I remember the day I threw away all of my makeup as one of the most disheartening days of my life. It was a phase of my life where I found myself submerged in the busy events of high school. This consisted of days filled with homework, sports, work, and friends. I was coming into contact with many different people on a daily basis, which is why I was not surprised when I woke up with pink eye. Not only was I given specific instructions to not leave the house for 24 hours after I started treatment, but I also could not share any towels or sheets with anyone. The worst part about contracting pink eye was that I had to throw away all of the makeup I had used recently, in case the bacteria had come into contact with any of it.
Following doctor’s orders, I threw my makeup into my trash can as a tear rolled down my face dramatically. This was an order that I found very difficult to follow because of how much money and time it had taken for me to get my makeup stash to the point it had been. Because I had put so much money into my now-gone makeup, I could not just run to a drug store and buy whatever was there. No, I needed my Kat Von D Tattoo Liner and refused to use any other eye liner. So I decided to order everything I had in my previous collection online from Sephora, which meant that I had to wait seven days before I would have any makeup. This meant seven days of going to school, work, and sports without any makeup. I usually try to find the positive in any situation, so I convinced myself that a week break from makeup would be nice.
The first day or two was really hard. It had been a long time since I had gone to school and work without doing my makeup. I felt ugly, I felt like everybody could tell. I was constantly reminded of my insecurity by friends and classmates asking me if I was sick because I “didn’t look well”. A close friend at the time reminded me how beautiful I looked without any makeup, and while it was nice having someone to remind me, I did not feel it was completely true. I lost my confidence for a couple days. I walked with my head down in the hallways and did everything I could to stay under the radar. Around day four or five of my week with no makeup, I finally stopped thinking about the fact that my face was bare, and I started appreciating the extra twenty to thirty minutes I had to sleep in the morning. I appreciated the simplicity of my morning care routine. The pimples I had on my face started clearing up because I was not constantly clogging my pores with layers of cover-up. I finally realized no one cared that I was not wearing makeup. I was the person who made such a big deal over having a bare face. It became so much easier to look in the mirror at myself with no makeup on.
So, what did I learn from this experience besides that makeup is very expensive and pink eye sucks? I learned that it is important for every person to learn to love the way they look without any makeup. It is crucial to realize that everybody is beautiful in their own way. Makeup adds to it, but it is not the only factor of what determines beauty. I still wear makeup quite frequently, but I encourage everyone who reads this to try a week without makeup. If you just cannot push yourself hard enough to do a full week then try a couple of days at a time. You will find that becoming comfortable and confident with your natural beauty can be life changing!