Midweek "No Makeup" Diet Update

After going to the Beautycounter event last Wednesday, I have been rethinking my skincare purchases, my skincare regiment, and most importantly my makeup routine. Makeup and beauty products are something that I enjoy. I spend a lot of time experimenting with different looks, and sometimes I feel that I spend too much time on making up my face, and I have also become lazy in getting ready for work. On Saturday, I read about a diet that was meant for the skin, the "No Makeup" diet. This diet or break from makeup will hopefully recharge my skin. The last couple of weeks have been pretty stressful with finals, and my skin has gone back to it's old ways. While I have been picky about my makeup, and about the brands and products I use, I still feel that my skin needs a break from makeup. With a bare face, my skin can naturally schleff off the cells, and it can breathe. I started the "No Makeup" diet on Monday, so today is the third day without makeup. 

I am using my face camera with my iPhone 5, so it makes my skin look worse! I am not editing out my skin's flaws this week, so this makes me vulnerable, especially since I am putting bare and flawed face on my blog for all to see. The photo above was taken on Monday. I went all over the place on Monday in bare face. I went to two Dollar Trees, Whole Foods Market, and to work in bare face. I felt confident, but I didn't feel beautiful. I have three, main goals to achieve after this week of no makeup: 

1. To simply recharge my skin.
2. For my skin to look better than it did a week ago. 
3. To help me feel beautiful in my bare face. 

I knew that I had to do more than just not wear makeup this week for my skin to look better, so at Whole Foods, I bought organic, and better quality foods to help from the inside out. I chose more than just fruits because I need sustenance, so I chose better quality, and organic foods that were typically better choices and that had sustenance. I truly feel that better quality foods make you feel healthy and glowing from the inside out. 

Not only the choices of food matter to me, but the choices of my skincare and beauty regiment are equally important. I spent all weekend going through my beauty products and weeding out the ones that had harsh ingredients in them. I only threw away eight products. I have a drawer full of beauty items, so throwing out only eight surprised me. I have always taken account in the quality of products I purchase, but after the Beautycounter event, it fired me up even more about making my beauty routine safer and free of harsh ingredients. I feel that using safe, and natural beauty products make a big difference when detoxing the skin, so I put together a few guidelines for me to follow not only this week, but for the rest of my life when it comes to taking care of my skin. 

1.  Use good qaulity, and natural products. Look at the ingredients list, and compare it to Beautycounter's "Never List." If you see ingredients in the product that are on the "Never List," put that product down, and look elsewhere. 
2. Be considerate and thoughtful about what you consume. Include more fresh fruits, beneficial teas, and of water in your diet. Water especially, because it incredibly important to keep your skin hydrated. 
3. Invest in pretty distractions. Not that I need a distraction to take my mind off of makeup, but I do believe that it is important to focus on things that I have wanted to invest my time in, but I really haven't had the time to do. My "distractions" are my plants. I bought some beautiful succulents a couple weeks ago, and I bought a beautiful bouquet of pink peonies at Whole Foods on Monday. I was also given a DIY air plant terrarium kit from my Aunt Aimee and Uncle Randy for a belated birthday gift, so I am very excited to put that together! 

I feel that after three days of the "No Makeup" diet, my skin is slowly improving. I guess that I had higher expectations for my skin, but it is only three days into the break, and it does take longer than a few days for skin (and the body for that matter) to recover from stress and makeup use. 

The photo above was taken yesterday, Tuesday. I was feeling confident on Tuesday, but I still was not feeling beautiful in my bare face. This is a tough assignment that I have given myself, to feel beautiful in my bare face. I may not ever feel beautiful in my bare face, but at least I am confident and that I am comfortable in the skin I am in. 

For today's photo, I was feeling less confidence, and more discomfort. The discomfort most likely stemmed from my expectations not being met. My expectations rose this morning when I woke up, when I looked in the mirror and was expecting to see my skin looking healthy, and somewhat healed, but this is only the third day.

This "No Makeup" diet has inspired me to go without makeup for one week each month. I'm sure that eventually I will fell truly beautiful in my bare face. My love for makeup will never die out, but I can limit my makeup usage. I will do a "No Makeup" diet roundup at the end of the week, and summarize my thoughts, experiences, and things that I might change next time around. I am anxious to see how my skin responds to no makeup for a week, and I am excited to share my thoughts more in depth.

Have you ever taken a break from makeup? If so, please comment. I would love to hear your "no makeup" experience.