I think it is important to feel yourself whether you are wearing makeup or not. Many women say they feel "naked" or not themselves going out without makeup. It has become so ingrained in our routines it feels out of place without it. It has become so fiercely associated with femininity, one could almost feel out of place or even "unfeminine" without it.
The history of makeup has been quite an interesting relationship. Ancient egyptians would wear eyeliner to announce status and use it for ritual. It may have given some practical benefit to reflect the sun. Around the world, royalty and aristocracy would powder their faces paler to feel more "virgin" and "pure", or youthful. There are also tribal and spiritual connections as well.
Many argue that makeup is simply to enhance what beauty they already have. They are trying to hide the fact it is mainly used by modern women to cover imperfections or dramatically alter the appearance of one's face. Most women know this truth and men are starting to realise as well. The word "glamour" is derived from both "grammar" - study of language and literature; and "grammatica" - occult learning tacked on. The magical association with the word didn't come till 100 years later - meaning things like "enchantment", "illusiory", "romantic", "alluring", and so on.
It's not necissarily hurting anyone, so is it harmful? Well, it doesn't have to be.
I'm going to open with some personal context. I never really wore makeup growing up because not only did school not allow it, but honestly, there was no one around me to bother impressing with it. I did not have much money either, and what little I had I spent on trying to combat my acne. However, back then I had abysmally low self esteem, I would look in the mirror - if I even looked in a mirror - and cry because of how overwhelmingly ugly I felt. (I don't hate my face anymore. Zevism really changed me.)
On the odd occasion I did wear makeup to perfect my skin - I got more looks from men. It is just simple fact that I got more attention when I wore it. In fact, they would stare. Barely anybody would look at me sideways if I did not wear it. (Or at least, I did not notice.) Someone with such bad self esteem such as mine back then, would easily come to the conclusion that the "easiest" and "safest" thing to do for their tiny little broken ego... is wear makeup to feel better.
We live in a very superficial society and in many people's cases, people will literally make conversation or comments about the imperfections on your face or skin. In some extreme cases, people are shaming skin colour so badly, it's driving people to literally bleach their skin.
Or how about the "you look tired" one liner everyone loves so much.
We've all seen the "take her swimming on the first date" memes I'm sure, or the "what's under that beard?" memes in retort. There is distrust from the trend of dramatic facial alteration to conform to ideals. But the truth is, it is being perpetuated by the very people that persecute. The passive aggressiveness centred around this frustration is only adding fuel to the fire on both sides.
If we think about it - makeup has the power to make one confident, feel beautiful, perhaps even like royalty. That is almost alchemical in definition. It is a creative expression. It is incredibly artistic and an artform, a craft in itself. You could even say it is an expression of hidden aspects of ourselves. Our face is the first thing someone is going to notice, and it is the boldest statement one can make.
Makeup can be symbolic. Red lipstick was symbolic of strength and recovery from the sufferagette movement. It was used as a statement of rebellion. It even motivated house-bound women to go out and get a job just to afford it. To many, it was also a symbol of hope and cheer during/after WWI. It is still a strong statement now - more of confidence and a sexy statement. Many have said it mimics the colour lips turn when aroused and that's part of why we find it so sexy!
So there are good things and bad things. Clearly, women do need to work on foundational self esteem, this would alleviate half of the problem. I am drawing a pretty big blank here, so if you guys can help with some solutions that would be great; I think one possible solution to solving the rest of it, is to publically encourage an environment where it's okay and even sexy to show your imperfections. This particular subject is not spoken about nearly enough - especially by men, who have an extremely, extremely large influence on this (whether women will admit it or not) and almost no knowledge of the reality. Many are clueless on just how heavily this weighs on women. We are spiralling further and further into a "catfish" society and we all have to try and intervene. Snapchat and instagram is the tip of the iceberg. Real time facial projection technology is being perfected and showcased. Fuck knows what else is in store.