"It's not the daily increase but daily decrease. Hack away at the unessential."
This is more or less what I've been attempting to do for a while now. Decrease the debt (paid off the car loan), decrease the clutter (clean out the closet and get rid of old clothes), decrease the worry (stop working towards a "goal weight" and start working towards "feeling healthy.")
I came across this image on Pinterest. I was shocked when I read it and realized...IT'S ALL MAKE UP. I thought this was somebody's morning routine: wake up, shower, blow dry, etc. It is not. This is a single day's make up routine. And if I had to guess, I'd say it's a normal day. Not a wedding, photo shoot, or party.
I am still quite astonished that women spend so much time putting on massive amounts of make up to "highlight their features" or "hide blemishes." I've never been a heavy make up wearer, even on my wedding day I think my make up took 20 minutes. And that felt like an eternity!
About 6 weeks ago, I quit wearing make up altogether. I didn't wear much to begin with, but I wondered if my skin would clear up if I stopped covering it up. I wish I could say that was the outcome, but sadly it was not. I still break out, but that's completely normal. I have yet to meet a person my age who can say, "Oh I never break out. Ever." And the acne I get does seem to clear up faster than when I was covering it up with foundation or powder, so that's something.
What I did find however, was that my morning routine became significantly shorter. I stopped obsessing over the puffy eyelids, weird lines, or acne. Because everybody experiences those things and I am my own worst critic. Nobody else even notices 90% of the things you see on your own face. As a matter of fact, I'm wearing brand new glasses today! They feel incredibly obvious to me, having worn contacts pretty regularly since I was 12. It's mid afternoon and 3 people have noticed them.
Along with quitting make up, I have also been on a quest since January to stop abusing my hair. I went from washing it every day, to washing it every 2-3 days. It feels generally healthier and more natural now, which is pretty cool. Not to mention when your hair gets long, it takes FOREVER. So that's another extra 15 minutes I get every other day. I've also been attempting to blow dry it less, less heat damage means healthier right? Right. I still curl it most days, but I do it in large chunks and fairly quickly. Just enough to give it a bit of shape.
My point here is that the upside to being more natural and simple in my "beauty regime" is twofold. One benefit is I save myself about 2 hours a week on average. That's two extra hours to read a book or watch Netflix, my favorite relaxation activities. The other benefit is realizing that most other people are so wrapped up in their own lives, they're unlikely to notice the little things about yours. Your work colleagues probably didn't notice that your eyes are a little puffy today. If they did notice that little zit on your chin, I sincerely doubt that they care very much about it.
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