Confidence is the key to Going Barefaced.

Confidence is the key to Going Barefaced.

There is an inordinate amount of pressure put on women to look their very best. With the recent news that Alicia Keys and Cameron Diaz have stopped wearing make up altogether it got me thinking. A lot of women go to work everyday with make up  and without and I have such a respect for people who can get up and put on a full face of makeup before work. Walking into Brown Thomas or Inglot at 9am makes me feel so bad- I could’ve made the effort, I don’t have the skills, Why don’t I look like them, I need everything on the display…

Instead my morning is a rushed concealer job with the absolutely necessary eyebrows so I don’t scare small children. Eyebrows have always been an issue for me- they don’t grow, are sparse and blonde. Lotions, potions, Castor oil, Vaseline, Billion dollar brows, tinting, I have had mine plucked once in 18 months. It’s time again to get them shaped but I’m at a loss. So filling in is my solution for now!

I have one dimple. Just the one. Which makes my smile lopsided. The other dimple resides on the end of my nose. Thanks nature. My jawline has one rounded and one pointed corner. My forehead resembles Gordon Ramsey’s. I have sat and studied this moonface in front of the mirror for as long I can remember. I’ve picked the worst parts about it and only in my twenties come to find nice things about it. My wrinkly eyes are like my Grandads but blue like my Dad, my Mum also has a wonky smile,when it’s sunny I get freckles, with makeup I can mask the rest. Why should I?

We are plagued with articles in the media that slate women- who wore it best, who has the worst cellulite, make up disasters, bad hair, the list goes on and on. Sometimes I stay in my pyjamas all day and just add lipstick. What would HEAT mag say about that?! For one I’d like to see a magazine building women up- congratulate women for making it through the day. Sarah Millican has set up an online magazine that is a breath of fresh air- articles written by women about women doing awesome women shit. No ‘look who’s got tanlines’ bullshit. Other good eggs doing us a favour are Caitlin Moran and Cherry Healy.
Don’t get me wrong I adore make up, applying, buying, fawning over cute packaging, even taking it off. Wearing it everyday so I don’t feel like people are looking at me is annoying. I want to leave the house and not feel judged. So going barefaced for a while is an option but ultimately it’s about being comfortable in your own skin. 

So for now here is my no make up face, I’m sure Alicia wouldn’t approve the filter but you get no painted on eyebrows. I can’t be that exposed. Not just yet.

Feeling a bit more confident,

ebony

X