A week without makeup couldn’t be that bad, right?
So many different adjectives twirled around in my head when I tried to put pen to paper and describe what a week of wearing no makeup felt like for me. Yes, I did the unspeakable: I challenged myself to go a full seven days without wearing a drop or dab of purchasable confidence.
For some women, this challenge may seem like a walk in the park – and to those, kudos. For I, going more than two days without makeup is basically a sin. At that, a sin that often never occurs… unless I, say, have the flu.
I wear makeup to work, class, when I hang out with friends, when I hang out with my boyfriend, and even (yes I am that person) during finals week *gasp*.
‘Why do you do it?’ Some may ask. To put it simply, makeup is a form of expression as much as it is a hobby for me. Some people enjoy drawing, painting, or creating whereas I enjoy applying a new face of makeup every morning.
Although I am so passionate about it, I was excited to give my face a breather for a week. I thought that maybe my skin would show miraculous improvements… or maybe this would be a life-changing experience… The possibilities seemed endless.
And, on that note, there were pluses. For one, getting ready in the morning was a breeze. All I needed to do was wake up 25 minutes before I planned on leaving the house so I had enough time to shower and grab a bite. Typically, I’ll give myself an hour, sometimes even more when I do plan on wearing makeup. Additionally, I was able to rub my eyes and blow my nose without worrying. Ladies, you know how much either one of those tasks can ruin your mascara or foundation.
The problem was, however, that I was so distracted with worry about what people thought of me. What did my coworkers think when they saw how blonde my eyelashes and eyebrows really are? What did my guy friends think when they saw the imperfections on my skin? Oh, is she staring? Oh no.
At my first day at work without makeup, my male coworker told me I looked like I had good color on my face. I replied, without shame, “Oh it’s because I’m not wearing makeup.” However, looking back, why didn’t I just take that compliment and run with it? ‘Thanks!’ I should have said – it would have been so much easier.
The days without makeup seemed to get easier, since I was seeing the same people over and over again, and if they didn’t see me with makeup on Monday they were less likely to notice a change on Thursday when, in fact, there was none – still no makeup.
However, the feeling that was freeing and interesting to me at the beginning of the week no longer felt as exciting as Thursday rolled around. Yes, to some, getting out of bed minutes before leaving the house is fantastic. But for me, I didn’t feel as composed and prepared as I usually do. Additionally, I felt less happy.
The fact of the matter isn’t that covering my skin makes me happy, but as I said, makeup is a love of mine, and depriving myself of that happiness was becoming a major problem with my mood and emotions.
So, after a long week of wearing no makeup, I took the time in front of my mirror and put on my brightest lipstick and my favorite highlighter and I picked myself up of the gloomy ground of disaster… To makeup, thank you for brightening up my life!