Signing myself up for this challenge was a big achievement in itself. Over the years, I’d never ever ever be seen without make-up. Rumour has it I’d put it on first thing in the morning before anyone (not even family members) could see me without it. True story.

My biggest issue is redness. Without make-up, I look like I’ve just crossed the finish line of a half marathon when in reality I’ve just had a duvet day and been a bit of a slob.

At the gym, it’s great. I can do 25 minutes of HIIT training and slope off looking like I’ve been in there for hours. But in life, not so much. My teens were spent investing in every green concealer and foundation you could find. I even used to put talc on them to try and mask the lobster look.

So to willingly sign away five days of my life make-up free a couple of years later was a pretty big deal. Here’s how I got on…

Day 1

Ironically, I ended up rushing around more than usual in the morning with the effects of a late night taking their toll. This wasn’t helped by a power walk to work in the wind with two bags and a suitcase, plus a run-in with one of those people you really don’t wanna see sans Double Wear. So I rocked up to HQ a little flushed to say the least. I then spent the morning subconsciously explaining the fact I was doing a make-up free challenge to anyone and everyone so they didn’t think I was ill or just woke up late. Aside from getting a shock each time I went to the loo and looked in the mirror, I otherwise forgot about the challenge.

Day 2

Since I’ve pretty much mastered washing my hair and getting ready in twenty minutes on the daily, I didn’t really get much more of a lie in than usual. Thanks to a very windy day, I arrived at work once again flushed AF and nipping out into town on lunch only ended with similar results. I’m not sure whether it was psychological, since I looked like I’d had an all-nighter without eye make-up, but I felt more tired than usual. Maybe I’d had too much sleep with my extra five minutes of ZZs…

Day 3

Despite my morning routine becoming less about highlighting and more about cleansing and toning, I spied a sneaky spot. Shock horror. I guess I was semi-cheating with the challenge in that I volunteered to do it on a week where I had little to no plans after work or at the weekend that involved me being out and about. When the topic cropped up again in a conversation at work, a very kind colleague told me they wouldn’t have even noticed I didn’t have make-up on. Somehow I didn’t quite believe them…

Day 4 

So far, anything that drew attention to the challenge in question (and my bare fare) meant I turned redder than red but if I forgot about it, the redness calmed down. As part of the challenge, I took one selfie a day and I didn’t hate any of them – though my flat does have great lighting.

Day 5

As I started this challenge on a Tuesday, my final day of being makeup free fell on a Saturday, which is actually one of the few days I’m more than happy to ditch the beauty blender if I’m heading to the gym or dying of a hangover.

The day started out with good intentions to workout and do my weekly shop but resulted in me doing an online order from the comfort of my bed and watching films instead. However, the temptation to resist (and albeit dry) Saturday night out was too much and since I’d already tempted fate and bumped into someone earlier in the week with my fresh face, I wasn’t prepared to hit up the bar make-up and alcohol free.

So I lasted all of four and a half days.

Since I already had a pretty good skincare routine, I can’t say I noticed too many benefits but I don’t think five days was necessarily long enough for any long-term results to show (though I won’t be voluntarily extending the challenge any time soon).

Overall, I didn’t hate the whole make-up hiatus as much as I thought I would. Though my red cheeks have been the bane of much of my life, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve learned to accept and appreciate my genes. I don’t suffer from acne, I don’t have scars and my breakouts are few and far between (touch wood) so it’s not all that bad.

And being reunited with my Double Wear on Saturday night felt extra good.