After writing Bare Faced & Insecure–My Evening Without Makeup, I was actually surprised how many of you shared your personal experiences surrounding makeup in the comments as well as by email. Two weeks following I completely laid low in the makeup department deciding to only use concealer sparingly and keep my lips moisturized with my homemade Mandarin Nutmeg Lip Balm.
The freedom that I’ve experienced from going makeup-free is the reason why I’m sharing the One Week Makeup-Free Challenge with you.
After two weeks of being significantly makeup-free, I am comfortable being bare faced and finally secure. I don’t feel that there is anything wrong with wearing makeup as long as it is toxic-free therefore healthy for your body. I’m not crazy about feeling unhappy with myself if I’m not made up hence the article I wrote about feeling unattractive and definitely not chic. When we hide behind tons of makeup regularly, we wash our face at night no longer feeling beautiful. In many cases we also inhibit our skin from breathing and possibly worse continue the cycle of breakouts if the ingredients in our makeup are full of chemicals, if we are using old makeup that has expired, or we don’t keep our makeup brushes clean. The wrong makeup with a poor skin care regimen and diet can actually exacerbate blemishes and acne keeping our skin in an unfavorable state while not allowing it to heal itself.
The One Week Makeup-Free Challenge is focused on embracing your natural beauty, providing more time in the morning to do other things, as well as making your skin care the most important part of your beauty routine and not your makeup.
Over the next week share your experiences here and on the Minimalist Beauty Community Facebook Page. I will also make an effort to include skin care tips at the end of each article next week. If you are interested in this challenge comment below with your thoughts, concerns, or any questions you may have. If you are curious about my skin care regimen definitely check it out here.
Feel free to use concealer, preferably a natural one, to use a spot treatment as needed.
I don’t think I would have been as comfortable going two weeks without “color” if I hadn’t concealed whatever blemishes were present at the time. Lastly, this experience made it so easy to do my latest photos like the one above for Azuha with only a natural concealer, blush, lip balm, and of course the Vapour Organic Beauty “BB Cream”. Usually I would have also worn foundation, powder, eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara, lip liner, and lipstick. Instead I focused on working on more important aspects for my Etsy store.
Although this challenge is starting today, feel free to do this for yourself at any time. Share your thoughts below!
(Image by Dawn Michelle)
Lorraine Emerick says
Check out Once Opened Beauty Expiration Kit
Dawn Michelle says
Thanks for the suggestion Lorraine!
sandy says
Your natural glow just oozes through in that picture.
This post has inspired me to get rid of my old makeup that has been sitting around. I rarely wear it anyway. I think its just a bad habit to keep it around or an unconscious feeling of guilt that I spent too much money on some of it.
Dawn Michelle says
Thank you Sandy! It can feel tough throwing out old makeup because it is usually pretty expensive. No guilt though, it is better not to use it once it is old because of all the bacteria that it can have. Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!
Darcia says
My anti aging – clear complexion regimen:
CLEANSER – plain full fat greek yogurt mixed with an oil, honey, lemon
TONER – lipton honey green tea (1/4 c of boiling water – 1 tea bag) mixture good for 1 week in the refrigerator after steeping
MOISTURIZER – couple of drops of avocado oil or grapeseed oil
Questioning the need for sunscreen
MASK – chickpea and turmeric – recipe below
NIGHT CREAM – Nerium AD – simplywholistic.nerium.com
1/2 cups ground chickpeas, 1 1/2 T turmeric mixed together. Take 1 T of mixture add 5 drops of an oil and water to make a paste. Apply mask for 15 minutes.
My skin hyperpigmented areas have cleared 90% in 3 months using this routine. All of my foundation is too dark. I can’t wear it anyway glad to join challenge.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Darcia, Thanks for sharing your DIY skin care regimen! Your cleanser is full of natural exfoliating enzymes so no wonder your hyperpigmentation has cleared so much. That’s amazing! For your mask are you using chickpea flour? Again thanks for sharing!
Victoria says
Although 20, I was sucked into wearing make up every single day. I was determined to let go of the habit, but I couldnt help but feel that I look ugly without my “mask”. I wasnt using heavy foundation; in fact, I was using BareMinerals. However, I knew that I needed to change my ways. For a couple of months, I was using a skin lightening cream my mother gave me for my hyperpigmentation and overall complexion. In August, I had 10+ skin deep chemical burns from the cream. That was the day I decided to go make up free…haha, warped thinking right? It was weird at first because people kept asking me: “what happened to your face?” I didnt feel free or beautiful at first – the burns were 10x worse than my acne scars. BUT I kept it up. Fast forward to the present and I no longer use hydroquonine on my skin. I wore make up twice since August, and I have to say that I love the way my skin looks without it. For people to tell me that I am beautiful without my foundation, eyeliner, and mascara is a great feeling. For me to tell myself I’m beautiful without makeup is even better.
Thanks for underscoring natural beauty inside and out.
Dawn Michelle says
You are so welcome Victoria! Self approval is the most precious gift that we can give ourselves. Your boldness is inspiring! Again thanks for sharing and best wishes with everything!
Steph says
I actually have the opposite experience: I never wear any makeup and keep trying to. I keep telling myself ‘you’re an adult you should wear makeup’, however I keep forgetting to. When I do wear it I feel I look fake, I rub my eyes forgetting I have makeup on, or I just wash it off an hour later because it just feels funny to have something sitting on my skin (even powders). I don’t have particularly nice skin (acne, dark circles, blackheads), but I think the best makeup is confidence.
On a side note I read somewhere (sorry I don’t know exactly) that women who wear makeup are more likely to get hired and promoted. Apparently it’s because their boss perceives them as someone who makes more of an effort and has more attention to detail. Women without makeup are perceived as having ‘given up’ and disorganized. Double standard isn’t it? Especially since work place makeup is supposed to be ‘natural looking’.
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Steph,
Confidence is your best makeup, yet it is also perceived to have a more polished/professional look to wear makeup. I stopped wearing as much makeup as I used to yet still feel more polished with at least concealer, blush, and tinted lip balm. I’m hoping that this challenge will encourage more to find a healthy balance between the “mask” and enhancing key features with less makeup. It’s amazing that you have already embraced your natural beauty!
Best wishes!
Laurie says
I’ve been following your blog for the last week or so – I’m hooked! But gosh, you’re beautiful, you don’t need makeup. I’ve never worn much makeup,but at 52 I’m ready for the challenge!
Dawn Michelle says
Thank you Laurie!
Definitely join. I’ll have to set new dates for this challenge, but maybe we can see if anyone else is interested too. Skin care is so important. I’ve noticed that whenever I skip my foundation and spot conceal instead, it gives my skin the chance to breath and focus on healing. As for skipping the other makeup steps you do save so much time!
Erin says
I know this is an older post, but I just found your website today, and was intrigued with so many things: henna for hair care and color, all the skin care ideas such as raw honey and oats, and I want so bad to start changing my skin and hair regimen, but I have to admit…. I don’t think I can go a whole week without wearing make-up. I have suffered from acne pretty much since I was 15, and all through my adult life. I have never had completely clear skin, without some blemish or breakout of some kind. I tried eliminating dairy and white foods, meat, fried foods, all that and nothing. I’ve tried the harsh drying stuff like Proactiv and other spot treatments, and they make it worse, and itchy. I’ve tried doing nothing, I’ve tried using moisturizers, I’ve tried masks. Nothing has consistently helped it to improve. I’m so sick of it, I hate anyone seeing me without makeup, even my kids, husband, even my mom. I don’t go anywhere without makeup. I feel like everyone notices my fave when I’m wearing makeup, let alone if I were to NOT wear it. I recently switched from Bare Minerals to a different, cheaper makeup that actually gives me more coverage, but I now know that it probably has all the junk in it that you have mentioned to avoid. I’m a working mother of three on a budget…if you could recommend a few must haves for someone like me, what would they be? I am terrified at the thought of going to work without anything on my face…. please help me:(
Dawn Michelle says
Hi Erin,
Check out this article on Oils Specifically for Acne Prone Skin. It will give you insight on why certain natural oils just don’t work for those who are acne prone. Also oil cleansing has been the BEST thing for my skin. I only use oils high in linoleic acid which I talk about in that article. I oil cleanse using a steamy microfiber cloth to remove the oil after gently massaging the oil into my skin for a few minutes. I will steam the skin with this microfiber cloth at least twice to gently remove the oil after cleansing. I also use a drop or tow of this same oil to moisturize my skin.
It may seem counterproductive to use oil for acne prone skin but it really does work. It is a simple and very inexpensive skin care regimen. As for makeup I would use a natural makeup like 100% Pure or go back to mineral makeup. I also listed a bunch of natural makeup lines here which may help. As your skin heals you will feel better to wear less and less foundation which is very rewarding. I will be writing more about my current skin care regimen very soon so stay tuned for that. Hope this helps and best wishes!