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We live in a world where women are expected to always look on fleek and flawless. Doesn’t it sometimes make you jealous that men get to sleep for 30 minutes longer because they don’t have to do their makeup? I need my beauty sleep just as much as the next person. So at one point in my life, I decided to go with a new motto: no makeup is the new makeup. Here’s a shocker – you actually don’t need makeup to look good at all! I am going to share with you all the tricks I use to jump out of bed and look even better than when I cover my face with different products. I want to build that confidence in you. Because you know what? You’re beautiful just the way you are. So rock it girl.
The first thing you should do to look good without makeup is to not put makeup on in the first place! That’s the trick. Sounds scary, doesn’t it? I know that’s what I thought at first. Because ‘what do you mean I can look pretty without makeup? Have you seen the bags under my eyes?’, that kind of thing. It was difficult for me and it will be tricky for you. The first time I left the house without makeup I felt invisible. I was terrified to look at other people or do anything to attract attention to my oh so plain face. Turns out I was very very wrong. Because it’s not makeup that makes you look good – it’s how you feel when you wear it. Confidence is the best makeup!
I know, I know. Easier said than done. I’m still working on it myself.
To feel more confident you need to show your skin some love. Because if it looks good, you’ll automatically feel better about it. Very often we forget that our skin takes a beating every day – the pollution, makeup, stress, sweat… It all takes a toll on how it looks and behaves. And our skin enjoys revenge like the biggest villain in a story. Treat it right and it’ll show you love. Forget about it and you’ll wake up covered with spots, dark circles and redness. Trust me, I’m writing this as Sudocrem is drying all the spots on my face.
How to look good without makeup:
- Exfoliate regularly. It doesn’t even have to be every day. Most people recommend to exfoliate twice or three times a week, which is not that much, am I right? It has an amazing effect on your skin. Exfoliating removes the dead layer of skin cells. That layer, if not removed, gives you this tired and dull look that makes you reach for a concealer because damn, these undereye bags. What is more, that layer also stops your other skincare products from working to their fullest potential! You can smother your face with all types of moisturisers and oils, but if you don’t exfoliate, you’ll end up using a lot more of these products and get a lot less effective results. Plus, if you exfoliate you won’t have to use so many other skincare products anyway. It’s a win-win situation.
- Use a moisturiser. Now that your skin is fresh and exfoliated, you can move on to your favourite moisturiser. Dry skin is not something anyone wants as it makes your face looks really dull and matte. With a proper moisturising treatment you can turn it into a glowy skin that would reflect the light better than any highlighter! Can you imagine? Oh, all that money and time you could save! (A little tip: if you really can’t stand the idea of going out without makeup, use tinted moisturiser. It’ll give you a bit of a colour and it’ll benefit your skin much more than foundation. My friend swears by it at the moment). Most of the moisturisers come with a certain SPF, but if yours doesn’t make sure to put a sunscreen on as well! Overexposure to sun results in wrinkles, dry skin, sunburn and many other skin conditions you don’t need.
- Drink plenty of water. I feel like a boring person telling you this. We all know it – if you drink a lot of liquids your body will thank you. Hydrated body = hydrated, healthy, radiant skin. I tried it myself for a while, but I realised I need to have an actual app on my phone reminding me to drink because I absolutely never remember. But that’s only 50% of my advice. I’m going to put a twist on this one and tell you to drink at least one cup of water with a lemon in it. Say what?! Many women around me do that. They call it ‘anti-aging potion’. It’s been proven that a healthy dose of vitamin C clears the bloodstream and gets rid of all the toxins in your body. Less toxins mean that your skin will look flawless and soft. For someone who is not the biggest fan of the taste of water, this is a real nice way to mix things up and make it more pleasurable!
- Keep your hands busy. I mean do whatever it is you need to do, but keep your hands away from your face. I have this nasty habit of picking on all the pimples and dry skin and just rubbing my forehead or eyes. Let me tell you now – it’s a no no. Think about all the things you touch during the day. All of the germs and oils are transferred from your palms onto your delicate skin on your face. And they don’t just stay there and do nothing. You start breaking out. The skin turns red and inflamed. All the hard work you put into it looking good can go to waste just because you decided to pick on that one spot on your chin. Is it really worth it?
- Invest in a bottle of castor oil. It is like a magic potion. It helps with absolutely everything. Acne scars? Dab some castor oil on them. Dry skin? Castor oil is going to fix that. Thin eyelashes? Add castor oil to your mascara. Over-plucked eyebrows? Rub castor oil onto them and let it grow. It can be used in so many different ways, you could pretty much forget about all other points I’ve made already and replace them with castor oil.
- Love yourself. Seriously, when is the last time you looked in the mirror and was happy with what you saw? You are beautiful. You are amazing. You are worth everything. Cut yourself some slack sometimes. Learn to love your fabulous body and the skin you’re in. The minute you feel comfortable with how you look and who you are, you will realise that makeup is just a tiny addition in your life that you don’t actually need. Confidence will give you that extra glow. That spring in your step. And that smile that will make everyone’s heads turn to admire you. So do yourself a favour and love yourself like nobody else ever could.
These are the simple ways you can implement in your routine that could make so much difference. Are you still not sold on the idea of not wearing makeup and looking good? It’s okay. I love makeup just as much as any other beauty blogger. But just because I wear it, it doesn’t mean that I don’t have days when I can’t be bothered or slept a bit too long and don’t have time to do it. At moments like these, I’m glad I take care of my skin because it means I can feel comfortable whether I am rocking a full natural look or not. And I’m a firm believer that every woman should feel empowered to do so as well.
Thank you for reading! Let me know if you found it useful. Until next time!
Enjoyed my post? There’s more! Read about why makeup expiration dates are important and how to regrow your eyebrows.
How do you feel about not wearing makeup?
Tags : confidence, look good with no makeup, natural look, no makeup is the new makeup, no makeup look
Shelby says
January 14, 2019 at 3:58 pmI love this approach, every thing I’ve read is basically a ten step regiment with several different products. budgeting it key in my life, so spending money on that stuff is hard for me but this makes me feel On the right track thank you 🙂
Julia says
January 15, 2019 at 5:18 pmThank you so much! Tell me about it, if you google how to look good without makeup, you’ll find yourself scrolling through lists of expensive products that don’t even work for everyone anyway since we’re all different. And looking after yourself doesn’t have to involve spending a lot of money. I’m so happy you found it helpful, means so much to me!
Jazz says
November 14, 2017 at 7:15 amI’m that person who tends to wear makeup everyday for the office. But even then there are at least two days during the week where I won’t put a full face to breathe for a bit. I also tend to lack in the hydration dept.. What’s the name of the app you use???
Julia says
November 14, 2017 at 2:24 pmI used to use Lifesum and it made me drink so much water every day! It’s an app where you put not only your water intake but also what you eat and how much you exercise, it’s really good. I stopped using it for a while because my phone broke and it’s so difficult to get back on track again!
AnHistorian says
October 29, 2017 at 1:45 pmI only wear make up 2-3 days a week, and I’ve only ever really worn light make up (as in, my make up is done in 5 minutes or less). Thankfully most of my coworkers don’t wear make up regularly, so it’s a fairly accepting environment! Now I’m just trying to figure out what I wasn’t doing that it wasn’t taking me half an hour haha.
Julia says
October 29, 2017 at 2:40 pmThat’s so good! I need to learn how to do my makeup in 5 minutes haha you must be so quick!
Reema Patel says
October 8, 2017 at 1:11 pmThese are great tips! I hate wearing make up often – just because I’m super lazy and I love my sleep far too much. So I don’t wear it but my skin has been really bad recently so it makes me feel crap. I started working on my skin and it’s really helped the confidence!
Do you have any products you would recommend for certain things like exfoliating? No 4 is the bane of my life. I JUST started prodding and picking my skin as I was bored and you’re so so so right, it’s awful and I need to stop but argh, so hard.
Reema | http://www.aumsome.co.uk
Julia says
October 8, 2017 at 3:39 pmI agree, once you start picking your spots it’s just so difficult to stop! It makes the skin so much worse though. Stay strong! To clean my skin I use Neutrogena daily scrubs, my favourite is the Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit one. I’d definitely recommend it! I don’t put many products on my face, just the scrub twice a day, then a toner and a moisturiser (I swear by Nivea ones). And I’m all ready to go!
Jasmin Charlotte says
August 31, 2017 at 7:58 pmI barely wear make up anymore – just eye bits and it makes my mornings so much easier! Though I do love glamming up from time to time! 🙂 x
Julia says
September 1, 2017 at 9:39 amI love the no-makeup days! I barely wear makeup nowadays myself, got so much more time to do other stuff!
Amanda says
August 29, 2017 at 10:17 pmI’ve really embraced the no-makeup life and I really love it! xx
andthenzen says
August 24, 2017 at 10:54 amI always get so nervous about leaving the house without makeup – I genuinely feel naked without it now-a-days! I do love my sleep though, and I’m always jealous about how my boyfriend can get out of bed ten minutes before he needs to leave, as I would love that extra sleep! I swear by Sudocream.. I always recommend it to any of my friends, and it sounds like I may have to purchase some Castor Oil as another all-rounder product.. 🙊
Andi | http://www.andthenzen.wordpress.com
Kerri says
August 24, 2017 at 9:07 amSlapping on makeup is fun and pretty, but to take care of one’s skin should always be the main goal. Makeup wouldn’t sit well anyways on skin that isn’t taken care of. Coconut oil is also good too 🙂 But first, skin patch test.
Julia says
August 25, 2017 at 1:15 pmI forgot about coconut oil! It works wonders as well.
Everthing Chessie says
August 23, 2017 at 7:59 pmI don’t wear much makeup, only eyeliner and mascara but it’s great to read something that promotes a naked face! I’ve always felt out of place for being a girl who wasn’t great with make-up so it’s nice to read a blog promoting a no makeup look, and the castor oil tip – who knew?!x
Alice says
August 23, 2017 at 2:21 pmDidn’t know castor oil was good!! Will definitely be investing in that haha, I didn’t used to give my skin a break at all and used to go weeks without having make-up free days due to working essentially on a makeup counter but now I know how important it is to have those days to let your skin breathe! Love the love yourself part, that’s definitely the most important bit!
Alice Xx
Alicia says
August 23, 2017 at 12:43 pmI love a good skin care routine, I think it really helps towards perfecting the no makeup makeup look! I find I’m constantly wearing no makeup these days because of work so I feel ur tips are real handy!xx
Alice says
August 23, 2017 at 7:29 amI love no make-up days! It feels so nice to let your skin have a breather x
Lily says
August 22, 2017 at 9:20 pmI did not know castor oil was amazing! Also, I really need to stop touching my face as it’s a bad habit of mine and I know it’s really gross haha. Such an informative post, thanks x
Lily
Gemma says
August 22, 2017 at 7:56 pmThis blog post is perfect! I am always worrying about my skin, I’m not one for makeup though because I suffer with really bad sensitive skin so makeup for me is a massive no no! I am definitely going to implement some of these into my daily routine. I’ve never thought to exfoliate, what products would you recommend? Is there anything that you use to help you? I’m always on the lookout for new products!
Gemma | http://www.anoceanglimmer.wordpress.com
Julia says
August 22, 2017 at 9:16 pmI love Neutrogena products, they have amazing Visibly Clear daily scrub range that I use, my favourite would be the Pink Grapefruit one! Smells so good <3 I'm glad you found it useful! xx
Emily says
August 22, 2017 at 7:40 pmAbsolutely love this post! What a great thing to promote I’m so happy I feel confident enough now to wear make up if I want and not if I don’t! I forget if I have it on or not sometimes! Xx
Emily
http://beautyaboveandbeyond.blogspot.co.uk/?m=1
Julia says
August 22, 2017 at 9:17 pmYes! Confidence is the key!
Anu says
August 22, 2017 at 7:10 pmI try to drink almost 3 litres of water every day and ever since I started this habit my skin has definitely looked a lot more alive and glowy! I need to get a bottle of castor oil asap – I love all natural remedies when it comes to my skin :)x
Anu | Based On blog | Bloglovin
Leslie says
August 22, 2017 at 5:50 pmI am so going to load up on castor oil! I’ve never heard of using that for acne scars. I need that!
Julia says
August 22, 2017 at 9:17 pmTrust me, it can be used for so much more, I found so many articles about it and you can even add it to drink to help your gut!
Lucy says
August 22, 2017 at 4:29 pmI absolutely love this blog post! I am so passionate about people having the confidence to wear no make up! I love a full make up look but I adore natural make up or bare skin – keep up the good work, what a great message to other girls xx
Julia says
August 22, 2017 at 4:35 pmThank you! I’m all for feeling confident in your own skin and want other girls and women to know they’re amazing and can do whatever they want!