The Joys of No Makeup and Becoming a (somewhat) Minimalist
Suuuup, my gorgeous people!
I hope you had a great start to your week.
As I was folding my laundry the other day and putting away my clothes, I noticed that I had probably 30% the amount of clothes that I once had. And I also noticed via all the Instagram stories I do that I rarely EVER wear make up now.... which is a stark contrast to how I used to be.
When I was in high school, I was livin. it. up. I always had to have the newest shoes, clothes, etc. -- mainly because that's what all my friends liked and that's what I thought I had to do in order to be 'cool' and 'accepted.'
College was much of the same but probably worse, as I was in a sorority which is naturally very image-focused and materialistic.
I would spend STUPID amounts of money at the mall on clothes (a few new outfits every week - only to wear them once, of course) and on makeup. I even considered getting fake boobs once because 25% of the girls in my sorority had one and they were the ones who got all the attention so I was like hmmm... maaaaaybe. *le sigh*
Now, let me preface this by saying there is nothing wrong with liking nice things. I still genuinely like nice things.
But now I don't feel I NEED nice things in order to be happy.
In fact, I'm very aware of the momentary happiness that these materialistic things bring, followed by the feeling of looking at that romper you spent $100+ on (that you promised yourself you'd wear SO MANY TIMES, of course!) in your closet a few months later collecting dust. THE WORSTTTT.
Why I Stopped Wearing Make Up (As Much)
I've seen a trend start to emerge of makeup-less selfies on Instagram.
It's something I've been doing naturally lately, without really giving it much thought, so I figured I would talk about it since apparently if it's a trend - it's out of the 'norm' of what a lot of girls do.
Truth be told, I've never really known HOW to do my makeup in the magical way that some girls do (what is contouring and how do I do dis?), so my makeup routine wasn't very elaborate to begin with.
But around the time I became a personal trainer, I just stopped caring as much about wearing make up.
Especially when I worked in a warehouse gym, with no AC, in the middle of the summer in Florida. Make up didn't stand a chance, so I just rarely wore any.
Then, I met Mark.
Mark is a very simple kinda guy... in the best way.
He's shown me that it's the small things that matter in life, and that it's not necessary to go out and spend a bunch of money on pointless things that make you happy for a moment but you could honestly live without.
He also doesn't care if I wear makeup (and prefers me without it - all the women in his family wear very little make up so it works out, lol)... which I'm sure makes me a lot more comfortable.
But really it comes down to being confident in your OWN skin.
We SHOULD feel the freedom and confidence to not wear make up if we don't want to.
I remember I used to never leave the house without make up, so that fact that I rarely leave the house WITH make up now blows my mind.
It definitely felt weird a few years ago when I would do it, so I get it if it feels unnatural to you.
But maybe try just one day a week to wear a little less, then a little less, then eventually move on to a makeup-free day every week!
P.S. It also lets your skin breathe and worked WONDERS on my breakouts. Bonus!
Becoming a Minimalist... Unintentionally (but Thankfully)
So, with all my moves that have happened in the past year, requiring me to downsize... PLUS meeting a guy who doesn't need much to be happy, I've kinda become a grade-B minimalist.
I say grade-B because I'm definitely not one of those hardcore people that intentionally gets rid of clothes and only has 10 staple wardrobe pieces.
But since I've moved around so much over the past few years, my wardrobe size has gone from needing 2+ full closets (plus space for shoes), to 1 small closet (with shoes included).
True minimalists will laugh at this, but coming from someone who used to live-and-die at the mall, this is a huge deal for me!
It definitely makes it easy that I'm lucky enough to spend most days working in yoga pants, since I work from home. When I worked in an office setting, I needed to have a few more options so that I didn't show up looking like a ragamuffin wearing the same thing every day... haha.
BUT if minimalism is something you're interested in, just do a quick Google or Pinterest search and you can find a ton of articles that show you how to live with only a few main staples in your wardrobe - and how you can style them so it looks like you're never wearing the same thing twice.
Here's an interesting article about creating a capsule wardrobe:
Simplify
I'm not saying you should stop wearing makeup completely, or immediately run to your nearest women's shelter and donate every article of clothing you have.
But, let's take a look at our own lives and how we can live SIMPLY in order to be happier.
I know from experience that materialistic things only make you happy for a short period of time, but it's the small (and meaningful) things that matter: spending time with friends, great conversation, dinner with loved ones, moving in a way you love, feeling confident in your own skin.
What's something you can do today to make your life SIMPLER?
Maybe share a make-up free selfie below or on Instagram (tag me! @juliemariebooher) and/or give away a few things in your wardrobe you haven't worn in a while.
LOVE YA, gorgeous!
xo
