Mini-Series: My Week Without Makeup

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This week we here on the BVT Moms Blog delve into the topic of beauty.  What does that mean to us personally?  Who defines beauty?  What makes one beautiful?  So a challenge was issued…one (1) week WITHOUT makeup.

“The most beautiful makeup of a woman is passion.  But cosmetics are easier to buy.” (Yves Saint Laurent)

I stared at my shelf of makeup and felt a panic sweep over me.  One week!  One whole week without any makeup.  My first thought was that I just simply could not do it.  That I would just write the post from the perspective of someone who just absolutely had to have some makeup on (even the smallest amount) every day.  But an inner voice told me I needed to at least try AND explore those feelings of anxiety.  What was the big deal anyway?  Who was going to care if they saw me without any makeup on?  What’s the worst that could happen?

DAY 1:  I get out of the shower and complete my routine of body and face lotion, comb my hair, brush my teeth, and find myself reaching for my bin of beauty products.  Nope, not today put that back down.  So here I am, barefaced but not feeling at all beautiful.  I decide that the only way I can get through this no makeup thing is if I at least dry and style my hair.   Yep, that’s better.  I’m sure it’s only a mental thing but a done “do” covers up the nakedness I’m feeling on my face.  End of night bonus…no eye makeup to take off, which I secretly hate doing every night, so what a treat that I don’t have to do it and I can get into bed that much faster.

Day1MakeupShannon
No Makeup

DAY 2:  Today is Tuesday and I have to get my 4 year old to preschool by 9am.  Even with a shower the night before this Mama is running behind getting 2 kids out the door.  There’s not a chance that I would even be able to get to my makeup even if I wasn’t doing this challenge.  But worse than that, I’m not able to finish my hair either!  Good thing today is a snowstorm and I can cover it up with a hat all day.  Fortunately I see no one I know anywhere I go because I will NOT take this hat off for anyone.

Day2MakeupShannon
Rockin’ the hat…but not really

DAY 3:  Decided to start showering the night before and I’m  really liking the extra time I have in the morning.  And with this no makeup thing I’ve got even more time on my hands.  Today is pretty much like day 1, no color to my face but I did get the hair done.  What’s the deal with the hair you may be asking (and if not, you’re going to get an answer anyway)?  I have short hair, which I like.  But my hair does not fall into place when washed.  I have cowlicks like you can’t believe so my hair can fall any which way but into reasonable place.  No, my hair has to be tamed with a comb and tons of product in order for it to even seemingly lie flat on my forehead.  So I think I’m more self-concious about my hair not being done than about not wearing makeup…but a week without doing your hair is not this week’s challenge.  Back to the task at hand.

DAY 4:  Had lunch with a friend, and fellow BVTMB writer, today and she immediately noticed my lack of makeup.  “Are you doing the makeup challenge too”, she asked?  We then proceeded to say how absolutely beautiful the other looked without makeup (which is of course true) but also talked feverishly about being able to blush and bronze again.  Later this afternoon I took my son to Tae Kwon Do and decided to put on a little lip gloss, that’s ok right?  Felt nice, real nice and my eyes lit up at the hint of color on my lips.  Seriously, a little lip gloss made my eyes sparkle?

DAY 5:  I decided today to put on just the basics.  Basics for me is foundation, bronzer, blush, 1 eye shadow color, eye liner, and mascara.  I liked it, and with my hair done I really liked it.

Day5MakeupShannon2
Basics: foundation, powder, blush, bronzer, 1 eye color, eye liner & mascara

 

Day5MakeupShannon
Full Makeup

So what have I learned?  I think I learned that with or without makeup I am the same person on the inside.  I don’t need it to be beautiful, it doesn’t make me beautiful.  That comes from within.  And no amount of makeup or lack of is going to change that.  Confidence in who you are is where true beauty lies.  So do I need to wear makeup to be confident?  No.

However, I also discovered that I love makeup.  I love the colors, the textures, the sparkle, the glitz and glam of it!    I love that my face is a blank canvas and I can color it up any way I like. In the Wizard of Oz, Dorothy and her friends are taken to get freshened up before going to meet the Wizard and she says “Can you even dye my eyes to match my gown?”, oh I love that!  Yes, we can dye our eyes and paint our lips and rouge our cheeks.

MakeupShannon
This is my extended stash…multiple eye liners, alternate blushes, a whole box of eye shadows, and yes, even some false eye lashes (but only on rare occasions)

Recently I went to local Jivana Spa on Church street with my best friend from high school.  We got makeovers.  I loved every minute of it, loved the feel of the brushes on my face, the plethera of colors, and the choice of products.  In the end I allowed myself one tube of lip gloss and this is how I felt.

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Besties getting our beauty on!

“Lipstick is really magical.  It holds more than a waxy bit of color – it holds the promise of a brilliant smile, a brilliant day, both literally and figuratively.”  (Roberta Gately)

There are going to be days when it’s just not possible to put that makeup on (and even style my hair).  They are to be expected.  And I’m fully confident that when they happen I will survive, not on my good looks, but on my good attitude.

How about you?  What are your thoughts about makeup?  Are you an everyday wearer, a minimalist, or an I can go without type of person?

 

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