After reading a lot of different accounts of this social experiment, I have been wanting to try going a day without the crutch of wearing makeup for quite some time. There have been a lot of days in the past that I have not worn makeup, however those were mostly days I did not have class. I do usually try to look presentable on days I have a lot of classes, even if it is the morning after an all night study session. The day I chose to try out this experiment was a day I had all four of my classes.
I was a little hesitant about trying out this experiment. A few times I would plan on doing it on a certain day, then I would wake up and make some excuse to myself not to, mostly because I was apprehensive. However, eventually I overcame my anxiety and went through with it.
I felt very self-conscious walking to my first class. I felt like my peers focused on me a second longer than usual, but that may have just been in my head. Other than that, I did not notice any difference in the way my peers reacted to me. I even began to think “Wow, things are going really well. No one has even noticed that I’m not wearing makeup today. I should do this more often.” However, that came to a screeching halt when one of my professors said to me at the beginning of class, “Alli, you look tired. Did you pull an all-nighter last night?” I played it off normally, thinking “Well, at least I’ll have something to write about.” At the end of class she pulled me aside again and insisted I get a good night’s sleep. After this exchange, I did start to feel self-conscious again. I was not offended by these remarks, as I knew this professor pretty well and know that she was merely expressing genuine concern.
I think there is a fine line between choosing to wear makeup because it makes you more confident and being afraid not to wear makeup because of the judgements people may make about you. I do not ever want to be at a point in my life where I am afraid to go out in public without makeup on, which I have felt in the past. After this day, I realized I was much more aware of my makeup-less face than my peers were. The world is a much more pleasant place when you feel comfortable in your own skin. Put down your makeup brushes and mascara wands and try going about your day without makeup, it is not nearly as daunting as it may seem.
