The Beauty of Not Wearing Makeup
In my family, wearing makeup was a right of passage. I could wear mascara at age 13, foundation the next year, and a full face of makeup at age 16. Ever since I felt completely naked if I didn’t leave the house with makeup.
I suffered from bad acne growing up. I tried creams, pills, face wash, and practically every other zit zapping product. None of it seemed to work. The only time my face would really clear up was when I was sick and didn’t put on makeup for a few days.
I knew in the back of my head that my acne would probably clear up if I went a while without wearing makeup, but that thought scared me. I hated looking in the mirror with a bare face. I saw all my imperfections and overall felt like a plain Jane. Every time I made a vow not to wear makeup, I always failed as soon as a pesky pimple popped up.
The Change
COVID-19 made a lot of people change their life. At the end of 2020, I graduated college and started on my job interviews. I would cake on makeup for my job interviews and while I was confident in my appearance, sometimes I wondered why I was putting on so much makeup for just a Zoom call.
When I finally landed my first job, I’d wake up early just to put on makeup for our morning meetings. My skin kept getting worse and worse. I knew my sister’s wedding was coming up, so I decided to challenge myself.
As the maid of honor, I desperately wanted a clear face for her wedding. I knew the only way would be to cease wearing makeup altogether. So I challenged myself to wear zero makeup for a week.
It turns out masks are a great way to hide acne. I wasn’t afraid to leave the house because I knew I could hide behind my mask. Soon, I noticed my acne start to disappear and I knew my experiment was working. However, there was something else that happened which surprised me… I actually liked what I saw in the mirror. In the last 9 years, there was never a moment I thought I looked pretty without at least a dash of mascara and a dab of concealer. This woman that was now staring back at me in the mirror now knew she didn’t need all that junk on her face to be pretty.
That moment was over 9 months ago at this point, and I haven’t bought a new makeup product since. I still wear makeup from time to time, but only for special occasions. I know that I am absolutely beautiful with or without makeup.
I’m not telling people to throw away their makeup collections. I believe makeup can be a form of art and a lot of women genuinely love wearing makeup. There is nothing wrong with that! But, if putting on makeup is a pain for you, or if you suffer from persistent acne, or just want a change, I challenge you to try to go bare for a week. Maybe extend it to a month if you’re feeling crazy. Women don’t have to wear makeup. We are already beautiful, don’t let anyone tell you differently.
