'Dating without make-up makes me feel naked'
New series Pretty Single discovers whether a 'make-under' can lead to true love.
Derry girl Patricia removes her false eyelashes and swipes a cleansing cloth across her cheeks. This is not how she would normally prepare for a date.
“I feel like I’m stripping,” she nervously admits as she wipes her face clean. "As if I was standing in front of someone getting naked."
Feeling anxious before meeting someone new is hardly unusual, but Patricia is especially worried because for the very first time she’s preparing to go on a date without wearing any make-up at all.
Patricia's Make Under
Patricia decides to go on her dates without any make up
Exposing flaws
On Pretty Single, Patricia and five other glamorous women discover whether it's possible to find love by truly being themselves.
All are beauty devotees, but say they feel under pressure to look as good as the perfectly presented women they see on Instagram.
Each of the women undergoes a 'make-under' during which they remove all traces of make-up, before being sent on a series of dates with carefully selected partners.
The make-under is a tough moment for for Patricia who says that, for her, applying make-up each morning is like putting on a mask. The prospect of dating without her protective armour is making her feel vulnerable.
"[Make-up covers] the flaws that you don’t like about yourself," she explains.
"Knowing that I'm going to sit in front of a boy and I have to try and show who I am, but to do that when I'm constantly thinking, '[He can see] I've got no eyelashes, baldy spots on my eyebrows, blotchy red skin...'."
But could it be possible that Patricia is worrying unnecessarily about her appearance? Second date Martin appears to think so, immediately telling her "You're looking very lovely".
On ÃÛÑ¿´«Ã½ iPlayer
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Pretty Single
Hairdresser and self-confessed romantic Patricia dreams of being in love. Will ditching her glamorous image to meet specially selected suitors lead her to 'the one'?
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