Have you ever thought about what your life would be like without makeup?
Honestly, up until a few years ago I hadn’t. I mean let’s be real, the main benefit of makeup is fantastic – it boosts self-confidence! Beyond that, people have found themselves through makeup and have created careers out of it (and amazing ones, at that).
I was somebody that wore the ~natural~ basics everyday – foundation, mascara, a light eye shadow and some blush. I never felt confident enough to leave the house with AT LEAST some foundation on to cover up my blemishes. I mean, while I’m at it I might as well put some mascara on too…you get the point.
This was primarily driven by my constant annoyance with the appearance of my bare skin. Every girl knows the vicious cycle – you wear makeup to cover your blemishes, get more blemishes from wearing the makeup, and the clogged pores from the makeup give you more blemishes. I can assure you too, I was purchasing expensive, non-comedogenic/non pore-clogging product.
I was absolutely fed up – It was becoming necessary that I spend at least 15 minutes in the morning applying makeup because I was unhappy with my natural appearance. The extra time I was spending in the morning to “look” good was essentially making me (and my skin) feel worse. On top of that, I was realizing how much unnecessary waste I was producing all while practically making my skin WORSE. WTF?!
Long story short, I made a promise to myself to heal my skin and live a life that was aligned to my environmentally friendly, cruelty-free values. So, after tons of failed attempts with topical treatments/face washes, I decided to heal my skin from the inside out – I went vegan. A few months later, I decided to quit the foundation and face powder cold turkey and confront my fear of ridicule for crappy skin.
It has been 5 months since I have stopped wearing face makeup daily & about 9 months as a vegan. I must admit, this is the best my skin has looked in a very long time. Here are some of the Personal, Environmental and Financial takeaways and life lessons I’ve uncovered:
source: shape.com
Personal benefits of NOT wearing makeup:
Environmental impacts of NOT wearing makeup:
Financial impacts of NOT wearing makeup:
So, since I majored in Finance I HAD to understand exactly how much money I was giving to the beauty industry, and how much I could have if I didn’t. Hypothetically if you said, “screw it” to makeup, you could potentially pay off your children’s college tuition with the savings in ~25 years.
Hear me out:
Below is a table I created that shows about how much people spend on makeup in a year. I split it out between “Basic Cosmetics” and “Additional Cosmetics” because, well, everybody is different. I would fall under the “Basic Cosmetics” category, spending roughly ~$200 a year, where as somebody might purchase all of the “Basics” and “Additionals” in a year, putting them at around ~$500 spent per year on makeup.
I put in an average price for each product and I also figured out the frequency of that purchase in a year. For instance, for my friends and me I know that we typically only purchase ~1 bottle of foundation a year. I know this definitely varies between people & usage. Again, this is just an estimate.
Now, imagine if you took that $523 dollars spent on makeup in a year and instead of spending it on something else, put it in an index fund that pays you off 7% annually. All you literally have to do is put the ~$500 you would normally spend on makeup into this savings mechanism YEARLY.
After putting ~$2,500 (500 * 5) into this fund after five years, you’ll have ~$3,000.
After putting ~$5,000 (500 * 10) into this fund after 10 years, you’ll have ~$7,000.
After putting ~$12,500 (500*25) into this fund after 25 years, you’ll have ~$32,000.
And it will just compound exponentially for you, year after year…again...WTF?!
In short, I have totally convinced myself (again) that makeup is not necessary in my life. In the process I have cleared my skin, come to peaceful terms with my natural beauty, saved a few animals and have literally MADE money by doing it all strategically. Hopefully this helps you on your journey for clearer skin, better mental health, or for a happier & healthier planet.
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