I don’t know about you, but sometimes in the summer, makeup feels horrible on my face.
And I’m careful about the makeup I choose.
Still, when it’s warm and the sun is shining and I’m being active outside, I just really don’t want anything on my face. It feels great to smooth on a nice moisturizer and go, you know?
But oh, don’t we worry about it. I mean, we look so different without makeup, or so we think.
I know I worry about any old acne scars, other hyperpigmentation, and that my lashes look too wimpy. I’m sure you have our own worries about what you imagine to be your flaws.
It’s true that makeup can help highlight our best features, but this summer, I’m urging our readers to try going barefaced. It feels really liberating, and it can be great for your skin and your self-esteem.
Before you freak out, stay with me, because I’ve got ten tips here to help you feel more confident about it. I think after you read these, you’ll feel a little braver about trying a makeup-less summer day.
Let me know what you think-and if you go for it, how it makes you feel!
1. Start with good skin care.
The better your skin looks and feels, the more confident you’ll be about letting it be. Face care is a lot like body care, and requires a routine practice of cleansing, moisturizing, anti-aging, and masking. Make sure you have quality products filled with nourishing ingredients (minus fragrances, sulfates, harsh preservatives, and the like), and try not to neglect your skin.
Cleanse and moisturize every morning, and cleanse, mask, anti-age, and moisturize at night. For your best summer glow, use a gentle, sulfate-free cleanser, soothe redness and inflammation with our Rescue + Relief Spray, and follow with our Calming Moisture in the morning to keep skin smooth and soft all day long.
Then at night, cleanse again, and consider a mask of some sort. You can alternate: exfoliating on one night, pore-cleansing the next, and hydrating the next. Masking can give your skin a lot of extra benefits that you wouldn’t get otherwise, and can speed up your skin’s recovery from sun damage.
Then follow with your favorite anti-aging serum and finally, a deeply moisturizing night cream. If you stick to this routine on a regular basis, your skin will respond by becoming more healthy and radiant.
2. Tighten pores before you go.
After you cleanse, if you’re noticing large pores, you can do something about that without having to use makeup. There are products you can buy for this, but you can also use ingredients in your kitchen to do the job.
Some good options:
- egg whites
- mashed strawberries
- cooled green tea
- apple cider vinegar (diluted with water)
- avocado and honey
- coffee grinds with milk or yogurt
Apply any of these to the skin for about 10 minutes before rinsing and heading out. Don’t forget to moisturize afterwards!
3. Drink plenty of water.
Staying hydrated is key to having healthy looking skin. Plus when you drink enough water, you’re also likely to feel more awake and alert, which is always attractive.
If you add a bit of lemon or lemon juice to your water and drink it in the morning (like I do!), you’ll get some added refreshment and detoxifying action with your morning beverage, which can also start you out on a more vibrant appearance for the day.
4. Eat good stuff, sleep, and exercise.
Eat: I’m talking mostly fruits and veggies and lean proteins. If you eat junk food, it shows up on your skin. It’s also been linked to increased inflammation in studies, which means that it can raise your risk of acne, redness, eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea flare-ups.
Start out with a healthy green smoothie or other healthy breakfast, and then keep it going all day long by making good choices to keep your skin looking great.
Sleep: Getting a good night’s sleep is one of the best beauty tips you can adopt. Recent studies have shown that poor sleepers were rated as looking older by strangers than people who regularly slept well. (Read more about sleep and beauty here.)
Exercise: Exercise gets the circulation pumping, which takes nutrients to the skin. If you want to look good sans makeup throughout the day, get some exercise first thing in the morning to obtain that natural, healthy flush.
5. Zap those puffy eyes.
If you struggle with bags or dark circles under the eyes, prepare beforehand by putting some used tea bags in the freezer before bed.
Then, when you get up, take the bags out and leave them on the counter for about 10 minutes. When they become a bit more pliable, place them on your eyes and sit back for about 10 minutes. You can use that time to meditate or think positive thoughts about your day while the tea goes to work transforming your eyes to look more awake and alert.
6. Tend to your lips.
No, you don’t need lipstick or glosses, but you do want moisturized, plump, and healthy looking lips. And we know that can be a challenge in the summer, because of all that dryness.
Exfoliate your lips at least once a week (more often if you need it) with a gentle exfoliant or lip scrub. If you don’t have one, try moist brown sugar to get rid of that dry, flaky skin. Then apply a thick, rich balm or butter on your lips at night. They need that extra dose of moisture at night.
Our favorite option for this? Our Restorative Skin Balm! It’s not only full of natural ingredients like bee’s wax, vitamin E, sea buckthorn oil, and calendula, but it’s also got a unique blend of antioxidants that helps protect lips from sun damage. This balm also gives lips a healthy sheen-great for going out makeup-free.
7. Take care of your body skin.
We focus a lot on our faces and not nearly as much on the rest of our skin, but during the summer, our skin is often on display. When was the last time you exfoliated your arms, elbows, knees, calves, and heels?
The best way to refresh body skin is to first, use a dry skin brush. These are available at most any beauty shop or online retailer. Brush skin from the toes up and the neck down right before your bath or shower, and then wash off those dead skin cells and emerge with more vibrant skin. (Read more about dry skin brushing on our previous post.)
Follow with a deep moisturize like our Body Repair Lotion. This lotion is amazing as it leaves you with a lasting glow. You have to try it to see!
Then step out with your bare face and your radiant body skin and see if you don’t feel confident!
8. Groom your brows.
You’ve probably heard that the brows are the frame for the face. Plus, they help bring out your eyes.
So make sure your brows are well groomed before you go out barefaced. Remove any stray hairs, and comb them up and away from your eyes. You can also benefit from regular brow care. Applying natural oils to your brows before bed, for example-like almond, olive, or coconut-can help condition and even thicken your brows over time.
If your brows are sparse or nearly non-existent, this may be the one place you may want to make a makeup exception. There are a number of options out there. You can even find organic eyebrow gels, pencils, mousses, and definers that are made with ingredients you can feel good about.
9. Get naturally longer and fuller lashes.
Yes, you can enhance your lashes without using makeup!
For a lot of us, mascara is the one thing we really don’t want to go without. But with a few preparatory tips, you can do it and still feel good about your lashes.
First, start caring for your lashes on a regular basis. One of the most commonly recommended solutions is castor oil-simply use a small drop of a 100% pure brand on your lashes every night (you can apply with your fingers or a clean brush). The oil conditions and smoothes and may give you stronger and thicker lashes over time.
Next, go ahead and curl your lashes. That will open up your eyes even without mascara. Finally, apply a little moisturizer or ointment to the lashes to help them look darker and silkier. Just be sure the moisturizer is made up of safe ingredients that won’t irritate your eyes!
10. Start your day with some positive affirmations.
Going without makeup can be scary, especially if you’re not used to it.
That means you will probably need some cheerleading to start with-and since most of us don’t have a personal cheerleader, you’ll have to do it yourself. Look yourself in the mirror and say, “I am enough just as I am. I am beautiful. I am a giving and vibrant person and I’m excited about enjoying my day.”
You can also create your own affirmations-whatever works for you. The important thing is to give yourself some love. If you go out ducking your head and feeling self-conscious, others around you will likely reflect that attitude, which could give you the wrong idea-that you don’t look good without makeup-when the real problem is that people are reacting to your lack of confidence.
So build yourself up before you walk out that door. Repeat it to yourself again: “I am beautiful without makeup. I love myself and I’m eager to spread that love to everyone I meet today.”
Are you brave enough to go out barefaced? Please share any tips you may have with our readers.
