Every day is the same routine for me. Wake up. Brush my teeth. Get dressed. Put makeup on. Drive to school. I wake up at least an hour and a half before my 8am class. Yikes! I needed a way to save some time in the morning during a semester of sleepless nights and early mornings. I challenged myself to a week of wearing no makeup and it really changed my perspective of things. Not only would I save time, but I wanted to see how dependent I was on eyeliner and insisting on filling in my eyebrows before stepping outside. How would this change my own sense of self? Would I even make it a week or give in on day 2?
Day One: The first day was tough. I felt like I was exposed and bare. I felt like all of my insecurities were on display. I don’t have perfect skin or perfect eyebrows. Instead I have dark under eye circles and unruly eyebrows. For most of the day, I seemed to forget that I wasn’t wearing any makeup. On the other hand, there were times where I wished I was wearing some amount of makeup. What is it about drawing a black line on my eyelid that affects my confidence, and overall mood?
Day Two: The second day was actually not so bad. It was nice being able to rub my eyes or scratch my face without smudging my eyeshadow or mascara. That itself was a huge plus! Especially when I study, I like to feel fresh and I tend to touch my face a lot. It was nice not having to worry about messing up my highlight or my foundation.
Day Three: Day Three was not my favorite. I had a presentation in my Spanish class. To say the least, I don’t like presentations. Having a 10 minute presentation in front of the class, without makeup felt like misery. Unexpectedly, once it was over I felt so much better that I presented whether or not I felt “pretty”. Even though, makeup isn’t the end of the world, it was important to me knowing I could do this.
Day Four: I really felt like day four was eye opening. I was saving time in the morning getting ready, and I felt way more confident than I have in a while. To kick things up, I started wearing my natural hair to school instead of straightening my hair 24/7. I even got compliments about my hair.
Day Five: I got used to wearing no makeup by now. I really started enjoying the perks of no makeup, that it outweighed the seemingly unbearable cons.
Day Six and Seven: During the weekend, I basically stayed in my house and studied. When I am at home, I never wear makeup, so I felt no difference. I was proud that I had made it a full week of being makeup free!
Final Thoughts:
After a week without makeup, I decided to skip wearing makeup in the weeks to continue. I thought I would hate it and give up after the first day, but it turns out no one really cared or noticed whether I was wearing makeup or not. It was so refreshing just to come home and not feel makeup caked on my face. Currently, I alternate between wearing makeup and going all natural. Actually, now that I think about it, I rarely wear makeup anymore. I don’t really feel as much of the need or urgency to wear it. I don’t usually wear that much makeup anymore, but when I do, it’s like a boost to my confidence. I have gained confidence without wearing it but when I do, I don’t feel so dependent on it. I think that college is the perfect place to try this challenge because it’s acceptable to wear whatever you want and try new things. Whether you choose to wear makeup or not, make sure you feel comfortable in your own skin and proud of your beauty choices no matter what people tell you.