You alone are enough: Maya Angelou
Last week I began the No make-up in May challenge in support of a campaign started by Sze Sze Yuan from the ‘Who Is Olivia Foundation’ https://whoisolivia.org/ to fight back against the unrealistic standards set by the beauty industry for women. Most of us girls like to wear make up and that’s fine. But are we relying on it too much? In other words .. can we leave the house without it and still feel beautiful, confident and happy?
I have a lot of health problems with Pot Syndrome so, to hide how sick I look at times I use makeup. My health problems have meant I haven’t been out for a meal at night in a year and a half so last week when a friend invited me to dinner I was really happy to feel well enough to go. But no make-up was going to be a challenge!! Nevertheless, I decided to keep my promise and focus on making myself look as nice as I could with my outfit!!😊
When I walked into the restaurant I felt bare without a stitch of make-up on. I was worried if I looked pale and sick, would anyone notice? Would anyone say to me that I looked sick? I was so self conscious but as Brené Brown says – if we are going to be brave we can’t be comfortable at the same time!! I figured I definitely didn’t feel comfortable so I must have been brave 😊. This thought really helped me a lot. I decided to focus not on being make-up free but who I am as a person, being a good friend, my hobbies, passions, having a fun and interesting conversation … all the things that I am EVEN WHEN I DON’T WEAR MAKE-UP!! And I had a good night! I forgot all about the makeup after the first half hour!
The No Make-Up in May campaign is not saying that it’s a bad thing to wear make-up. It’s just saying that we girls are beautiful with or without it. Our personalities, interests, passions, quirks, strengths and flaws make us unique, beautiful and valuable women. These qualities are there when we wake up in the morning with no make-up so we are already beautiful before we leave the house.
Going make-up free this month and especially on an evening out was a challenging but very freeing experience. I felt good about focusing on WHO I am instead of how I looked (don’t get me wrong. I do want to look my best😊). It’s definitely something I would do again without being so nervous. And a nice upside was it took me much less time to get ready and I fell into bed without having to take all my make up off! So, there IS a way to fight back against the greedy beauty industry who prey on our insecurities while they themselves use photoshop to promote their makeup. Love every part of yourself with compassion because our most natural selves and how we treat people is what makes us beautiful.
Give it a try… you might be surprised at how good it feels.
Naoishe x
