In today's society, just about every woman, and some men, are wearing makeup. From highlighting to contouring to winged eyeliner, it is all everywhere. This also comes with a lot of pressure on girls to look "perfect" and flawless. The "pretty" girls are the ones with the perfect contour, lipstick, winged eye, and the perfectly blended eyeshadow. Looking to achieve the "no-makeup" look, tons of makeup needs to be worn! Today, makeup has become way too much of a deal for girls of any age. We are spending literally up to an hour (for some people longer) in front of the mirror applying product after product. We are spending hundreds of dollars on the perfect products, some of which we do not even use.

Luckily, I was able to stay away from a full face of makeup until my freshman year of college. Throughout high school I only wore eyeliner and mascara, but going into college I felt I needed to cover up all of my blemishes and take on the flawless look. It was not long before I basically became dependent on my makeup. I did not wear too much, only foundation and a powder, but it became religious. It came to the point where I would wear a full face when I am just lounging around my house and I hated my natural face. Soon I started looking at more products to help cover up even more and I just did not feel pretty anymore. I hated the makeup I was using and I hated my natural look.

I started to spend hours sitting online watching makeup tutorials just wishing I could look like that. This caused me to begin to look at myself even more negatively and really compare my looks to these other girls in these videos. I would look at girls my age and wish that I could do my makeup to look that pretty. This is when I knew I needed to take a step back.

Now, I am not saying makeup is a bad thing and no man or woman should wear it. A lot of people use it as a way of self-expression and enhancing their already beautiful features. Something that has always inspired me was Demi Lovato dedicating every Monday to a "No-Makeup Monday." She loves to embrace her real natural beauty and wants everyone to join her. She believes everybody is beautiful and does not want anyone using makeup as a way to cover up their true beauty.

One day in January, I took a chance. I was going out with a friend, and I refused to put on any face makeup. I only wore three products: eye primer, eyeliner, and mascara. I felt really weird all night, but she said I looked really good. Wearing no makeup in public for the first time in over a year made me actually feel kind of naked, but I felt like my skin was able to breathe. After I got used to it, I felt pretty amazing.

Fast forward to now, I am just going through my second month without wearing my full face of makeup. My skin feels pretty amazing. My acne has been subsiding, and I can actually sleep in a few extra minutes every morning. A few times I have gone out wearing only mascara. That is completely alien to me, but maybe one day I will be able to face the world with a completely makeup-free face. I do have the urges sometimes to pull out my face makeup and slather it all on feeling extremely insecure about my face, but I know deep down that I am beautiful.

My message to all the young women and men who wear makeup, you do not need it. You are all beautiful just the way you are. Who cares if you have a zit, your skin is a bit too red, or you have too many blemishes. You are what makes you, you. Makeup is a lot of fun to play with, I will admit, but keep it as a way to have fun. Do not use it to cover yourself up and hide from the world. You are beautiful.