allergies so I have problems with stor bought makeup. My makeup as a sun block in it as well. It is a very natural looking makeup. But I don't wear it all the time. Bare essentials is what I wear. It is really nice for those of you who wear makeup

[Lise]

This is funny! What other athletic message boards have this thread, I wonder? Not many, I'm guessing! It's funny because this is a big concern of mine, yet one I'd be reluctant to admit to .

I am pale, pale, pale. Pale skin, hair, eyebrows....now, on Tilda Swinton, as the Ice Queen in Narnia, this is a good look. On me...not so much. People ask me if I'm ill. Sooo, how to be athletic and have some color around my eyes (other than red, which my face always is when I exert myself).

I always wear sunscreen, at least 30 SPF, usually 45. I color in my eyebrows so they're visible. I wear a Revlon mascara called Colorstay. It goes on and stays on for days, if necessary (remember, I'm a midwife. Sometimes I wear the same makeup for 36 hours!). My dilemma is that I'm a triathlete. ie: Swimming. What to do? Last summer I had my eyebrows dyed professionally. Silly, right? But there's the level of my vanity.

Upshot: I ran the Chicago marathon in October. I'd spent the summer perfecting my athletic makeup strategy. Now I've run/walked/run 26.2 miles, my family and friends take me out for a burger, I can barely sit up, but I'm so happy, and my mom (even paler than I am), comments on the really important thing: my makeup is still on. Actually, she said, "You look great! You even have color!" Ha! The strategy worked!

So. I love Nanci's "natural" blue eyelashes! I like blue mascara, but blue smudges under my eyes, uncool. I suppose I could try Colorstay, if it comes in blue...and the adventure continues. Lise

[Surlygirl]

Neutrogena spf 45 sunscreen for me and chapstick with Spf 30. I always have a red face when riding anyway. Probably lack of oxygen.

[nancielle]

I usually just use a sunblock (skin & lips). Anything else just seems to irritate my skin when I ride.

[Crankin]

I always wear moisturizers w/ spf 15, and I add sunblock w/ 30 or 45 when I ride. If I ride after work, I leave my make up on (blush, eye shadow and mascara). I am also fair, with freckles and I have reddish circles on my eyelids/ under the eyes. So, I always wear concealer here, even when going out on a weekend ride. I also wear lipstick; I can't stand the feel of my lips without it and I think it just gives my face color.

[kjay]

It's great to read about another person who insists on wearing under-eye concealer and lipstick even when bike riding. I LOVE it. Like you, I also wear sunscreen every day and when I'm biking will wear 45 SPF plus, plus (and don't laugh) a fairly good-sized straw visor that attaches below my helmet and at the back of my head via Velcro. Ever since I biked around the Big Island last Nov, I've gotten some brown spots on my face, so now I wear the visor even though it looks really goofy. I'm 62 and only recently have developed a few brown spots, so it's good to cover up as much as possible, not that brown spots are so darn bad, but why get them if you can prevent them . . .

[Crankin]

well, kjay, I'm 52 and I really don't look that great without my reddish eyes being concealed! It takes about 5 seconds to do and I don't really care if people think it's vain. To me, feeling good means feeling good about the way I look. One of my younger colleagues told me that lip balm has replaced lipstick for the 20 something generation. I don't know if that is true, since I have 2 sons, but I think both products help get rid of that dry yucky feeling on your lips.

[susiej]

well, kjay, I'm 52 and I really don't look that great without my reddish eyes being concealed! It takes about 5 seconds to do and I don't really care if people think it's vain. To me, feeling good means feeling good about the way I look. ...

Robyn, I'm with you there about feeling good about how I look! That's why I just bought a yellow skort (and am hoping for the matching top for my birthday). All my bike clothes are shades of grey and pale yellow. Some days I feel vain and girly, but the nifty gear makes biking more fun.

And don't tell me accessorizing is a "girl" thing! The husband doesn't have a bike computer, he has a handheld device (Windows CE), connected to the GPS and his cell phone, all running custom software (that's very very flakey) to get his position and phone it back to a custom web page that plots his course. One year he hooked up a web cam to take pictures every 15 minutes. And all his clothes are yellow and black, and match his bike.

To answer the question: I never wear makeup -- too lazy! Neutrogena moisturizer and sunblock early in the season, suntan lotion late in the season after I've turned brown.

--SJ

[sydney_b]

I almost always do a light base, mascara and lipstick. The base has sunscreen and evens out my skintone, liptstick looks better than plain chapstick and does the same job, and mascara, well, 'cause it just looks better. Doesn't seem to cause irritation and w/o makeup, everyone is always saying, "you look tired, do you feel ok?" Makes me crazy.

/s

[cindysue]

I'm lucky if I remember to wear make-up to a job interview.

But lately I feel like I'm starting to show my age (35), so I'll probably think about it more often. Maybe after I graduate and start wearing suits to work...

I'd probably never wear makeup on the bike.....