Saudi Arabia and the importance of make up and being "put together"
Throughout my years I have lived in many countries at different stages of my life. I have also consistently been that girl that doesn't really do much when it comes to "maintenance" (nails, hair, make up, etc.), I am a gym rat though and take pride in my physique and discipline.
Saudi Arabia has been an eye opener for me in the sense that I never faced so much pressure and so many comments regarding my refusal to do things like make up, dying my hair, or getting my nails done, hell, I don't even wear earrings or wear fancy shoes...
The "you need to take care of yourself" sentence gets thrown at me every now and then, and not only by women but also by men.
I really wonder nowadays if it is that horrible to show up in public with a clean face and a messy bun in Saudi Arabia. Am I breaking social norms and making people uncomfortable? Am I really going against the grain here? I've tried to explain it to people here from the perspective of culture and how different cultures appreciate other forms of beauty. I obviously come from a much more fitness influenced background while in here a lot of people define beauty as make up, nails, lip fillers, expensive perfumes, etc...