Giving Up Makeup // #nomakeupmarch

AHHH It's my naked face. That's not even a justified reaction. For goodness sake, it's what my momma gave me. And there is all of zero reasons why I should ever be ashamed of it. But makeup. It's like a drug. I tell myself I don't need it but it's a quick fix to all of my self-confidence issues. 

Got a breakout? Hide it with your fullest-coverage foundation.

Tired eyes? Concealer to the rescue. 

Face a little dull? Add some blush to perk your face up. 

Feeing fat? Contour those cheekbones. 

Looking pale? Put some sunshine on your face with a heavy dusting of bronzer.

… and so on. Tricking myself into feeling like the unnecessary is necessary – such a human thing. We’re all smart enough to know that makeup isn’t key to survival and I could live with out it but I choose not to. 

To curb this issue, I'm going cold turkey. 

I've been wearing no makeup as of Wednesday, February 18th (Ash Wednesday). I can’t claim to be a Christian, nor am I an Atheist. However, I do see value in the observing Lent (or something of that nature). Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and is approximately six weeks before Easter Sunday. Per good ole Wikipedia, the traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer through prayer, penance, repentance, atonement and self-denial.” In plain words, commit to giving up luxuries as a form of penitence. Some people give up everyday “necessities” like coffee or tea, chocolate, meat, social media... 

What do I expect to get out of this? It's a reminder to myself that I'm the same person, with or without some product on my face. Beyond that I want focus on what’s more than appearances (family, friends, career, life in general) without worrying about breakouts or oily skin or tired eyes. 

Nobody said it was going to be easy. I’m predicting urges to smother lipstick all over my face. I might even have to sleep beside my favourite highlighter palette. No challenge is without rules (and a few exceptions). So I’ve set some realistic guidelines for myself:

The Rules: 

• No makeup until Sunday, April 5, 2015
• Makeup = foundation, concealer, mascara, highlighter, eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, bronzer, lipstick, lip gloss, etc. 
• Allowed = skincare, sheer tinted lip balms, blotting sheets

The Exceptions:

• Press events - because sadly, physical first impressions matter and what's a beauty blogger without a little makeup
• Weekends - for the purpose of reviewing, photographing and blogging ONLY - must remove everything if going out. 
• My Birthday (March 21) - just because

As for the blog, you can still expect regular makeup reviews written pre-no-makeup and perhaps a higher concentration of nail, skin, hair and body posts. 

Do you wear makeup daily? Do you feel like you need it? 

Nothing disclose. My face is my own (duh.)

Facebook || Twitter || Bloglovin || Instagram