Why I Quit Wearing Make-Up (and You Can Too)

Okay, before anyone who actually knows me calls me a liar, let me confess that I do, in fact, wear make-up sometimes. I get gussied up to go out with my husband; I try to look nicer-than-usual for church on Sundays; I prepare myself for picture-taking events like birthday parties and holidays. However, most days my face is free and clear of cosmetic enhancement, and while you might think I look tired if you run into me at Walmart, the truth is I probably am tired, and I honestly don’t care. It’s Walmart, after all. If I wanted to impress you I would go to Target. Just kidding. Kinda.

Now, you should know that I am a stay-at-home mom and do not need to look put together or professional or even showered most days, so rocking my “I woke up like this face” all day every day is no biggie for me. I also do not generally enjoy make-up like the creative-type enthusiasts do, so if personal cosmetology is your artistic self-expression, more power to you!

I’m here to share with you 4 reasons why I gave up regularly wearing make-up, and if you’re ready to ditch the habit, you can do it too:

1. It’s expensive.

According to a 2013 study by Mint.com, the average woman will spend around $15,000 on cosmetics in her lifetime. Even when you spread it out, that’s over $200 per year, or an average of $43 per make-up shopping trip. I’m probably on the low end of that curve since I buy all my make-up at Walmart (I do get Say Yes! to Cucumber moisturizer at Target, because I’m fancy like that). Still, when I’m looking at my budget for the week and have to factor in $12 for a new bottle of Cover Girl foundation, I cringe every time.

Obviously, foregoing make-up most days saves money because it saves product. That same Mint.com study found that most women shop for cosmetics 4-5 times per year. While of course certain products last longer than others, I usually only have to replace the staples once or twice a year. Considering I’ve got a girl with a shoe obsession, two boys who still wear Pull-Ups at night, and a baby on the way, every penny counts in our family!

2. It is {usually} hard on your skin.

I know some make-up guru is going to give me a hard time about this one, because I know there are great products out there that both enhance your appearance and simultaneously nourish your skin. I’ve seen the infomercials! Unfortunately, those great products also tend to be expensive products, and you can see #1 for my feelings on that.

If you’ve got the money to spend on high-quality make-up that is good for your skin – AND if you love wearing it – by all means, be my guest. Me and Cover Girl over here get along fine when we’re together, but we need our space. Trust me, it’s good for us both. If you’re strapped for cash and feeling worn down by the constant generic-brand clogging of your pores, maybe it’s time to take a breather.

Side note: last summer I learned that there are certain skin care products that really are important for us, especially as we age. I had some crazy reaction to something-or-other that left me with a horrible rash on my face (and everywhere else, for that matter) that took months to clear up. In that time, I had to go several weeks sans make-up, so I’m really glad I was already used to it. Could have done without all the “shun the unclean!” leper stares from strangers, though. Hey, at least it was just Walmart. Anyway, it was at that time I switched from the same ol’ brand of facial cleanser I had been using since middle school to the Say Yes! line of vegetable-based products. They may not be top of the line, but they made such an enormous difference for me that for the sake of this post, I have to de-categorize skin care products from the cosmetics label, even though they technically fit the bill. There’s not time here to go down that path, so I’ll just leave that conversation between you and your local Rodan + Fields consultant. (Disclaimer: I have absolutely no connection to R+F and have never used their products, though I hear they’re amazing. It was a joke, y’all.)

3. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Going back to the Mint.com study, women spend an average of 20 minutes applying make-up every day. Now, if you’re a make-up junkie who gets jazzed up about that adventure, enjoy! Make that your daily “me time” and live it up. But if you’re like me, all I can think about while applying eyeliner is how many other things I could be doing instead of this. Just in the 5 minutes I devote to the habit on Sunday mornings before church, my children can trash the whole house! Knowing they can be that, ahem, “productive” while I’m away makes it real hard for me to justify going through the experience every single day.

When you’re in the trenches of child-rearing, every second seems to count. Just recently I purchased my first eyebrow pencil, because, y’know, #eyebrowsonfleek. To compensate for the added 45 seconds in my routine, I have to wake up 15 minutes earlier. The mathematical conundrum of time management with children is baffling, indeed. When I’m thinking through my morning routine, I would much rather spend those minutes drinking a couple sips of coffee while it’s hot, checking the Verse of the Day on YouVersion, or saying a few words to my husband that do not involve the children. If you love make-up and it’s important to you, then maybe it’s worth your investment. For me, ehhh no.

4. You are beautiful. Right there. Just like that.

Ahh, there’s the rub, no? You knew this was coming. See, the money, time, etc. has always been an issue for me, but I haven’t always felt so good about venturing out in public fresh-faced. When my older two kiddos were young and I was still working, my added income made it possible for me to buy make-up more often, but I was still chronically late because of it. I would usually (dangerously) apply make-up at red lights on my way to work or finish up in my office with the door shut. I would turn around and go back home if I left my mascara on the counter instead of in the travel bag that went with me everywhere. The truth is, when I looked in the mirror after washing my face, I felt less than, and I thought I needed to change something in order to be acceptable. Despite my stay-at-home-with-the-third-baby income slice, never being on time to anything ever, and general hatred of the hassle of cosmetics in general, I thought I needed make-up to make me good enough for the people around me.

For a long time I thought this was just a result of my own insecurities and hang-ups. Then a while ago I attended a ladies’ retreat with my church. The trip included about 40 women who have known each other for years – many of whom were already good friends – staying together in a giant cabin in the Smokies. On the first night, our group leader talked about being vulnerable and breaking down walls between us. As a symbolic gesture, she passed around cosmetic wipes and asked everyone to remove their make-up.

I was amazed as I looked around the room how many women were crying as they revealed their bare faces. Our speaker hadn’t even begun her sermon! Clearly this was not just me – women everywhere use make-up to mask their flaws and present a “better” version of themselves for others to accept. Removing that cover-up means showing a side we don’t want others to see.

But what is that side? It’s our true selves. Hey guys, guess what?? I am 30 and still get pimples – the big, giant red ones that are sore to touch. I have psoriasis around my scalp and mild rosacea on my cheeks. My eyelashes are blonde, and I have bags under my eyes because surprise! my kids are exhausting. Does that make you like me less? Do you think I’m lazy or unkempt? Am I a bad mom or inattentive wife? Am I a terrible writer? Do you not want to hang out with me anymore?

There was a time in my life when I felt so ugly, so insecure, so ashamed of myself that I thought I needed to do any- and everything possible to improve my appearance in order to be accepted. It started, oh, I dunno, round about puberty and lasted until about 3 years ago. After two-in-a-row bouts with some ugly post-partum depression, my journey to mental health required me to face a lot of those demons I had been carrying around most of my life. I began to appreciate and even admire my overweight, flabby body for its miraculous ability to give me 3 children in 3 years. I took a hard look at who I really am and realized that while I may not be like the “cool” kids (er, moms), I am pretty freaking awesome in my own right. I looked at my bare, aging face, and I realized I am not a teenager anymore…and more than ever I look like my mom, who is absolutely beautiful.

When I was finally able to love myself right where I was, flaws and all, I experienced freedom from all the pressures and expectations that I thought others put on me, but really it was all in my head. You know what? Low-rise jeans are uncomfortable on my soft, deflated belly, so regardless of what fashion says, I’m not going to wear them. You know what? I would rather play soccer than go jewelry shopping, so if that’s what you’re doing, I’ll catch up with you later for ice cream. You know what? I don’t like make-up, so I’m not going to wear it anymore. That was it. It was that simple.

And it can be for you too. Don’t want to blow your money? Don’t want to harm your skin? Don’t want to waste your time doing something you don’t like? You know, that’s all fine. But in the end, all that matters is that you love yourself and the skin you’re in. That skin is beautiful, even when you #wokeuplikethis.

What about you? Have you decided to let your natural beauty shine through?