Since I’ve been following Operation Beautiful , I’ve kept a pad of post-its in my bag and try to pay it forward whenever I think to. Not often enough but I love the idea; it’s such a great way of combating negative self-talk. Let’s face it, we’re rarely as hard on anyone else as we can be on ourselves and who couldn’t use a random compliment now and then?
Catlin Boyle, who started Operation beautiful and Molly Barker, who founded Girls on the Run, have taken on a sixty day “Naked Face” challenge. To sum it up, they will go sixty days without makeup, or primping of any kind.
When I first read about this Naked Face project, I’ll admit I met it with an unfair presumption accompanied with scoffing and eye-rolling. Both of which I have to take back. Clearly, I missed the point.
I am not and have never been what you would call a primper. I take care of myself, brush my teeth, wash and comb my hair, shower regularly and all that, but I couldn’t be bothered with makeup. Most of my clothes come from comic book stores and to be brutally honest, I’ve had to talk myself out of leaving the house in sweat pants on more than one occasion. But getting dressed up, primped and painted (b-ugh!) is an exercise in humiliation for me every time. Makeup is itchy and I’m so uncomfortable in dress clothes that I’m constantly pulling at them and there are never any pockets when you need them so I don’t know what to do with my hands and I feel so conspicuous I might as well be in a rhinestone Elvis costume. Don’t even get me started on women’s shoes.
Despite what we’ve learned from TV, cosmetics aren’t really about being beautiful so much as they are about feeling beautiful and if going without primping triggers the kind of insecurity in them that getting primped triggers in me, then yeah, my hat is off to them. These ladies are putting their money where their mouths are and challenging their own ideals, just as they would challenge their girls to do. Bravo!
Hey, since we’re challenging social convention here; where’s the blog where we can see two dudes go sixty days WITH makeup? Now that would be brave.
