Does it bother you when Japanese women do their makeup on trains?

There a good many things I don't like on trains in Japan but the tend to be male and normally involve alcohol and/or bad smells. Woman want's to put her make up on? Why should I be bothered by that? Go for it lady.

Doesn't bother me, I suppose that it takes some skill to get right on a moving train but never having tried, I don't really know. I'm still waiting for one to poke her eye with her mascara brush on a bumpy section of track but it hasn't happened yet.

I'm still waiting for one to poke her eye with her mascara brush on a bumpy section of track but it hasn't happened yet.

You sound like a really nice person.

It is good to see that some people on the train use their time constructively when so many people just sit, looked bored and do absolutely nothing.

For me putting makeup on in public is a private act that doesn't need to be done in public. I'm not talking about a little touch-up here. There is quickly and discreetly swiping on some lipstick and then there's hauling out your whole makeup bag and putting on your entire face. I'm talking about the latter. Putting on makeup are things that you typically do in the bathroom, and like most bathroom activities, that seems like a great place for them to stay. Why take them out of the bathroom? For me it's a sanitary issue. While I know that public transportation isn't exactly sterile, there's something kind of gross about used makeup early in the morning when they leave the house. While trying to apply mascara to still-sleepy eyes does sound awful. Can't they pop up into the lobby bathroom at the office before they get to their desks to do their makeup? I think that how comfortable we are with someone putting on their makeup in public has a lot to do more to do with personal boundaries and don't think we need to hide ourselves. I think we need to keep our loose bronzer to ourselves.

I have no problems with it at all. It seems like an efficient use of train time to me.

Sheesh, who cares.

Seriously, applying makeup?

I can think of far worse things people can do in public transportation, and that involves things like bodily fluids, odors, loud chatting, etc.

No.

Not at all.

Absolutely. A young lady with good breeding and manners will never do anything like that in public. These are called etiquette.

Not the worst thing I've seen. On the subject if grooming, I saw one man cutting his nasal hair with electric clippers on the Jouban Line. Pretty bad.

not at all. I find it quite stimulating.

hmm, touch up sure why not, but bringing your whole makeup kit on the train and starting from there is a little off-putting to me personally, though I would't want any one to make a rule about it or anything silly like that.

@bilderberg_2015

You sound like a really nice person.

Oh but I am. The difference between you and I is that I have a sense of humour.

No. Not at all. Not even a little.

It doesn't bother me at all. I'd much rather see a young lady beautifying herself than a foul-breathed oyaji excavating his nostrils.

Doesn't bother me. As long as it okay for me to splash on aftershave or cologne then it's fine. I need to clip my nails as well. I don't like to scratch people.

If there is some gender equality in there then YES, it doesn't bother me.

Trains no, but buses are ok. :)

Seems the men don't mind while the women do. Frankly, pet peeve. Nothing like watching a woman put on the war paint - and it really not making a difference.

I think it is just poor taste and poor manners. Certain things should be done behind closed doors and make up is one. Worse when they start grooming their mane and the hair goes everywhere.

Hate seeing them glue their eyelids with that damn stick. Waiting for an eye to pop out one of these days

I agree with oldman_13. There are a lot more annoying thing on a train, like teens who sit in the priority seats then pretend to sleep as soon as their butt hits the cushions, just so they won't have to give up the seat to somebody who needs it.

Heck no!

FizzBit: Trains no, but buses are ok. :)

Why is that?

im more disturbed by everyone brushing their teeth in front of each other. cant count how many times ive been spittled on.

Not at all. Last JR train I was on there was a woman with battery tongs putting a curl in her hair. Why should it bother anyone?

Serrano it was a joke. What I can't stand is the stinky perfume or cologne that gives me a headache in 15 seconds. I could care less if a person decides to put on their make up or pick their nose. It doesn't bother anyone else.

A woman doing her makeup on a train is fine. A woman on the interstate highway using the sun visor mirror to apply mascara WHILE DRIVING is a BIG problem. (I personally witnessed this a few years ago while driving in the next lane.)

I don't mind it at all, not the most elegant thing but it saves time and everybody can be in a pinch. And given the pressure some of my girlfriends get from their workplace (read male bosses) to wear make-up, I do understand they have to make sure. Having said that, I was bothered by the girl who painted her nails in the Yamamote line.

Some women do the whole gammut with all the stuff like eye-lash curlers. I am not too bothered except for the smells which also turns many female commuters.

On general agree do it at home or in the powder room at the destination and it is not just OL but also teens getting ready for a date.

Why are women convinced that they will be judged in the workplace by how their face looks? Men go into work with acne, stubble, bad breath, wrinkle shirts and pants, unzip fly, shaving nicks, etc and get on fine. Low self-esteem is a terrible thing though.

I agree with oldman_13. There are worse things on a train.

@sfjp330 - try to be a Japanese woman in a Japanese working environment for one week. My Japanese girlfriends are regularly reminded during appraisals how on day x they wore ballerinas and not high heels or that during week y too much natural skin shimmered through their make-up. Plus all the questions about when are they finaly getting married, or if they are married, shouldn't they retire soon. Of course it's manipulation to keep them low and of course it works.

Why are women convinced that they will be judged in the workplace by how their face looks? Men go into work with acne, stubble, bad breath, wrinkle shirts and pants, unzip fly, shaving nicks, etc and get on fine. Low self-esteem is a terrible thing though.

Because they actually get told by their bosses that they should be wearing make up...

In Germany this would be unheard of and many don't even wear make up.

But ignorance is bliss.

tmarie, I also see the strong tendency for men to be OK with it but other women being appalled. I was taught that a lady never does her make-up in public. You look your best before you are in front of people. Doing it in front of commuters, to me, seems like you don't count them as people. It's someone down the line who counts and these obstructions on the train are therefore allowed to see behind the curtain. The magic isn't for them.

Or at least that seems to be what's going on in my head as I have a gut level reaction of shock and distate at seeing someone applying foundation, curling eyelashes, etc., on the train.

And then there's the bad technique. I have to bite my tongue to stop from giving pointers. (especially about pink and orange rouge and where it should be applied - not on the front of your cheeks / under your eyes, honey.)

I don't really care if it is a touch-up but if a woman goes all out I think it is rude along with being dangerous and chance to get makeup on the person next to you. Most of the ladies I notice doing it seem to not really care at all and tend to not be the most attractive either. I am amazed they can do it but as my wife would say, there are very few girls who can actually do a good job doing their make-up while on a train. I did see one young lady try to do her make-up on a packed train and used the guy's back who was standing in front her as support. I had to say something to her and she was actually quit caught of guard I did say something. Pretty rude if you ask me.

Taj, exactly. It's just crass in my opinion. Sorry but a female who was raised with decent manners wouldn't do their makeup on the train, cafe... in public. I am never shocked when I look at the whole package of who is doing their makeup - yep, judging. Applying lipstick is one thing. When I see the eyelash curlers and face powder come out? I have a pretty good indication of their family. Same with guys who spit everywhere.

Why are women convinced that they will be judged in the workplace by how their face looks? Men go into work with acne, stubble, bad breath, wrinkle shirts and pants, unzip fly, shaving nicks, etc and get on fine. Low self-esteem is a terrible thing though.

I once had it written into a contract here that I had to wear makeup. Not even kidding. That lastes a week. I've also been told I am "unprofessional" for not wearing it. Whatever. The women who told me had it caked on and trust it, it wasn't helping her career wise.

I hate seeing my young female students feel they "need" it but sadly society pretty much tells them they do.

Of course it doesn't bother me. I have a life and i am not petty.Live and let live.

I have a life and i am not petty.Live and let live.

Yet you moan about women who put their kids in daycare. So much for lilve and let live, eh?

tmarie;

Because i care about the welfare of children and the family unit being destroyed which is a lot more important to life and society than if some old sort is putting her make up on while using public transport.

Back on topic please.

Does anyone have the faintest idea why it's considered impolite?

I can't get a straight answer from anyone, even my wife. It's just wrong, apparently.

Is there some hidden connection with prostitution or something?