Natural selfies are the best kind of selfies

You may be expecting that today’s post is where I’ll be getting up on my little soap box and banging on about animal cruelty and make-up testing or perhaps about the many chemicals that we voluntarily lather upon our bodies, especially our faces, each day. However, whilst these are very relevant factors, today I’m discussing the cost of make-up from another angle. YOU and your self esteem.

On Thursday it was #makeupfreeday, where women everywhere were encouraged to take to social media and post a natural, make-up free ‘selfie’, for the purpose of proving that one does not need make up to be beautiful.

I love this initiative, as I generally steer clear of makeup, only using it a few times a year for special occasions. It’s not that I don’t sometimes get self-conscious about little things like my freckles, or my ‘baby face’ (so youthful that strangers assume I’m still in primary school). I’m not entirely immune to the social pressures that the beauty industry has thrust upon us. However not wearing make-up (for the most part) is my way of taking a stand against societal norms that ‘expect’ females to airbrush themselves and hack their natural beauty once they reach a certain age (and this age is getting younger and younger).

Make-up is a fun treat for those times when you just want to look feminine and glamorous. It’s also essential for performers, as stage lights really wash you out (same goes for anyone on television for the same reasons). However as a day to day thing, it conceals the real you and potentially impairs your skin quality in the long run. The skin likes to breathe and make-up clogs the pores, suffocating your precious skin cells. Sure natural, organic, ethically sourced products aren’t as damaging, but your still applying a barrier between yourself and the rest of the world.

So why are we so scared to be (facially) naked in public? I reckon it’s just what we’ve gotten used to. We can’t imagine turning up to a meeting, to work, to a party or gathering (heck even the supermarket) without at least some foundation and a little mascara (as a safety precaution of course).

You don’t need make-up to sparkle ….. go do some exercise, there’s something ‘cosmetic’ about endorphins!

The real cost of make up is that it gets you believing that you ‘need it’ everyday and that you aren’t worthy of other’s vision without it. Take my beautiful mamma bear for example. She feels that she can’t even walk to the post office without a touch of make-up (because she might scare small children). Sure mum is getting on and has quite a few laugh lines to show for it, but she looks absolutely fine without make up and sometimes, I reckon, a little softer (the exact opposite of what would scare the kiddlets).

Focus on supporting your skin with homemade face masks (some mashed banana or avo and honey), nourishing creams and serums (I love the Twenty8 range) or even just a touch of coconut oil for dry or sun-burned skin. Each day before you put on your make-up, consider whether you really need it (or at least how much you need – maybe just a thin coating of foundation and a touch of mascara will suffice, without the need for eye-liner, lipstick, blush, false-eyelashes and whatever else people are glamming themselves up with these days – I myself am a tad out of touch with the world of beauty).

The younger you are, the easier this will be. I know that I’m nineteen (and look about 12) and therefore don’t have wrinkles (yet) and some may think ‘well it’s easy for you’. Maybe it is, or maybe I choose to look after my skin and years of not-wearing make up has worked (and continues) to work in my favour. I hope that as I do age, I keep this same headset.

Wrinkles aren’t a curse. They’re Nature’s way of reminding us that we aren’t dead! Freckles aren’t punishment for Northern Europeans. For a long time we didn’t get much sun and without our fair complexions we’d have had a tough time absorbing vitamin D. Pimples are a health expression; reminding us to stress less, sleep more and eat less sugar, trans fats and anything doused in Round Up.

I’d just woken up from a nap in this picture. I took my hair out and it did this wicked spiral thing and I wanted to capture it on film – make-up free!

I say let’s defy societal pressures and show the world who we really are. The more of us that do it, the more it will become normal and acceptable. Make-up is a multi-billion dollar industry – they convince us that we must cover up our physical flaws and wind the clock back a few decades. They convince us that we NEED them. All we really need is some positive self-talk, true friends that accept us with or without the cosmetic façade and lots and lots of laughter (which gives us all that ‘natural glow’ – a glow achieved without being $90 out of pocket? Now you’re talking!).

Another #makeupfree selfie (feat. M.bear) – taken after a long, hot, sweaty day in town at the end of last year (we are still shining, because we were happy and had been moving about all day – laughter and exercise are mother nature’s botox!)

Make-up is fun, playful and a nice treat when you want to absolutely shine and look like a princess – but I don’t believe it is an every day thing. Just because we are female it doesn’t mean we have to look perfect all the time – men sure don’t (but the feminism movement is a topic for another day – I think for now, I’ve said quite enough),

Be free, be happy, be authentic.

Wear make up when and because you want to, not because society says that you have to.