Last week, when I was doing my final exams and spending time with my friends, I decided to do the No Product Day. I had done it earlier in the year when it was first proposed, but I will admit that I still put concealer under my eye-bags. This time, I wanted to commit. Because I am typically not a very active person and I shower every day, I was not too concerned about not wearing deodorant. However, I have a minimal but pretty regular makeup routine that I cling to, which includes light coverage to even out my skin tone, concealer on blemishes, and a bit of blush. Without it, I tend to think that I look sick or tired. However, I know that is just the internalized social norms. Throughout the day, I realized that it wasn’t a big deal if I wore makeup or not. My friends and my boyfriend didn’t notice or at least didn’t say anything. In fact, I was able to save time in my morning routine and I didn’t find myself adjusting my makeup throughout the day. I felt like I was giving my skin a bit of a rest. I definitely learned that it is not necessary to cover my face or use beauty products in order to feel like myself. This is an especially pertinent lesson because, as I am writing this, I currently have no makeup because the airline lost one of my suitcases when I flew home yesterday and it contained all of my beauty supplies. Although pretty upset, I am able to gain perspective knowing that it is not the end of the world. That being said, I do not think there is anything wrong with me wearing makeup. I like dressing up, and I think it makes me feel more confident. I am insecure about acne flare-ups, and I prefer to have them covered. Wearing makeup feels comfortable to me.
2 thoughts on “No Product Day Reflection”
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I definitely relate to the feeling of comfort in our routines, it can feel weird to do a day without it. But as you said, it isn’t the end of the world to live without it and it also isn’t the end of the world to use these products everyday.
I admire your ability to feel comfortable in yourself without makeup. This made me reflect on the times when I felt too tired or busy to put on makeup. I remember feeling a lot more like my most authentic self. Without makeup, I felt less like I had to perform a certain identity, aesthetic, or standard of beauty that is so reinforced in social and cultural norms today. I felt like there was a lot less pressure to look a certain way, which alleviated a lot of the stress I feel towards maintaining this look. With this stress gone, I felt a lot more comfortable in myself, because my thoughts were less directed on what I looked like externally, but how I felt internally. This made me feel a lot more grounded in myself. While I agree that I am still pretty comfortable with makeup on, I know that I am better off without it and the added social pressures it puts on me. I never realized how much of an effect wearing products can have on our self-image and the perpetuation of social and cultural norms with respect to beauty and gender.