Why I Don't Really Wear Makeup

Heyo!

I feel like this post has been a long time coming, and it's something I have wanted to address properly for some time now. I want to state now that this is not a dig at anybody who does wear make up. Truth be told I wish I knew how the heck to make myself look as amazing as you guys with contour and eyeliner, but I just look like a traditional emo-kid, which isn't what I want. This is just why I don't really feel much of a need, and seeing as I've been asked this a lot over the last few years, even more so now for some strange reason, I thought now I would put thoughts to paper (or screen in this case.)

This is all of the makeup that I own. Yes, this is also my bedding and I am indeed 20 years old.
I've worn the lipstick once since I bought it last year, and I got this concealer last April and I still have loads left!

I think this dates back to when I was a little kid and all my friends would experiment with the glitter eyeshadows and bright pink lip-glosses from 'Girl Talk' and other magazines, and I was way more interested with playing football in the park and avoiding traditionally 'girly' things people my age were doing. I was one of the biggest tomboys going, and the thought of putting things on my face to be prettier or more confident was silly to me because I was pretty confident and my mum had always said I was beautiful. From a young age, I kinda knew this was something I was impressed by, but didn't really feel the desire to become a part of and get stuck in to.

I kept this mentality for many years, and through high school something kinda changed and I was more interested as to what these things were and how they could change your face and overall appearance so drastically. When I started high school, I wasn't popular, I had some really good friends and my form group were the loveliest most supportive bunch of people I could have asked for. Despite this, I didn't really feel like I 'fitted-in' per say, more that I was noticeably different to my friends. they would wear makeup and look lovely and I would rock up with a washed face and a smile and that was it. The majority the girls discovered make up, they experimented with how and what they put on their faces. I never really got involved with the makeup revolution I saw at high school and part of me wishes I had because then I would be able to put it all on if I ever wanted to.

Near the end of high school I decided maybe I could try some makeup, and my mum got me some concealer (nothing expensive, just some cheap stuff that would do the job) because I was very prone to spots erupting all over my face and I wanted to make them less obvious. I felt so much more confident, like I had put on my war paint and nothing could get to me. It suddenly hit me why people would happily spend ages applying these different things to their face, it made you feel really fucking good. I never really dabbled any further than this (except for one time I tried eyeliner and I looked like Billie-Joe Armstrong from 2001) unless my friends applied it. I knew I was pretty bad at the whole concealer thing and decided it would be best to not get ahead of myself.

College came around and I made some new pals, who asked me how I looked as natural as I did, and I told them plain and simple it was because I don't wear anything except the odd bit of concealer if I was spotty or hadn't slept well (I was slightly better at applying it here, but still not that confident!) I let my friends give me these makeovers if they really wanted, and part of me loved it because I felt so beautiful afterwards, and another part hated it because deep down I kinda knew I was more comfortable without it. 

Makeup to someone who doesn't really wear it feels so heavy, I always feel like I can't move my face or drink or eat incase I ruin it. I am a very practical gal, so being able to have a coffee and maybe a burger or something is important to me! I remember someone telling me I would never get a proper job without make up on my face because I didn't look professional enough. This bugged me for ages but now I've come to realise that it really isn't a big deal and thanks to YouTube I could learn how to do a professional makeup look in the comfort of my own home and with no previous experience. Also, to anyone else who feels better without makeup, it will not stop you getting a job, I have had several jobs and I rarely wear anything other than concealer!

Now I'm at uni, and there isn't much of a focus on what you look like, what you do or what you wear. The focus is (predominantly) on turning up, learning, and doing the best you can because it costs you £9,000 a year. I still get asked why I don't wear make up and told how beautiful I could look, but I am so past caring because to me even getting out of bed is a huge achievement in itself. I think being at uni has really helped reinforce the mentality that I look fine without anything on my face, because most people will turn up without any make up (and sometimes in pj's) because a 9am lecture is torture enough.

Although some of you reading this probably think i'm being silly spending time talking about this, it has been something that has at times knocked my confidence back so much I wouldn't go to things because I didn't think I would look pretty enough to be there. I feel very comfortable in my own skin, and I have learnt to embrace everything that I would mercilessly cover up in high school and college because other people were. I love my freckles, the bags under my eyes show people I was up late (probably revising or reading, maybe from a Netflix binge) and the spots show that I'm human. Yeah, sometimes I might crack out the concealer if appropriate, but if I do it's because I want to, and that's ok. 

I admire all of you who choose to wear it, and I fully understand why because when I put on a tiny bit I feel great, so you guys must feel amazing. I just don't feel the need, maybe because I didn't start wearing it when I was 13 like many people I know, maybe because I just don't know how, maybe it's because I was into different things, who knows. All I know is that it's one of those things anybody can wear if they want, and having the option is always nice. 

If you take nothing else from this post, know never to buy me makeup because the odds are I will never ever wear it because I will not know how the heck to put it on.

B x