30 Days Makeup Free.

Monday, July 8th, 2013.

That's my 30 day NO MAKEUP anniversary.

No face powder. No mascara. No blush (not that I ever wore it). No. Makeup.

I guess it was an unconscious decision to try this out. I have nothing against makeup. It's fun, it makes me feel pretty, it's quite often sparkly.

It's also a way for me to think bad thoughts about myself. Those sneaky, pesky "I can't leave the house because I haven't got makeup on!" thoughts. The kind of thoughts that make me think I'm ugly when I look in the mirror because my makeup is messed up or because I haven't put it on for the day. That's just not mmmkay with me. I didn't want to feel like I HAD to wear it anymore. When you HAVE to do something, it's no longer fun. It's something you're required to do. It's a pressure on your chest that makes your heart beat a little faster. It's an excess that we've come to believe is a necessity.

Over the past year, I've worn less makeup. That's a pretty dramatic shift for me. I used to wear tons of eyeliner. I used to wear foundation AND powder AND bronzer. I used to put on eye shadow in three different shades and then put glitter on top of that. I did do exactly that the last time I wore makeup. I had on more makeup than ever. I was in a wedding line and had my makeup professionally done.... it was fun... but I felt like I was wearing 10 pounds of crud (beautiful crud!!) on my face. I didn't like it.

The day after the wedding, I couldn't bear to put on makeup again.

The week after, I still couldn't do it.

Two weeks later, I stopped carrying my makeup bag with me everywhere I went.

Three weeks passed, I didn't even think about putting on makeup as part of "getting ready."

Now a month later, and I'm pretty much okay with idea of saving makeup for special occasions. For the days when I want to play with makeup. Night out on the town or feeling sassy? Add a little mascara, sure. Going to the grocery store? Fuhgetaboutit.

I have no idea if this is something I should be proud about. I'm always fighting a war against negative thoughts. They tend to creep in on me if I don't actively work on stopping them. Body image is something we all struggle with, so you can easily guess that's a sore spot for me. Letting go of the mascara is an experiment I'm trying out to see if I can be happy with the naked face I see in the mirror.

It seems to be working.

Anyone else ditching the face powder? Loving it or hating it? I'm thinking the best part is that it's been so damn hot and if I was wearing it, I'd be sweating it off anyway. ;)