MakeupSelf Improvement

Challenge: One Week of No Makeup

posted on February 15, 2018 | by Amanda Holstein

Challenge: One Week of No Makeup

I’ve always wished I could be one of those natural beauties. You know, those girls with incredible skin and perfect brows? They can go sans makeup and look flawless without effort. A few weeks ago I was thinking about this, and I realized I had this assumption in my head that I had to wear makeup because my skin wasn’t perfect. I hated that I was thinking that way and I knew I had to do something about it. So I decided to challenge myself this past week to wearing no makeup whatsoever.

There’s something so freeing yet so terrifying about wearing no makeup for a whole week. Part of me loves being so low maintenance, yet another part of me feels very vulnerable, wondering what others are thinking when they look at me. I didn’t realize just how much I was hiding behind makeup. And I don’t even wear a lot! But I do wear it often, basically every day that I leave the house.

no makeup challenge advice from a 20 somethingno makeup challenge advice from a 20 something

On the first day of no makeup, I went to get the oil changed in my car. I pulled up to the Jiffy Lube and a young guy in his early twenties came out to greet me. We chatted a little and he asked me if I went to school around here. Guys, I’m almost 30. I was so surprised to see that people actually thought I was younger without makeup on!

As the week went on, I thought less and less about how I looked. I know this may sound silly, but I realized that I am still me without makeup. I still have all the great qualities that define me and no amount of makeup is going to convince someone otherwise. I thought others would judge me differently or have different opinions of me. But it just goes to show how much harder we are on ourselves than others are on us.

no makeup challenge advice from a 20 something

This experiment has definitely made me feel more confident leaving the house without makeup on. In fact, I only feel the urge to wear makeup to very specific events rather than on a daily basis. Each day without makeup allowed me to feel more confident in my own skin than I’ve felt in a long time. And I know it sounds cheesy, but confidence is seriously beautiful. Plus, ditching the makeup actually helped improve my skin! Funny how that works.

Now, I challenge you to wear no makeup for a week!
Or at least a couple days. Tell me how it feels!