Dear Claire,
I dreamt that I was going to this very nice place for some type of party or event. As I was walking to the entrance, I suddenly realized that I did not have any makeup on and was not properly dressed for the occasion. In fact, I started to wonder whether I had even washed my face or taken a bath. Although I planned to go back home and put makeup on and make myself look better, I still went up to the entrance so that I could look in and see what the situation was like before I left to go and get ready. When I partially opened the door and peeked in, I saw all these people in what looked like a restaurant or an event area of some very expensive hotel. It was very modern and luxurious in there, and there were lots of marble and champagne glasses everywhere. Everyone looked wonderful and had very expensive clothing on; but I mainly noticed the women. They were all dressed very elegantly, and they all had their makeup on, their hair done, and were all wearing extremely nice jewelry. I remember wondering whether I would have the time to get myself ready and whether I would have the right things to wear so that I would measure up to their level. That is all that I remember of the dream, but it stayed with me for a long time. I would also like to add that I have had other dreams where I feel uncomfortable because I don’t have my makeup on, or because I am not dressed in the right way or put together very well. By the way, I never leave the house without wearing makeup.
Right away, certain themes stand out in this dream: not feeling prepared, ready, or “put together” – and not measuring up to the level of others or putting one’s “best face” forward. In the conscious, waking world, our outward appearance is often an extension of our personalities and our inner selves. Makeup can enhance this outward appearance and can serve as a mask, of sorts, because makeup can hide what we perceive to be shortcomings or flaws and can change the way in which we are viewed by the outside world as well as how those in our inner circle perceive us. Through this enhancement of our outward appearance and this masking of our flaws, many of us might find that our personality, sense of self, and feelings of power might alter, as a result. And while some of us may not want to admit this, we may feel self-conscious or not our “best selves” when we do not feel outwardly presentable or are not dressed appropriately for certain social functions and gatherings – and it is a very human tendency to feel emotions such as these under these circumstances. For this reason, not having makeup on – or feeling like we need to “look better” or be dressed differently – can be an extremely significant and common theme in dreams.
In the above dream, the dreamer is not only without her makeup, but she also feels like she may not have prepared in other ways. As a result, she feels like she is not “measuring up” to the level of those around her and feels the need to remedy this. Having a dream of this nature most likely indicates that the dreamer is not feeling at her best or fully prepared and “ready” in her waking world—and would also appear to indicate that she is feeling somewhat exposed, regarding this lack of preparation and readiness. Meaning, a certain amount of her flaws and shortcomings may have surfaced or been noticed in some professional or social situation in her waking world. However, this does not appear to be of grave concern to her; because, in her dream, she does not immediately flee the scene once she realizes that she is not fully “covered.” Instead, she takes the time to survey the situation so that when she returns, she will be prepared and at her best—and, thus, will “look better” to the outside world.
What is positive about this dream situation is that the dreamer appears to feel relatively confident that she can work to bring herself up to the level of her peers – and intends to do so and then return. And while there may be some measure of doubt, the dreamer is not giving up or feeling totally defeated. Instead, she stays long enough to survey what she needs to know in order to improve, enhance, and prepare herself.
Because the dreamer indicated that she has had previous dreams of this nature, this is, most likely, what is known as a “trigger dream,” a dream that occurs, or is “triggered,” whenever the dreamer is feeling certain emotions in her waking world- such as feeling unprepared, exposed, or not her “best self.” In any event, this dream, and the ones like it, appear to be messages sent from the subconscious in order to alert the dreamer to behavioral issues or aspects of her personality which need to be addressed.
