Why Going a Month without Make Up Was the Best Thing I've Ever Done

Doing my make up used to be a mandatory step in my morning routine. It was kind of like brushing my teeth - something I did without having to think about it, something that I did so much that leaving that step out of my routine would have felt a little weird.

I can't think of a time when I didn't leave the house without at least the smallest hint of make up, and to be honest, I think there were some people in my year at school who haven't ever seen me completely bare-faced before at all - until recently.

Because halfway through March, I decided something had to change.
I was struggling with some really ugly skin conditions, and I felt horrible just thinking about leaving the house without covering them up, but I also knew that they'd never heal if I didn't let my skin breathe.

So I stopped wearing make up.
And while that short sentence might seem so underwhelming to some, it was quite a big step for me. But it was also a very important one because I learnt so much during that time!

For one, my skin did in fact get better.

I've realized that being covered in make up for eight to ten hours a day could just not be healthy for my skin, and letting it breathe by just washing it every morning and night did so much for it, as did the sun rays that for once actually reached my skin without the layers of foundation and concealer covering it up.

My face has almost healed completely by now, which makes me so happy I could weep - that's also why I've only started introducing minimal products like mascara back into my routine.

What's even more important, however, is what it did for me as a person.
I think most people struggle with confidence, or more so lack thereof, and so do I - especially regarding my appearance and my skin. I've actually dedicated an entire post to explaining how I've been struggling with coming to terms with my skin for years.

Keeping that in mind, it might be clear why I was so damn scared of walking around bare-faced in public, especially during the early stages when my face still looked a little like I fell into stinging nettles face first.
But even though I've had some nasty comments dropped behind my back - only from people I didn't even know and most of whom were even younger than me - I've started feeling better and better in my own skin every day.

Now that we're almost halfway through June and I've only recently started wearing some mascara and lipstick here and there, I can wholeheartedly say that I don't give a shit anymore.
I've realised that the only person who has live with this skin is esentially me, therefore no one else should be bothering with how I look so long as I'm okay with it. And I'm fine with it, I'm finally contended with how my skin is doing, even though it's nowhere near perfect.
If I've taken one lesson out of this time, it's this - I have to feel good in my own skin and live with it every single day, not anyone else.

And one the other hand, to end this post on a little less depressing note because how the hell do I always end up going so deep into topics like this, I'm so deep I can literally see hell, it actually even helped me save money!
I love make up, it was and still is a great passion of mine so I ocassionally - okay, more often than I'd like to admit - splurge on products, even when I know that I technically don't need them.

However, not wearing make up in the first place also meant that I really considered every purchase twice and often ended up not buying anything at all!

Going without make up for over a month had really positive effects on me - but have you ever gone without it for a longer time? What did you experience?

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