sj, my husband has more bike toys than most, so I know accesorizing is not entirely a female thing. He has quite a few matching jerseys and socks, some in quite shocking colors.
As far as those riders who looked like they hadn't broken a sweat on the century ride, I think that is more of a physiological thing than a make up thing. If I am riding in hot weather, or even other times, I generally look like a truck has hit me (why do we use that comparison?) even if I have lipstick on... I am trying to grow my hair out, from a pixie short-short to a more, all one length short around my chin. Since I have to blow it dry now, to get it to look OK, I am dreading what it will be like when i take my helmet off after a long, sweaty ride. I do a fair amount of riding where we stop for lunch, etc. I know there has been a thread on hair styles before, but I am wavering on whether comfort, styling, etc for riding should rule my hair decision. This is really stupid, given some of the other issues we discuss here, but I wonder how much cycling should rule my life (in all aspects). I don't want to get too unidimensional. Does this make sense?