From a young age, makeup is alluring. It’s fun to explore the colors and formulations that each eyeshadow and blush entails. Eventually, when you’re old enough to wear it, makeup becomes a form of self-expression. And even though there are ups and downs — hello stark foundation lines and raccoon eyes — it’s enjoyable.
As time passes, though, your makeup routine becomes ingrained in everyday life. You wake up and throw on your concealer to hide how tired you are. You haphazardly blend products when you’re running late for work or dropping the kids off at school. It’s more about looking better than having fun.
And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it also makes going makeup-free more difficult. When you’re so used to seeing your face covered up, going bare can make you feel naked and vulnerable. However, if you’re hoping to brave the world with a bare face and confidence to boot, you’re in the right place. Here are a few ways to start.
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Up Your Skin Care Game
From redness to acne scars and undereye circles, foundation and concealer can work magic. The end result is a flawless base without a pore in sight. So, it’s not surprising that adjusting to a bare face — with redness and pores on display — takes some effort. That’s why investing in your skin care routine is so crucial to building up makeup-free confidence.
Think about what you hope to achieve when wearing makeup. That is the perfect starting point for your updated skin care routine. If redness is your concern, consider incorporating gentle, skin-soothing products with ingredients like chamomile or niacinamide. If covering dark spots is the goal, look into melasma treatment.
Swapping makeup with skin care products that address your main concerns is a great way to improve your complexion. And clearer, more even skin can make a difference for how you feel without makeup. Who knows, once you find products you adore, you may never look back.
Gradually Wear Less Makeup
When you get used to wearing a full face of makeup every day, quitting makeup cold turkey is a big change. You’ve spent time and energy carefully finding and applying each product for your desired result. Straying from that is intimidating. Sound like you? If so, consider easing into makeup-free days instead of diving in head first.
Start with the goal of scaling back your routine for one small outing to the grocery store or a drive-thru. Instead of wearing all of your products, opt to remove one when you’re getting ready. Then, repeat this process removing one product for similarly small outings until you get down to a bare face. After that feels manageable, swap a small outing for a bigger one.
This process allows you to slowly but surely get more comfortable wearing less makeup. Eventually, you’ll be a pro at sporting the natural look on the go. And with that will come confidence you didn’t even know you had.
Invest in Other Areas of Your Appearance
Feeling insecure without makeup is likely rooted in the desire to present yourself as best you can. In part, you want to signal to the world around you that you care about how you look. And while there’s some merit to that notion, makeup isn’t the only way to achieve a put-together look.
Turn to your wardrobe for ways to elevate a makeup-free day. A structured dress, sparkly earrings, or a well-fitting jacket may be all you need to elevate your look. Or let your hairstyle do the heavy lifting. Well-kept, styled hair can frame your face in a flattering way while still letting your skin breathe. Perhaps a slicked-back ponytail or bun can give you the classic style you might be after.
The point is to find ways to upgrade the rest of your appearance without feeling like you need to apply makeup. Identifying other sources of confidence can help you be more well-rounded in daily life, whether wearing makeup or not. Once you identify your non-makeup confidence boosters, heading out makeup-free is a piece of cake.
Practice Positive Self-Talk
Like it or not, self-talk and what you think about yourself play a huge factor in your confidence levels. So, if you only think about how bad you look without makeup when bare-faced, you’ll likely feel insecure. And that makes going makeup-free an uphill battle.
Instead, try to redirect those thoughts when they pop up. If you catch yourself judging your natural skin or barely-there eyelashes, stop it in its tracks. Then, make yourself find something you like about what you see. No matter how small, aim to find something positive to think about yourself.
After a while, you’ll notice the negative thoughts become fewer and farther between. While you may not be perfect, you will have a foundation of positive self-talk to fall back on. And that can make a big difference in how you feel with or without makeup.
Rock Your Bare Face
The fact of the matter is that no one needs makeup. Wanting to wear it isn’t a bad thing. But finding ways to grow your confidence and self-love is always a great step to take. That way, you can feel self-assured, regardless of whether you’re rocking a flawless makeup look or a makeup-free face.
