Beauty "detox"
Over the past month or so I've reduced a handful of things that I used to do in my daily life. I'll be going into more detail with my morning and evening routines in another blog later this month, but for now I'm going to focus on a couple of these cut backs related to beauty and fashion.
I've never been on to cake on layers of make up, I believe in light enhancements with the help of makeup. I never used to wear much on a daily basis, I would wear my CC cream from Origins which I love, its so lightweight and also has SPF protection, Body shop concealer (tried to search for a link but can't find the product online), Miss sporty mascara and powder my current one from Nature Republic which is a Korean store, but in the UK I usually buy Collection pressed powder. And sometimes I'd add a little bit shimmer powder (possibly one of my favourite makeup products!), on nights out I'd do more with my eyes and maybe add some lip gloss.
So why did I stop wearing makeup? In all honestly, it was because I was too ill to get out of bed for nearly two weeks, and then when I did start going to lectures again I was always too exhausted to do anything. I'd just throw on leggings, a jumper and eat something, go to my lecture then come back and take a nap before the next lecture. Now, I am so much better than I was but I still get tired out more easily than before. It's just habit now, I was basically too consumed in feeling ill and too tired to care what anyone else thought and I've just kept that attitude, I don't care.
And why should I? Someone else's opinion on my appearance is not going to impact my life, so if I dress up a bit, or put on makeup, it's not to look good for anyone, it's for myself. And honestly, I feel a lot more confident when I don't wear makeup because I feel a lot more free, I don't feel like there is any pressure on me, there is no pressure to make sure your eyeliner is perfect, or that you don't smudge any of your makeup. I mean even before, I wouldn't worry too much, but there's still that little nagging part of yourself that has a need to make sure your appearance is constantly up kept. Not wearing makeup (even though it didn't take long!) gives me more time in the morning. I can sit at my desk, enjoying my breakfast, reading some articles and it feels nice to not worry about what I look like.
Not only does wearing makeup increase my confidence, but as most of you will already know, there are huge benefits for your skin as well. I'm pretty lucky to have good skin, so another reason why I never normally wear much makeup, is because I don't really need it, I would just use it to enhance or hide certain things.
When I first stopped wearing makeup, I did experience a few break-outs around my chin and mouth area, but I put this down to my skin re-adjusting. When you stop wearing makeup, you stop clogging up your pores and the oil balance needs to re-adjust, so if you do experience break-outs during the first week, it's fine, it's all natural. My skin feels a lot healthier, cleaner and fresher without having makeup. It has time to breathe... all the time! And it's so important if you want to have healthy skin to let it breathe!
After listing all of those confidence-boosting reasons and health reasons to not wear makeup, will you cut down?
After this statement you're probably going to think, ew, so you ready? I don't wash my hair... that is everyday at least. I only wash my hair when it needs it. A lot of people think that we should wash our hair everyday, but actually you could be doing more harm than good! No matter what shampoo you use (granted, each brand is probably to a different extent, but still...), it strips away the natural oils and natural coating on your hair and replaces it with it's own chemicals in conditioners to create those beautiful shiny locks.
Now, I'm not saying never wash your hair, unless you want to be hippy and do dreads or something like that (btw I have nothing against hippies or people with dreads!), but it's not necessary to wash your hair everyday! I wash my hair about once a week, around every 6 days. By this point I can see that my hair is oily and needs to be washed, but it's only at the roots and on my scalp that it's oily and this is because your roots regulate and secrete natural oils.
So, by day six I go and wash my hair, I am currently using L'Oreal Elvive Highlight Nutrition Shampoo and conditioner but I also love their crystal range (surprise, surprise, I love glitter) shampoo and conditioner. When I wash my hair I always double shampoo, I know you're probably thinking that it's because I let my hair get greasy, but that's not the reason. I want to clean away the oil, yes but also all the dirt and give myself a good scalp massage in the process. By double shampooing my hair it is super clean, soft and shiny by the end of the process. I also deep-condition my hair, so after shampooing I will leave my conditioner on, and I only condition the bottom half of my hair as the top half will get all the natural oils from the roots anyway. Then I carry on washing my face, body etc, my conditioner gets left on for a couple of minutes and it's the last thing I do before getting out of the shower. By deep-conditioning my hair it feels amazing and stays shiny and soft for days.
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One thing I do in between washes, usually every-other day as I like to try and keep my hair natural, is using dry shampoo. This helps with controlling excess oil at the roots and also gives my hair some extra volume! I usually get batiste they have a great range and amazing fragrances!
Another one of me new habits that actually stemmed from being ill and too tired to care is that I now don't wear a bra anymore. I haven't thrown them out yet, but I haven't worn a bra in nearly two months and I love it. The bra evolved from the corset and the corset was a really uncomfortable (I mean have you ever tried one on?!) design made, traditionally from whale bone (fun fact that's why we now call shaping plastic or metal 'boning'). And the corset was designed to emphasis a woman's figure, especially to show off a tiny waste. Similarly to makeup, it's that modern society says we need to look a certain way, perfect skin, perfect hair, perfect boobs. Well I'm saying, I can't be bothered with this anymore, I really have no more patience, I tried not to care before but recently I've been preaching a lot of self-love and really noted the importance of self-care and the impact that it can have upon your life.
I'm not saying that I don't wear a bra because I want to rebel against society, but when you think about it, that's probably the main reason why we wear bras... because for one reason or another society says we should, whether it's to make your boobs look better or to reduce bounciness or because it's "not acceptable" to be braless or whatever other reason you can think of...
http://www.oysho.com/gb/bras/bralette/lace-bralette-c1010155022p100448191.html?typeCategory=0
Scientists have found that it could actually impact negatively upon breast tissue growth if you do wear a bra, and it's also been found that you could have perkier boobs if you don't wear a bra. One thing to get used to is that you are very free, but this freedom is all very natural and I find it more comfortable. On days that I would like a little support I use a bralette that I bought recently from Oysho, it's super comfortable and so lightweight that I hardly notice I'm wearing it. I think that in the future I will be investing in more bralettes rather than bras.
The final thing I'm going to mention that I've reduced is eating meat! You may have seen my last post about how and why I changed to a Pescetarian diet, but in case you haven't, you can read it here! I love finding and cooking new recipes, for example tonight I am going to make broccoli and spinach burgers and I'm so excited about it!
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In contrast to reducing things, I've also increased sleeping, smiling and singing! The benefits of sleeping are endless and also obvious, like, you won't feel as tired anymore! Smiling is such a simple thing to do and it'll make you feel awesome. When you smile endorphines are released, like serotonin which is a known anti-depressant. Smiling also helps to keep your skin healthy and you will look younger for longer. Not only does smiling have benefits for yourself, but seeing other people smile will make you smile too! So go on, smile at a stranger tomorrow when you're walking to lectures, or at work. Singing will also make you feel great, I mean, who doesn't love singing in the shower? That's because hormones are released when you sing. One of these hormones is called oxytocin which has been found to alleviate stress and anxiety. Get some bangin' tunes on, turn it up, and sing at the top of your lungs!
All of the products that I have mentioned are linked and in purple, so if you want to go ahead and check them out. Disclaimer: none of these are affiliate links, I'm not partnered with any company or receiving any money, just sharing the products I use!
