This post is going to sound completely unrelated to anything I usually talk about, but this is definitely worth reflecting on. It’s about how my pursuit of financial independence has actually taught me a life lesson on makeup. Crazy right?

Let’s sidetrack for just a moment. So what is this oh-so-significant topic that I just have to write about? It’s the fact that I’ve gone makeup free for 6 months now! And I can truly say that my skin has been in the best condition it has ever been. 

While this may seem like such a trivial topic (and admittedly, quite superficial), as a background to this seemingly random post, I have struggled in the past with makeup addiction. I finally stopped this addiction when I went on a mission to stop buying makeup for a year in 2018. 

To think that I’ve come full circle a decade since discovering makeup to finally gaining the confidence to go back to not wearing any is very significant to me.

A timeline of my history with makeup:

High school:  wore no makeup

College: discovered makeup, started experimenting with makeup

Post College/Graduate School:  continued to build up my makeup collection, can count on one hand the few times I’d go out in public without makeup

Post Graduate School through 2019:  wouldn’t be caught dead without makeup, wore minimal makeup but always consisted of foundation, brows, eyeliner, and mascara.

Mid-2019: Got permanent eyebrows done and wasn’t supposed to wash the area. I couldn’t wear eyeliner or mascara while it was healing due to the close proximity of the eyes to the eyebrows.

At first, I was super self-conscious of not being able to wear eye makeup. But then I realized that it saved me time in the morning and no one mentioned anything about my lack of eye makeup at work or when I’m out with my friends.

To be quite frank, I’ve always used very minimal makeup anyways so I’m sure for people not paying attention, they won’t be able to tell. And I reasoned, if no one could even tell, why bother wasting my precious sleeping time in the morning to wear eye makeup?

Including my touch up appointment, it took ~2 months of waiting for my eyebrows to heal. By then I had gotten used to not wearing eye makeup to work and since then had stopped completely.

One thing I still could never give up though, was foundation. The savior of my skin. Foundation not only smoothed out my face but somehow also helped with my oil control so while my eye makeup went away, foundation stayed as a daily staple throughout 2019.

March 2020: COVID-19 hit the U.S. hard and I had to start wearing a mask to work everyday in my retail job. After seeing my mask stained with foundation at the end of my first mask-wearing shift at work, I was disgusted. I figured since no one was going to see the bottom half of my face, why wear foundation on the bottom half of my face?

Imagine being so self-conscious that even after deciding not to wear foundation on the bottom half of the face, to still take the effort to wear foundation only on the forehead. Yes, that’s me and that’s exactly what I did.

Thankfully after a week of doing that, I saw the stupidity in my action and decided to just stop wearing makeup altogether. At first it was hell. My skin hated being trapped under the mask without foundation that helped as an oil control.

Everytime I took out my mask during my break, I was aghast at the face staring back. But I stuck around with it. With COVID-19 going on, I took my lunch in my own in my car so no one would see me mask-less anyways. And I figured after a decade of wearing makeup, if I was ever going to give my skin a break from makeup, it would be now or never.

A month into my no-makeup routine, I saw clearer skin. But I still broke out occasionally, so I didn’t know if my occasional clearer skin was just a fluke. Some months were worse than others and more than once I second guessed if makeup even made a difference in getting me a better skin.

But six months later, I am now finally ready to write that going makeup-free has done wonders for me. I currently have no active breakouts and as someone who has suffered from acne since elementary (yes, elementary!) school, this is the clearest my skin has been.

My face now has better oil control even without any foundation or finishing powder and I have a newly-gained confidence in showing my bare face to the public.

How Pursuing FIRE Taught Me A New Life Lesson

What truly surprises me is that it really does tie back into my pursuit of financial independence. What started as an effort to curb my spending turned into a lesson on overcoming my anxiety with showing my bare face. This in turn led me to have clearer skin, less breakouts, and a faster time getting ready in the morning (the best part of course!).

Superficial as this topic may be, it made me realize that my journey to financial independence really does encompass more than just money. It’s an entire mindset change that has resulted in improvements in different aspects of my life.

I’ve developed healthier habits of consumption since I decided to stop purchasing unnecessary makeup. I am now more focused on investing in my future by being more selective in purchasing products that are good for my body and have since only bought my few holy grail replacement makeup when I’m completely out.

Rather than purchasing recklessly, I am now more mindful of the purchases I make and their benefits for my future. This development would not have been possible had I not been pursuing a better grasp of my finance which is why I am so thankful for this financial independence journey.