No-Makeup Makeup

It’s been around a lot longer than we had known, but the no-makeup makeup look seems to stand out more these days as women find themselves embracing their natural beauty and finding ways to enhance what they were born with instead. I used to be one of those girls who didn’t understand the point of a minimal makeup look. My thought progress was, “if you’re going in, you might as well go all the way in”. Aside from that, it was much simpler to hide away from any insecurities through high-coverage foundations, powders, heavy contouring, exaggerated winged eyeliner and a heavy set of false lashes.

Being that we’re our own biggest critics it’s easy to point fingers at what we aren’t too fond about when it comes to our appearances. It takes time to love and see the beauty within ourselves both inside and out. In fact, it took me years to adore all my qualities and it’s a ongoing process to this day.

My initial meet-cute with “no-makeup makeup” happened almost 3 years ago in an instant while taking off my makeup one evening. I became aware that I was using more than one makeup wipe and cotton pad to remove what I had piled. And as a working woman time is also of the essence. Taking an hour to apply makeup every single morning is an unconventional process one shouldn’t have to go through just to feel beautiful and ready for the day. It also registered in my head that I neither recognized not loved the real me with a bare face. In that moment I took on the challenge to create a look that only brought out the best features in a simpler way and which made my mornings more efficient.

Appreciating one’s natural beauty only to accentuate and accent uneven eyebrows, short or sparse eyelashes, and non-prominent cheekbones with touches of makeup is extremely liberating. As liberating, maybe, as realising you don’t need to wear a bra everyday. There’s nothing more rewarding than feeling like you don’t have much to hide and that you can still feel and look beautiful for a lot less money and effort. Minimizing your makeup stash can be the best decision you ever make for embracing your natural self.