Most Women Still Feel Ugly Without Makeup—Do You?
It’s been well over a year ago now since we held the No-Makeup Challenge, and got these inspiring results from readers who dared to go barefaced in public and snap a pic for us. The point of the challenge was never to get down on makeup—we’re both huge fans of the transformative power of lipsticks, eye liners, concealers and blushes—but to call into question our dependance on the stuff, and just to re-introduce everyone to their face without it. If only for a few hours.
But now the Globe and Mail is reporting that a poll conducted of 1,292 adult American women has found that most of us feel either unnactractive (16%), naked (14%), or selfconscious (14%) when we don’t wear makeup. Guh. Do you fall into one of these categories?
I, for one, used to go to sleep with my mascara and eye liner on—only to wake up and reapply. Setting aside the fact that that is a disgusting, bacteria-filled nightmare, for many years the only time I saw my face free of makeup was for those few moments after a shower and before I left for work. If I had a boy over, I’d usually apply a little something-something in secret before he could see me in my true form. God forbid.
A lot has changed since then. While I still live for makeup (really I love the stuff) I have gotten accustomed to what I look like without it. Just yesterday I noticed that by 11am, the bright lipstick I’d applied to go into public had all but disappeared and I didn’t think much of spending the rest of the day with nothing on. I wasn’t thrilled when I looked in the mirror or anything, but I felt OK, and I was busy, and I pretty much forgot about it.
What about you: Do you ever go barefaced? Is it maybe time for another challenge?
As it happens, we got a wonderful email just this morning from a teenager who came across our the No-Makeup Challenge and, for a class project, is going to hold a No-Makeup Day at her high school. She promised to send us pics, and we couldn’t be more touched. We can only hope these younger girls will feel a little more freedom when it comes to their faces.
We’re gonna guess even supermodels feel weird barefaced. Image via
I hope to someday get to Tanya’s point of view, but I feel better knowing that I am not the only one that feels the necessity to cover-up. Unfortunately I was cursed with adult acne, and some ridiculously dark under-eyes. After 15 years of using every acne product under the sun (I also tried using *nothing* which didn’t help), I finally went to the dermatologist and got medication , and, it worked! (Surely full of nasty ingredients, but soooo worth it!) My acne is almost completely gone, and it feels SO GOOD. I used to get really down on myself, thinking it was all my fault because I couldn’t keep my hands off my face, (double-confidence-killer!), but it’s SO nice to not have that hanging over me. I do still have the under-eye circles, so I can’t go make-up free. I definitely need concealer if I’m going to leave the house, otherwise I would worry people would think I was sick – I seriously look like I belong in the hospital or something. I hope to someday figure out what’s going on there – my undereyes are both red and dark – I suspect it’s at least partially an undiagnosed food allergy, as some of my other food allergies have affected my circles (dairy was a big one). But they also run in the family, so I don’t know if I’ll ever get rid of them, or be comfortable without cover-up. (For those interested, I use an Aubrey Organics cleanser, argan oil or Alaffia moisturizer, Herbs of Grace or Signature Minerals makeup – with an ecotools brush or a sponge.)