My battle with going bare faced!

Because of my ongoing battle with dry skin and eczema I've now not worn make up for at least 3 months excepting the very few nights out where I've managed to go out with just a bit of concealer and mascara!

To go from wearing a full face of makeup nearly everyday for the last l0 years to quitting cold turkey was a bit of a shock to the system for obvious reasons: wearing makeup makes you look different - more awake for one - and it changes your perception of yourself alot!

If I went to uni or work without wearing makeup before I would feel very self conscious, I would see my reflection and think 'Oh jeez! I look rough/tired/like shit!' but really it was just because I was so used to seeing my face with makeup on that my normal face seemed such a scary sight to behold.

Fast forward to being ill and having really bad dry skin on my face where if I wore makeup it looked flaky and not all that great; to the extreme of wearing makeup making my eyelids sore and irritated and hate me for having done it to myself.

Eventually I knew I had to give it up or my skin would never get better - and it was not the greatest experience.

I had to go to work with my bare face looking exhausted or like I'd had an allergic reaction to something - which a co-worker actually expressed to me on multiple occasions (no reaction, just my face, but thanks for making me feel even worse about myself!)

After a while though I have to admit I started to see the benefits: it takes less time to get ready in the morning - I could wake up and be out the door running for the train to work in 7 minutes flat! As well as this your skin actually thanks you for letting it breathe - though admittedly I was too busy having to cake on moisturiser multiple times a day - but it did mean less breakouts than before which is always a plus.

Fast forward to maybe 3 months since I stopped wearing makeup and I'm completely used to it. Of course I have my good days and my bad days - there's no hiding the dark circles from restless sleep! - and it's taken a lot for me to get used to just seeing my bare face as being normal - of course it helps when your dry skin is finally recovering and your eyes aren't constantly pink or brown from this.

Don't get me wrong - I miss makeup, I miss experimenting with eyeshadows and lipstick colours. 

The problem now is that I have the fear that if I wear makeup it will only make my skin freak out and revert to its old ways of

dehydration and cracking, but I'm getting there. Soon I'll be taking the plunge of wearing makeup again, but I don't think I'll be going back to wearing it everyday. I've learned there's nothing wrong with what I once thought was my scary bare face - sure you can tell if I'm tired or unwell a lot more easily, but that's normal and I shouldn't be so afraid of that.

Your face is just your face, there really isn't any need to panic about what people are going to think of you for not caking it in foundation, concealer, powder, contour, highlight, eyeshadow, mascara, eyeliner, brow pencil, and lipstick. Seriously.

Love,

Melissa  x