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Hi beautiful people!
As far as love for make up is concerned, if you know me well, you would also know how I make constant efforts to keep my skin care routine as natural and less dependent on chemicals as possible. However, the last 14 days, that routine went a little far-fetched and I would want to share with you the what, why and how of it. I’ll be honest — I’m not the kind of woman that swipes on mascara just to go to the gym or run an errand so it wasn’t too difficult but not that easy either.
How often do you go without any skin care product? I mean, sure, we all sit around and Netflix sans product, but what about actually going out in public without it? How often do you do that? Well, I happened to give in to it for 2 weeks and you know what? It wasn’t bad at all. When I first signed up for going cosmetic-free, I had mixed emotions about it. I had no problem going out in public without make-up but without any beauty care at all for “Two weeks?” That seems like a long time. But I managed it and it was a vacation time for my skin too!
The only product that I used was a Himalaya Neem Face Wash — every alternate day — once in the morning.
When it comes to your skincare routine and the products you’ve selected, it’s easy to get confused and wonder whether or not they’re really working for you. I wanted to really know if I was getting the best results possible from my skincare products. So what I did was, I gave my skin a clean slate and decided to not use them for 2 weeks to see what would be the consequences if at all I stop using them after a certain point in my life. So, in the name of better skin, I pledged to go product-free, on my face, for two weeks!
Day 1. I washed my face early in the morning with cold water and did not apply anything through the day. Another thing that worked its wonder for me was not using the air-conditioner AT ALL. The extra glow that your face gets post a sweat sesh is unparalleled and brilliant. Added to that I would usually use the fan at a speed of 3 max and try take in as much fresh air from open windows as possible. I drank at least 8 glasses of water and kept away from cigarettes, alcohol or coffee. At night before sleeping, to clean up my face, I took a big bowl filled with little water and lots of ice and put my face in it and tried holding it for as many seconds as I could. And this went on for the next 3 minutes. Now you might ask why ice? Once a while using ice on your face helps to tighten your skin and open up the pores on you face.
Day 2. In the morning as I washed my face, I did not just use water today, I also cleaned up my face with Himalaya Neem face wash and did not wipe my face with towel after cleaning it but just let it dry by itself. The rest of the day went on as Day 1. This was however my first day of going out without any skin care product. My skin was feeling kinda naked and I felt a little discomfort. However, after a point of time I stopped caring at all. The entire day I tried keeping away from the AC as much as possible and in the evening took to a little bit of exercise. However, at night, I did not use the ice pack routine to clean up my face. I simply splashed some water on the face and wiped it with a soft towel and put myself to sleep without giving much thought to it.
DAY 3. DAY 5. DAY 7. DAY 9. DAY 11. DAY 13 — went on in similar manner as DAY 1. And the rest of the days went on as DAY 2.
As the days passed on, nothing much changed in my diet. The only thing that made a difference was the amount of water I did intake. I made sure to have at least a minimum of 8 glasses daily.
Today is the 15th day, and do not take this as an exaggeration but my skin has never felt so good before. I was actually staring at it for a good 2 minutes in the mirror, smiling away in happiness. I thought it would be fitting to take a selfie for having completed the experiment. I woke up and took this photo first thing. A new day and a fresh face.
I had the liberty to make a choice today, whether or not to use products but honestly, I know that it’s not the end of the world if I don’t wear any skin product or if I do. It’s completely up to me and what makes me feel comfortable.
I ended up giving myself a good spa session this afternoon like a treat to myself for the mission I just accomplished, and boy o boy, I would not mind doing this at regular intervals.
I’ll still wear makeup from time to time, but it’s been nice to get way more comfortable doing things without makeup than I ever was before. Because a fresh face is just as good as a made-up face, any day of the week.
As I put on some beauty products for the first time after 14 whole days, what stood out the most were my brows and lashes. They are more prominent with makeup on, and I like the way they look. My application this day consisted of: Innisfree eye cream, Innisfree Green Tea balancing cream, a lip balm, an eye liner, a kajal and a rose colored lipstick. It was kind of weird seeing myself all done up because I had gotten so used to seeing myself without anything on, but I liked seeing a little more color on my face!
This experiment helped me embrace my natural self. If you’re thinking of trying this for yourself, I promise it’ll boost your confidence and greatly help you the way it did me.
I learned that it’s important to set aside time to really treat your skin because wearing makeup can really do a number on it. It’s also great to make time for activities that you do without product such as hanging with friends, spending time with family, watching Narcos or shopping for skincare items. Surrounding yourself with people who make you feel special and giving yourself a break to just be you can really feel good every once in a while.
The most valuable thing that I got out of this experiment by far is to always carry yourself with confidence. The only person who cares that you’re not wearing any beauty products is you, so just go on and get over it, already. Because it really isn’t a big deal at all.
By the way, I still use only two products. Try out some awesome natural skin products at Innisfree, they’re fabulous!
Would love to hear of your experiment too! If you liked my article, do share, comment and show some love. :)
