No Make-up vs. "No Make-up"

I don't wear make-up.

When I was younger, I remember my mother putting make-up on my face because she didn't want me to go to school with acne.  And every time she did that, it would come off on my hands during the day and it would smell funny and I just didn't like it.  As I got older, I began to own some of my own make-up and to use it whenever I felt self-conscious about my acne or whenever I wanted to look grown-up or special.  But I didn't like it.

I can feel it on my face.  My mother says I can't, but I can - in the same way I can feel contact lenses on my eyes.  It's a layer of something that sits on top of my face, very unlike an acne cream or lotion that my face absorbs.  Although I know it's not good for my acne, I touch my face a lot, and make-up comes off.  It smells weird.  And I don't like taking extra time in the morning to do something I don't like - I'd rather stretch or eat more breakfast or sleep for ten minutes.

Which is why this article in the Huffington Post stood out to me.  It talks about what people expect when they say "no make-up" and what no make-up really means.  I haven't worn make-up in a year and a half.  When I went to China to teach English, I didn't take any with me, and I haven't worn any since then.  My mother and grandmother both think I need to be wearing make-up as I search for a job.  I still have acne, so I look like a teenager, and wearing make-up will make me look like an adult who should have a job.

This idea - of society expecting me to look a certain way - raises some questions.  Will this actually keep me from getting a job?  Am I doomed to wear make-up for the rest of my life?  If someone hires me while I wear make-up, are they expecting me to wear make-up to work every day?  Do I have to go out and buy make-up to be competitive in the job market?

And where does this come from?  I'm totally okay with people wearing make-up, but when did this create the standard that I have to wear it too?  When did a woman's face alone become something that needs to be changed to be acceptable?