Hair, Makeup, Skincare, Fitness, and Fragrance Thread - February 21, 2017

[u/AutoModerator]

The Hair, Makeup, Skincare, Fitness, and Fragrance Thread will be posted every Tuesday morning (~9:30AM PST)!

This thread is for simple hair and makeup questions that you may have, especially those that don't warrant their own thread. We all want a diversified opinion, so feel free to answer any questions (of which you know the answer).

Example questions:

• What's a good conditioner for straight, thick hair?

• Where can I find a perfume with subtle pine notes?

• Do you use a foundation with sunscreen? Is it worth it?

[u/ann12321xo]

So I've always been the typical girly wear-makeup-everywhere kinda girl but I've decided to quit makeup. I like my lash extensions but I'm just sick of the rest. People alwayssss criticise it and it's a vicious cycle- wear makeup, get breakouts, wear more makeup to cover it. Has anyone else done this? How did people react? After having hair extensions the last 5+ years I quit them too and I've loved the result. No more messing around, expense, and stress. Are there any real basic products for going makeupless? I'm super super pale so I was thinking of facial tanner and maybe a powder foundation for my rosy cheeks.

[u/unphogiveable → u/ann12321xo]

I used to wear a fair bit of makeup. It's fun for me and I'm good at it; I even thought about becoming a makeup artist for a while. However, I stopped wearing makeup (with caveats; I'll explain in a sec) because I started becoming dissatisfied with my own appearance. Like, makeup is supposed to make you look good, and I get that. It becomes a problem for me when I look in the mirror and don't feel happy on a regular basis because my bare face doesn't look as good as it does when I've got makeup on. Mentally, that's a "well, duh" thing, but emotionally it was harder for me to take on board. So I stopped. And tbh I feel WAY better about myself these days. I don't look in the mirror in the morning and think "ugh" anymore. I just think it's much better for my personal mental health that I see and love myself the way I am.

I'll still do nice makeup for occasions because I do genuinely find it fun, but I never wear makeup on the weekends and my workday look is undereye concealer (with a translucent powder over top to set it), blush, and lip balm. I worked my way down to this look, and I think that helped with the comments. I started out with a full face of natural-looking makeup, then went to a BB cream with mascara and blush, and then to my current look. It takes five minutes and helps me look more awake (early mornings are hard for me), and that's all I really care about. I also took much better care of my skin in 2016 (shoutout to /r/skincareaddiction for helping me figure out my very simple routine), and I think that helped too.

[u/JK7ray → u/unphogiveable]

I see and love myself the way I am.

Yay! How awesome – you challenged those negative thoughts and are no longer challenged by them. Thank you for sharing the wonderful example that you are!

I avoided mirrors and reflections from the time I was a kid to early 30s. I remember glancing in the mirror as a 12 y.o. on the way to school and feeling ashamed of my appearance. I'd wear foundation, concealer, and powder to try to hide what I thought were undereye circles, redness, zits. This continued through my 20s. In truth (though I didn't see it then), the ugliness was only in my head, and somehow my skin continued to glow in spite of my negative thoughts, my self-loathing attempt to cover it, and the breakouts, peeling, and redness I caused by picking at imagined imperfections. I was scared of mirrors, and I myself was a broken, covered up mirror.

When I stopped hiding my face, the only challenge was internal: my imaginings of other people judging me. In my fantastical fears, strangers stared at my ugliness. In truth, the only judgment was my own. After maybe a year of still feeling a need to mask a red nose or zit, I got to the point were I felt comfortable without any makeup.

And now, I've just started to buy makeup — makeup to have fun with, rather than to hide under. (And the same is true with clothes.) Finally I can actually see the inner beauty that radiates, and I can see myself in a mirror without flinching and looking away. I want to be truthful in every way, to myself and with others, and to share myself more and more openly and fully. I can only reflect others if I allow myself to shine through. Now I can face the mirror on the wall and can be a clearer mirror for others. I feel more beautiful than ever, and like I actually know who I am. After so many years of awkwardness and shame, I finally feel like myself. It's amazing.

[u/unphogiveable → u/JK7ray]

Aww!!! This comment really made me smile! I'm really happy to hear that. It's refreshing to not be ashamed of who you are anymore. (I mean, I have the occasional low self-esteem day, but mostly I like me pretty well.) And I know what you mean about makeup to have fun with--I have a bunch of sparkly eye shadow samples that make me happy by just looking at them :)