No Makeup Challenge

A year ago, I decided that I would do the “No Makeup Challenge.” I stumbled upon an article about this challenge and a few celebrities participating in this challenge. Instantly, I thought to myself that there was no way I could do that. I always wore makeup, under no circumstances would you ever find me in public not wearing any makeup. I used to spend over $100 a month getting new products and trying new things. Clearly, I was obsessed with putting on a full face every day even if I was just staying in. There was no way I wanted to try this.

The next day, I was running late to work so I didn’t have enough time to put on my face. I put very little and it looked for the most part natural. It felt so weird to not wear as much makeup and I thought I looked weird, it was too natural for me.

A couple of weeks pass and again I was running late, this time extremely late (I have trouble waking up) that I didn’t have time to put on any makeup. Naturally, I let my hair down to hide my face as best as possible. Everyone kept asking if I was tired, I guess not wearing makeup makes me look tired, but I was so annoyed with everyone comments. I know it looks different when people who wear makeup suddenly don’t, but certain comments aren’t necessary because it just makes us feel insecure.

That night I did my normal nightly skin routine and I decided that I wouldn’t use makeup for the rest of the week. That week has now turned into a year. Since I’ve started this, I’ve put on makeup maybe three to five times for weddings and baby showers, a little glam once in a while never hurt anybody.

Now I look at pictures a year ago and I can’t believe I was wearing that much makeup. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love makeup, it’s an art! People do very beautiful things with their faces all the time and I love it. I follow some makeup artists and support those who love what they do. Putting on makeup is fun, I always enjoyed it. What I don’t miss about wearing makeup every day is having to take it off and retouch it throughout the day. I can’t express how much I love coming home at the end of the day and not worry about having to do that extra step making sure I’m not leaving any residue behind.

My skin loves this challenge as well, it looks so much better than it used to. Do I still have blemishes? Of course! I have a lot of problems with my skin and I try my best to give it all it needs. Not only does mt skin love it, but I feel better. We all have our own insecurities and trust me I have many. I used to always think that if I didn’t put on any makeup then I would look ugly. I felt that way for a month before I started feeling comfortable in my own skin. For someone who has worn makeup since high school and almost never missed a day to now never (almost never) was hard.

I thought that to be pretty, I needed to have makeup on, that was the only way to look acceptable in the world. Now I feel a little odd when I wear makeup. I love my bare skin, my bare face, the natural look is my favorite now. I love the support I’ve gotten from my boyfriend and some family members. I still always get the “you look better with makeup on” or the “you look weird without makeup” but fuck that and fuck them. The best way to live your life is to do what makes you feel comfortable and most importantly what makes you feel beautiful.