I used to be the kind of girl who refused to leave the house (or dorm) barefaced. I needed to at least apply some mascara before going anywhere. I’ve never even had an intensive makeup routine. I don’t know how to contour or anything fancy like that. My typical look is winged eyeliner with mascara. At the most, I might apply some eyeshadow and lipstick as well, but that was only ever for really special occasions. Yet even with such a seemingly simple look, I always had to have it. Eyeliner and mascara had become like a safety net for me.
For the past few months I’ve been wearing less and less makeup. I don’t take the time to do my winged liner and I’ve started to wear only mascara on most days. Lately, I don’t even take the time to do that. I’ve been leaving my room barefaced, something that has been a rarity since I started wearing makeup back in middle school.Is it because I’m busy and don’t have the time? Am I letting the senioritis take over to the point that I just don’t care? Is it because I have a really sweet boyfriend that is constantly complimenting my natural face? I think it’s definitely a mix of all those things, but really, I’m becoming a lot more comfortable and confident in my natural appearance.
To really test this, I decided to go a full week without applying any makeup.
It’s not that I haven’t gone long periods of time without wearing any makeup. The key to this test was that I was out in public. I was going to class, work and club meetings completely barefaced.
There were a few times I felt a bit self-conscious, but I pushed on regardless. The longer I continued to not wear makeup, the easier it got. By the end of the week, I didn’t think anything of it.
A big thing about going makeup-less is how comfortable I’ve become in my own skin. Each time I look into the mirror barefaced, instead of cringing, I smile. There was never any reason to cringe in the first place. I’m certainly no supermodel, but I can finally admit to myself that I’m still pretty without the help of some mascara and eyeliner.I’ve really gotten used to my natural face, which is the most important thing. When you’re constantly wearing makeup, seeing yourself without it can be daunting. I used to look at my natural face and get discouraged, thinking I looked sad and tired. In reality, I was just accustomed to the way I looked with makeup on. I just needed to get used to seeing myself without it.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still going to wear makeup now and then. I’m not bashing anyone who can’t go without it, or chooses not to. I think makeup is a wonderful and fun tool to help enhance our beauty and in a lot of cases it’s a great way to show-off creativity. There’s also no way I’m letting my skill of being able to apply winged eyeliner go to waste!
It’s just nice to know now that I don’t have to wear makeup in order to feel confident in myself.