Disclaimer: If you truly enjoy wearing / experimenting with makeup, I am in no way demonizing or judging that behavior. I am simply sharing my experience with makeup in hopes that I can inspire at least one other person to honor and respect their natural beauty. Thank you for your understanding.
As a teen who struggled with acne, makeup was a way for me to cover up my flaws. I wore foundation and mascara as armor that I put on every day before leaving the house. I didn’t want to wear makeup, I needed to wear makeup. I needed it to feel confident, secure, and pretty. I have a distinct memory of rushing to cover my skin on Christmas morning before opening presents. That’s pretty sad.
As I started to get older, more spiritual, and form a better understanding of who I truly was, I realized that wearing makeup did not align with my core values. I no longer wanted to spend time, energy, and money on something as arbitrary as my physical appearance. So, I made the decision to stop cold turkey.
At first, I felt uncomfortable and embarrassed. I thought that others were looking at me differently and silently judging. However, it did not take long for those feelings to fade, and for me to realize that literally no one cared how long my lashes were, or if I had a few pimples. With that came an overwhelming amount of genuine confidence.
The thing for me, was that as soon as I stopped relying on my physical appearance in order to feel confident, secure, and pretty, I started to rely on my authentic self: my personality, my sense of humor, and my compassion.
I thought that makeup was the thing that was allowing me to be confident, but it was actually doing the opposite. It only made me feel less assure in who I was as a person. Due to focusing so much energy on my physical appearance, I started to forget about the truly beautiful inner parts of myself.
Going bare face may not seem like a big deal to most people (and if you are one of those people then I am insanely happy for you), but for me it was. Going bare face became empowering. It was a way for me to prove to myself that I am more than my physical appearance, and that my acne, or lack thereof, did not make me any more or less desirable.
As human beings, we were not put on this earth to be society’s version of beautiful. We were not given our bodies in order to change them and distort them. We were put on the planet to love each other, share our gifts, and experience all that life has to offer. For me, giving up makeup was a way for me to be more in tune with that way of living.
I am in no way saying that makeup is a negative thing. I completely understand how playing with different colors and looks can be fun, and that for some people it can even be empowering. I just came to the realization that my relationship with makeup was not adding anything positive to my life, so I decided to let it go.
I hope me sharing this message will inspire you to make a change in your own life that will allow you to show up as your more authentic and naturally beautiful self.
With love and light,
Dee xo