I remember beginning my experimentation with makeup at the age of nine, when I was sneakily applying mascara and concealer before school and dashing out of my house before my mom saw since she didn’t approve of me using it makeup that young of an age. Luckily, my mom finally gave up and let me wear makeup and to be honest, since then, I haven’t found an obsession for it as others do.

Granted, I am in awe of the extremely talented beauty gurus who can effortlessly master a smudgeless winged liner in one swipe, or can perfectly blend eyeshadow with ease, however I never found myself to enjoy spending time doing makeup; it’s always been done as more of an obligation than a fun activity for me. Part of the reason is because I’m impatient, so I always look for the simplest, most time-efficient ways to achieve different looks.

As someone with extremely temperamental skin, I only really used it to hide my self-declared imperfections, believing that maybe drops of foundation would conceal my heavy under-eye bags or that pimple on my chin that everyone I come in contact with totally would have noticed. Or so I did, before I spent a week without any opportunity to highlight, contour or bake.

In short, lots of people wear makeup for the same reason I do and it was after I spent a week without makeup that I realized that as pretty as makeup is meant to be, it can unnecessarily fuel one’s self-criticism and judgement. I tell myself I’m lucky that most of the time, I’m comfortable leaving the house without makeup. However, like many, I have my days where I’m relieved to be able to hide my insecurities behind a full face.

So when I left for my spring break trip to Honduras, I vowed to myself not bring a single bottle of makeup in order to see what it would be like to let my face chill out for a bit. The days my skin was behaving itself were fine, but when it wasn’t was where my insecurities creeped up.

Above all, I felt healthy and every time I passed a mirror, I realized the flaws I saw were figments my own doubts and that in all honesty, I’m too hard on myself. Most people are, but I’m telling my story in order to hopefully open the eyes of those who are too hard on themselves too, and that the saying that we are our own worst critics is absolutely true.

I also realized that makeup should be seen as an enhancer of your natural beauty, not a facade for the beauty hidden underneath insecurities and self-doubt. I think going a week without makeup is definitely a challenge every makeup user should try once in their life; it may be harder for some rather than others, but definitely an eye-opening experience that helps find the perks of one's natural self rather than one's flaws.