Previous post here if you're interested.

You know when your attention is brought to something, and suddenly you see that thing everywhere? Well that happened to me with beautiful women who wear no/minimal make up. I honestly didn't notice them before - but now I see them everywhere. And when I imagine them with heavier make up...wow, it seems like such a shame to "cover that up" (never thought I'd be uttering those words!). Even more interestingly, the more appreciation I develop for "natural" women, the more heavily-applied make up seems to look ridiculous. I ran into an old friend I hadn't seen for a while the other day and she had a noticeable layer of foundation and eyeliner on. She's about to turn 23 and looked around 30!

So, I decided to experiment. At first I went without eyeliner, then slowly started to remove each step in my make up routine. I made sure to keep doing my hair and dress well (though admittedly I'm not the most fashion-conscious person). Nobody at work or in my family said anything - negative or positive - but something else interesting happened. People started approaching me. Asking for directions on the street, chatting at the supermarket, helping me with my bags, that kind of thing. The more people approached me, the better and more confident I felt, and the more make up I removed.

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. I'd always thought people treated me differently (read: ignored me) when I wasn't wearing make up because I wasn't beautiful. But, in fact, I wasn't approachable. When I've gone make up free in the past I've been totally out of my comfort zone, and thus basically avoided all eye contact/interactions with people (probably with a sour look on my face while doing so), and also haven't bothered with the rest of my appearance (hair is the key to looking your best, I've realised). That's why people treated me differently.

And what a time saver! Do you know how great it is to wake up in the morning, slap on some moisturiser, and go about your day? Do you? Because I didn't! I hadn't gone make up free for any significant time period since I was 13 years old. It's very freeing.

Anyway, sorry if this just came off as me bragging about how amazing my face is. That isn't what I intended at all! But it's become apparent that make up was a kind of crutch for me (though I would have denied that even a few weeks ago) and that must be how men see it too. I'll still wear make up for certain events etc., but I'm definitely going to continue with a toned down version.