While I definitely am not a makeup artist, I do carve out time in my morning routine for a touch of eyeliner, mascara, and concealer. It’s not much, and it doesn’t take more than five minutes, yet I still feel confident and comfortable afterwards. After reading about the skin benefits of going makeup free, I decided to try it out. For one whole week, I didn’t touch my makeup bag in the morning. The only time I attended to my face was at night when I washed it.
While this may sound like a painful experience (or maybe it sounds meaningless to you), I learned so much more about myself than I expected. There is no shame in wearing makeup, but if you find yourself relying on brushes and blushes to feel validated, I recommend trying this out. Your world may forever change.
Here’s everything I learned after going makeup free for one whole week.
1. Without makeup, my ‘breakouts’ were virtually nonexistent.
I am lucky enough to have minimal acne, but when I do find a pimple on my skin I almost instantly cover it up. Instead of rushing to the concealer during the week, I didn’t go near my pimples or blemishes. The best part? They vanished! After one or two days of making their unwanted appearance on my face, any new acne disappeared without scaring. Around day three, I stopped seeing acne all together.
2. My skin really thrives when it’s able to breathe.
As I mentioned, I don’t lather my face with foundation every morning. Even so, I could tell a difference in the way my skin reacted to the outside atmosphere. It felt more refreshing and rewarding to step outside and take a deep breath. Without having sections of my face clouded with concealer, all of my skin could soak in the benefits of natural air.
3. Being able to actually rub your eyes feels like freedom.
Ok this might seem painfully obvious, but it’s true. We’ve all had the experience of rubbing our eyes then remembering half way through about the makeup. The result is always the same: smudged, black liner that finds its way to your cheekbones and makes it look like you’ve been bawling for hours. Not exactly glamorous.
4. No one cares or notices if you aren’t wearing makeup.
The first few days without makeup, I was hard on myself. I thought I looked tired and too young and I was afraid of being taken seriously. The reality was that the only critic was myself. No one gasped at the sight of my face or said I looked ‘ugly’ or ‘different.’ In fact, the only comment I received was from a friend who said my skin looked clear.
5. I don’t need makeup to be confident.
Once I realized that I didn’t need to rely on makeup to be accepted, I felt liberated. Although makeup isn’t necessarily meant to be deceiving, it does alter your physical appearance to some degree. Without it, I felt more connected to myself and comfortable in my natural skin. Girl powaa!!
6. It’s not about how you look. It’s about how you feel.
Cheesy, I know, but this couldn’t be more true. A week without makeup taught me that feeling beautiful and positive is a personal journey. Some days you may need a little extra concealer, and other days you may want to try being completely natural. There is no right or wrong way to find what feels good. Self-love is a practice, not a one time achievement, and each day will bring new challenges. Be open to your emotions and embrace your individuality.
