Here’s Why Ditching Make Up Could Be The Most Empowering Thing You Ever Do…

Alicia Keys has given girls the green light to embrace their natural selves and many of us are loving it. With the launch of the #NoMakeUp Movement many of our favourite celebs from Alicia to Kylie Jenner are showing us just how liberating going au naturel can be.

Alicia Keys has proudly reclaimed her own body through giving up make up but it wasn’t without worries. She said herself in the Lenny essay that kicked off her movement:

“Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn’t put on makeup: What if someone wanted a picture? What if they POSTED it??? These were the insecure, superficial, but honest thoughts I was thinking. And all of it, one way or another, was based too much on what other people thought of me.”

We all have these worries, we all have our masks and our happy place that we revert to when we ‘think’ we look like shit. But the fact is, we don’t even look bad at all — we just look normal!

As Women, were way too hard on ourselves. We spend too much time on Instagram and Facebook seeing these crazy make up trends (be it strobing, contouring, the list goes on) and it makes us think that without doing all that ‘stuff’ we won’t look as good as all the other Women. But the truth is, we weren’t doing it for years and years and we looked totally smoking hot then , so why the pressure to spend over an hour on our faces everyday now?

The most baffling scenario is when you see girls/women uploading a photo without make up onto Facebook and the caption will be something like ‘excuse the face’ or ‘sorry I look rough’ — Like, that’s your face you’re talking about, YOUR FACE! Why be so hard on yourself?

This obsession with what society will think of us without make up is way too self-shallow and quite frankly, disturbing. Women should try embracing how they look without the effort and cost that goes with buying every new trendy product and spending countless hours perfecting their winged eye liner.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with taking pride in how you look and i’d be lying if I didn’t say I enjoyed getting made up for a night out (rare) , but feeling confident in your skin without a tonne of products is so liberating. At first it can feel quite daunting, but after you’ve got past the first few initial comments of “oh you look so different”, you’ll start to feel so great about yourself. People will start to see you for YOU. Guys will get to know you for your real beauty and just see it as an added bonus when you get dolled up to go out and people will treat you differently because they’ll perceive you as someone who is confident in their skin. Things in your life will change.

Remember when the #NoMakeUpSelfie was trending on Facebook? That was such an empowering thing for Women to do and they all looked gorgeous, but unfortunately it was treated as a rarity rather than normality.

Taking inspiration from Alicia, celebs all over the world have bared their faces on social media following suit.

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Beyonce[/caption]

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Demi Lovato[/caption]

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J.Lo[/caption]

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Megan Fox[/caption]

If you’re ready to take the plunge, here’s what you should try to get the best out of your experience. First, are some beauty foods which will replenish and feed your skin as a no make-up look is more achievable when your skin is healthy , and secondly, are some tips if you’re not ready to ditch all your make-up just yet but still want that natural look…

Five Tips for Thirsty Skin

Get your skin in the best possible condition so you’re feeling confident when snapping that #NoMakeUp selfie or for the days when you just really cant be bothered to contour and ‘be on fleek’. They key to healthy glowing skin is to look after it. You can’t cut corners here and you have to do the basics like get enough sleep, drink plenty of water, cut out crappy processed food and be religious with your exfoliating, cleansing and moisturising. Here’s some added boosters…

1. Peppermint

Kind and relaxing for your skin, beauty products enriched with peppermint can help to reduce redness and oil production, keeping the sheen off your skin when you ditch the powder.

2. Cucumber

You’ve probably already tried it to settle puffy eyes but you can use cucumber-rich products all over your skin for extra hydration and to clear up any dry patches.

3. Coconut Water

Drinking coconut water will help replenish all the vitamins and electrolytes lost after a workout or a day in the sun. Everything lost through perspiration can practically be replaced with coconut water, giving your skin no chance to dry out and become dehydrated.

4. Chamomile

Comforting and soothing on even the reddest, angriest flare-ups. Products rich in chamomile and chamomile extract can keep your skin calm preventing blemishes.

5. Ice

Icing the skin is a popular tip used by the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow. It helps to reduce puffiness and swelling and even minimise the appearance of large pores.

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Gwyneth Paltrow[/caption]

Five Tips for No Make Up Make Up

If you’re not quite ready to do an Alicia but want to feel and look more natural in your own way, follow these tips:

1. Keep it Light

Try swapping your heavy, matte, high coverage foundation for a light and radiant BB cream. You can still opt for a foundation if you need a bit more coverage but make sure it’s light and creamy with an added SPF.

2. Conceal with Care

When you’re used to caking your face it’s likely you stick concealer all over the place. When going natural focus on just the areas that really need it. If your skin is of an even tone already (lucky bitch), try using concealer minimally on just your blemishes and avoiding foundation completely.

3. Highlight Minimally

Highlighting helps your skin look fresh and clean rather than dry and matte but you have to use it properly. By using highlighter minimally on your cheek bones and forehead around close to your hairline, you can create a natural, glowy, sunkissed look without looking caked. This rule goes for bronzer too, less is more.

4. Earthy Eyes

Bold and bright colours are never going to look natural so opt for earthier, more neutral shades. Buff shadow with your finger to avoid brush strokes and avoid over lashing withing mascara. If you can avoid eye shadow completely by just adding some concealer to the dark area of your lids, you’ll look even more natural.

5. Complementing Lip Tones

Trying to match your lip gloss to your skin tone is tricky and the same colour looks a bit odd too. Instead, stay within a few tones of your natural colour and a translucent balm will provide hydration and help add colour without looking too overdone.