I’ve never been a fan of going makeup free. I’m quite a simple and natural makeup lover and rarely take more than half an hour to do a full face of makeup. I would usually only put some on if I was going to work or a night out. So in last year’s lockdown, I didn’t really have a reason to wear any. But I had no idea how good it would make me feel. 

 

The things I noticed going makeup free:

 

My skin cleared up so quickly

Usually wearing makeup helps me to stop touching my face as I’m afraid of wiping an eyebrow off, which in turn, helps my skin. However, completely cutting out makeup and solely focusing on my skincare routine helped my skin to breathe more which completely cleared up those blemishes I’d wake up with from usually wearing makeup for the whole day before. 

This already made me feel better about myself as I’m always very aware of any blemishes on my face. 

 

I tanned more!

We all remember how amazing the weather was in the first lockdown and I was especially happy as I had plenty of time to work on a tan. I’m very blessed that I tan easily and that I had a lovely garden to be able to sunbathe in. Having a tan always makes me feel like I don’t need any foundation as I would have a nice summer glow to my skin. 

 

I had more time for other things

Besides the direct consequences of going makeup free, I had more time to focus on other parts of my self care ritual. I could do my hair in a different way to my usual half up half down ponytail. Or I have a bit more time on my hands to moisturise or paint my nails or anything else that makes me feel good about myself. I used to focus so much on getting my face to look right that I realised that I’d sacrificed care to other parts of my body for it. 

 

I could sleep longer

We all know how important your sleep is and we hear all the time about the mental benefits of getting a good night’s rest. I, especially, really suffer if I haven’t slept properly and so going makeup free actually helped me get that extra half an hour’s kip so that my skin and body felt the best it could be for the day.

 

It boosted my self esteem

Being more tanned and having clearer skin helped to boost my self esteem. Like most of us, the attitude towards myself relies on the way I feel about my appearance. The compliments I received boosted my confidence and helped me feel more comfortable in my natural skin. This made me think more about going makeup free even after lockdown. 

 

It saved me some money

I genuinely think I have a problem with spending money sometimes. I constantly look for bargains and sometimes refuse to buy things because they’re slightly out of my budget. I’m working on talking myself out of this (see my post on learning how to be okay with spending money on yourself here). 

But removing makeup out of my daily routine saved me loads of pennies! I have never been that person who keeps up with all the latest eyeshadow palettes or buying every shade of lipstick available. But still, the basic things I used in my daily routine still cost me a decent amount of money. It was nice to think I could spend this on something else instead.

 

Now:

A year later and a whole summer now approaching, I’m still in this makeup free routine that I made for myself. I work two jobs and I’ve settled into going to work with the bare minimum on my face – moisturiser, SPF and maybe a little bit of mascara and eyebrow definition. 

Yes, okay, that’s not necessarily ‘makeup free’ but it is a huge improvement on the way I used to pile on the layers of foundation, contour, blush etc. just so I felt comfortable. I’m now happy enough to use my BareMinerals foundation that doesn’t completely disguise my blemishes and just gives me a smoother look. 

I feel much more comfortable with taking on the natural look more often than not and saving the makeup for special occasions.