My make-up free week

I’ve been fascinated with make-up from an early age, finding great pleasure as a child from watching my mum get ready for a party, to buying my first garishly-coloured, fruity-smelling, glittery lip gloss, to actually being officially allowed to wear make-up. I was probably about eleven or twelve when wearing make-up became part of my daily ritual of getting ready and I’ve since parted with probably hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds in the process.

As an adult this interest has developed into a reasonably unhealthy obsession with cosmetics. A highlight of a holiday for me is always getting past airport security to the cosmetics counters, positively throwing my money at the sales assistant in exchange for some sort of (supposedly) miracle product, a new shade of lipstick or a perfume that’s on offer. Sad, but it’s true.

A worrying number of women refuse to leave the house without make-up. According to a Glamour magazine poll, 23.4% of women refuse to leave the house without make-up on. Superdrug have also conducted a survey which found that the average woman waits over two and a half months before showing their partner their make-up free face for the first time. I decided it was time to see what all the fuss was about.

At the start of the week, I look in the mirror. I see the ashen pallor of a cadaver. In the depths of winter I am naturally very, very pale and I already miss my bronzer and blusher. I realise this week is going to be a challenge. It doesn’t help that I’ve recently been using make-up to attempt to cover up the fact that I’ve had a continual string of chest infections and I look how I feel. Wearing make-up regularly has allowed me to put on a bit of a façade for the world and has allowed me to refuse to admit that I’m ill. Sadly, there’s no escape and, on the first day, I’m told I look ill. Thanks.

As the week progressed, I got used to not wearing make-up and went about my daily business as usual. Going to work was fine and I proved to myself that I don’t need to wear make-up. It was even a bonus not to have to worry about the inevitable panda eyes if I accidentally wiped my face.

It was only really the night out that didn’t feel quite right. As a typical girly-girl in many ways, I love getting ready to go out and sometimes enjoy getting ready with friends. Getting ready can often be a girly ritual and, for me at least, putting on a bit of make-up is an integral part of this.

I also enjoy the creativity of wearing make-up, the idea that you present the best possible side of yourself to the world. That is until you get drunk and smudge it, then it becomes a nightmare and you wish you’d left the eyeliner at home.

After I went on my bare-faced night out, I felt the need to tell random acquaintances and passers-by that I was participating in a week without make-up. ‘Don’t judge me’, my comments screamed. After a while though, I soon forgot I was without make-up and had just as much fun as I normally would.

The next day, looking at the photos we’d taken was a different story. I stood out amongst the hordes of freshly fake-tanned, made-up girls and it highlighted my au naturel deathly pallor.
At least in the daytime, I realised that I don’t need to wear make-up and I’m sure I’ll continue to go without from time to time. I’m not ashamed to admit that, at least for a night out, I’ll still want to wear make-up. I’ve learnt that putting some make-up in the morning makes me feel good about myself and I feel more awake, ready to face the world. Just like choosing an outfit that you feel good in.

Am I letting down the feminists? I don’t think so. I can and do manage without make-up on a regular basis and it’s a completely personal choice. I realised this week that I choose to wear make-up for me, to make me feel good about myself. Not to please anyone else.

For me, make-up remains a choice and a pleasure, not a chore. This is not the case for people who perhaps feel that make-up is a necessity to face everyday life, to cover a facial disfigurement, such as a birthmark. I’m lucky that wearing make-up is still something that I enjoy and I’ll do my best to appreciate that.