After 17 years of wearing makeup every day of my life, I wanted to see what would happen if I stopped wearing it.
Jenny Chang
I think there are lots of assumptions about people who wear makeup – that they're insecure, self-conscious, and vain. But that hasn't been my experience with makeup. If anything, makeup gives me confidence.
I've worn makeup pretty much every day of my life since I was 12 years old. And I come from a household where putting on makeup is just part of the daily routine. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever seen my mom leave the house without hers on.
Which is why I wanted to see what it would be like to go for a week without wearing makeup. After 17 years of wearing makeup every day, I wanted to know if my confidence would endure without it.
What I found was that while I was supremely uncomfortable for the first half of the week, I learned a lot more about myself than I ever expected. Here are the lessons I came out of the week with:
Day 1: When I learned how uncomfortable I am with my own bare face.
I can't tell you how many selfies I took until I landed on THAT one to post to Instagram. And how much I fussed with my hair to try to hide a pimple lurking underneath those bangs. I was filled with relief when people responded and said I looked good without the makeup, but I didn't actually believe them.
I'm not an insecure person, or at least I'm not when I'm wearing makeup. It was surprising to feel self-conscious all day at work — that's not a feeling I'm used to. My co-workers told me how great I looked, and that my skin was beautiful. At the time, I was convinced they were lying to make me feel better. I was also convinced that everyone was looking at me, and scrutinizing every inch of my skin.
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