When he says she looks better without makeup, he perhaps means the obvious highlight and caked warpaint touches like lipstick and mascara blusher and glittered eyelashes. However he is unprepared for her appearing in a downstairs space in the daylight with her clothes on without foundation/ moisturiser/ concealer/ powder etc. (My partner does not ever go in for lipstick and mascara and all that, but she still “puts her face on” to go out and do stuff, though it is subtle).
Presumably Arlo often sees Janis without any makeup at night or first thing in the morning, but at that time both are bleary-eyed and it’s in relatively low-light conditions and she’s in a towel and with wet hair and pyjamas.
Seems atypical for this strip. If I asked my wife why her face looks funny, her reaction would have been much different than Janis’s.
She looks really pleased in that last panel. Is it because she caught him in a lie?
Arlo has never said she looks better without makeup, but he can’t contradict her without sounding insulting. Hence, the “dirty trick”.
Or Arlo has said that, but didn’t really mean it; the dirty trick is taking him at his word. More likely men who tell women they look better without makeup actually mean they look better with more subtle makeup that the men do not take note of.
The combo of neat hair and no makeup would look funny, because he’s used to “no makeup” accompanying bed-head.
What sane man would ever tell his wife that her face looks funny?
Especially when that man’s nose is the size of his wife’s entire head.
@Lord Flatulence:
Donna Fargo’s husband?
Hmm, must have done something wrong with the URL for my comment.
I don’t wear makeup, so I have a question for the other women: do you usually wear makeup at home? I recall my mother putting on lipstick when she was going out, but … well, memory dims, doesn’t it?
I think Janis is playing ‘gotcha’ with Arlo. If he says she looks better without makeup, why wouldn’t he tell her she looks great? Why does he think she looks ‘funny?’ Unless…….
@Lord Flatulence: “What sane man would ever tell his wife that her face looks funny?”
Just so. I was once married to a professional improv comic, and I don’t think even I would have risked that comment to her, at least not without phrasing it something like “Wow, I’m impressed with how in that last sketch you made your face look so funny.”
Trying to put that across in any other circumstances is too reminiscent of the classic botched compliment “For a fat girl, you sure don’t sweat much!”
I’m thinking he always tossed this off as a safe compliment, especially when she asked his opinion on her appearance and he was afraid to guess wrong. Now she deliberately took it away from him.
Similar from countless old sitcoms: Wife asks husband to choose between dresses at a store; husband tries to find out which is cheaper before he votes. Or couple is late for something, and and he’s afraid to say anything that might cause her to change (“How do I look?” “You look elegant.” “Not TOO elegant?” “No. We’d better …” “You think it’s not elegant enough?”)
True life story: Female coworker does overdue cleanup of her drawing board and art supplies. Manager walks by and she asks, a bit proudly, “Well?” After a moment of obvious uncertainty, he says “Your hair does look nicer this way.” (She hadn’t changed her look in some time)
It’s a cliche for men to say to women “You look better without makeup”, in the same family as “You look good in whatever you wear.”
Amy Schumer won an Emmy for a video addressing this very thing.
Chak – I don’t wear makeup either – I was never good at it – my youngest sister and Robert’s sister would put on eyeliner and look glamorous; I would do it and look like Gene Wilder.
Mom would put on makeup and change her clothes to go out. Especially after she went to pick me up at school and did not change and the car broke down… I put on shoes (generally sneakers) and my bra to go out and load all the junk one needs when they go out into my jeans pockets.
Ah, Meryl it appears we are sisters. That last paragraph describes me to a t.
Comics I Don't Understand 
When he says she looks better without makeup, he perhaps means the obvious highlight and caked warpaint touches like lipstick and mascara blusher and glittered eyelashes. However he is unprepared for her appearing in a downstairs space in the daylight with her clothes on without foundation/ moisturiser/ concealer/ powder etc. (My partner does not ever go in for lipstick and mascara and all that, but she still “puts her face on” to go out and do stuff, though it is subtle).
Presumably Arlo often sees Janis without any makeup at night or first thing in the morning, but at that time both are bleary-eyed and it’s in relatively low-light conditions and she’s in a towel and with wet hair and pyjamas.
Seems atypical for this strip. If I asked my wife why her face looks funny, her reaction would have been much different than Janis’s.
She looks really pleased in that last panel. Is it because she caught him in a lie?
Arlo has never said she looks better without makeup, but he can’t contradict her without sounding insulting. Hence, the “dirty trick”.
Or Arlo has said that, but didn’t really mean it; the dirty trick is taking him at his word. More likely men who tell women they look better without makeup actually mean they look better with more subtle makeup that the men do not take note of.
The combo of neat hair and no makeup would look funny, because he’s used to “no makeup” accompanying bed-head.
What sane man would ever tell his wife that her face looks funny?
Especially when that man’s nose is the size of his wife’s entire head.
@Lord Flatulence:
Donna Fargo’s husband?
Hmm, must have done something wrong with the URL for my comment.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tunnel_under_the_World
For the direct link to Pohl’s story.
Oops, wrong thread too!
I don’t wear makeup, so I have a question for the other women: do you usually wear makeup at home? I recall my mother putting on lipstick when she was going out, but … well, memory dims, doesn’t it?
I think Janis is playing ‘gotcha’ with Arlo. If he says she looks better without makeup, why wouldn’t he tell her she looks great? Why does he think she looks ‘funny?’ Unless…….
@Lord Flatulence: “What sane man would ever tell his wife that her face looks funny?”
Just so. I was once married to a professional improv comic, and I don’t think even I would have risked that comment to her, at least not without phrasing it something like “Wow, I’m impressed with how in that last sketch you made your face look so funny.”
Trying to put that across in any other circumstances is too reminiscent of the classic botched compliment “For a fat girl, you sure don’t sweat much!”
I’m thinking he always tossed this off as a safe compliment, especially when she asked his opinion on her appearance and he was afraid to guess wrong. Now she deliberately took it away from him.
Similar from countless old sitcoms: Wife asks husband to choose between dresses at a store; husband tries to find out which is cheaper before he votes. Or couple is late for something, and and he’s afraid to say anything that might cause her to change (“How do I look?” “You look elegant.” “Not TOO elegant?” “No. We’d better …” “You think it’s not elegant enough?”)
True life story: Female coworker does overdue cleanup of her drawing board and art supplies. Manager walks by and she asks, a bit proudly, “Well?” After a moment of obvious uncertainty, he says “Your hair does look nicer this way.” (She hadn’t changed her look in some time)
It’s a cliche for men to say to women “You look better without makeup”, in the same family as “You look good in whatever you wear.”
Amy Schumer won an Emmy for a video addressing this very thing.
Chak – I don’t wear makeup either – I was never good at it – my youngest sister and Robert’s sister would put on eyeliner and look glamorous; I would do it and look like Gene Wilder.
Mom would put on makeup and change her clothes to go out. Especially after she went to pick me up at school and did not change and the car broke down… I put on shoes (generally sneakers) and my bra to go out and load all the junk one needs when they go out into my jeans pockets.
Ah, Meryl it appears we are sisters. That last paragraph describes me to a t.