As an insecure high school girl not fully grown into myself or comfortable with a face that was not altered by cosmetics, I was just like every other girl in America that would not be caught dead in public without AT LEAST the basics. By basics the ordinary girl means, the cover-up, the highlighter, the mascara, the lip color. I cannot actually pinpoint the day it actually happened for me, but one day I just said, no thanks, not for me anymore.Who knows where it exactly stemmed from, probably a little bit of laziness-or the majority of it- but also purely because when you move on to college there is just so much more to worry about.

All this being said I am not claiming to have sworn off makeup, I still coat my lashes in black liquid and brush bronzing glow all over my cheekbones, but I know instead of doing it for everyone else I do it for myself, and when I wash my face at night and look in the mirror I can still feel confident enough to venture out in public and still feel I am enough of a person to turns head. It no longer becomes about your face but how you carry yourself. Not everyone has reached the level I believe I have with this comfortability, fortunately I am surrounded by beautiful women who share this freeing confidence so I thought why not ask them what they love about their faces and what they do to love them more and more everyday so here a list of ways to make you feel more comfortable with your face.

1. Moisturize

Almost everyone you talk to will tell you they feel better when their skin is soft. It is so easy to accomplish this all you have to do is lotion right before bed and maybe again when you wake up, depending on how dry your skin is. Instantly your skin will begin to have the glow you normally have to create with that highlighting kit I know you have. Nothing glows brighter than healthy skin.

2. Being Tan

I have to say I agree with this one, you always feel more confident when tan, but instead of caking on that foundation two shades darker than your actual skin tone, go outside and be in the sun, just get that natural sun kissed color. I am not condoning tanning beds (honestly number one advocate against it, ask just about anyone who knows me) but you know what, if you love getting spray tans and that is what makes you feel the best version of you than girl, rock that painted body. Two of my roommates (yes I love to talk about my roommates if you cannot tell by now) seem to get an unnatural high off their dang spray tans and I get the ultimate kick out of watching them come home from one. No one can deny, though, that tanner skin just feels healthier and livelier.

3. Find Something You Love About Your Bare Face

Whether it be the color of your eyes, your long eyelashes, or for me I am constantly complimented on my freckles, I used to absolutely hate them until I began to open up to the beauty in them that others saw. Their uniqueness automatically boosts my confidence. It can be as little as the shape of your lips or the curve of your nose, always focus on that when you are choosing to not put the thick layer of makeup on.

4. Tell Yourself You Are Beautiful Even if You Do Not Believe it in the Moment

Positive reinforcement. A friend of mine once told me, “Do not self-deprecate. If you tell yourself you look ugly without it when you look in the mirror in the morning you’ll feel self-conscious all day, but if you look in the mirror and tell yourself that you look great, you begin to feel confident.” The more you tell yourself, the more you believe it.

5. Do Your Hair

I do not know about the rest of you ladies but I know I 100% feel prettier without makeup if I know my natural face is framed by my hair. There is something about a messy bun and no makeup that just makes you look and feel tired and sloppy. You do not need to do anything extravagant but just let the hair run wild, that way even if you are not feeling completely confident you at least have your luscious locks to distract.

6. Less Breakouts

My last justification for wearing makeup less, is it really does clear up any acne you have. You are not clogging your pores or putting foreign substances all over your skin, which is hands down the most sensitive skin on your body. The longer you go without makeup the clearer the skin and the more you love your naked face.

Of course if none of these justify less makeup for you remember how much extra time you’ll have to binge watch the new American Horror Story season or Grey's Anatomy, which just started back up, and eat dino nuggets.