I stopped wearing makeup to work and you should too

Acne, scarring and melasma (dark spots) have been a battle for me since I can remember.

So I do what most women with skin issues do, I buy a ton of expensive makeup and cover that s*** up. No one besides my poor husband should be forced to look at my zits. (Sorry, Jordan.)

But three months ago, I stopped. I woke up one morning and stared into my 20x magnification makeup mirror and decided “F it. I’m not doing this today.”

You see, my skin was exploding with pre-wedding stress acne, and I knew it was going to take nothing less than a Fine Arts degree to cover all the blemishes. So, I made the decision to just leave it — skip all the applying and reapplying and moisturizing and blending and show up to the office completely naked-faced.

That day on my drive in I kept looking in the rearview mirror wondering what would happen when I walked into the office.

Would someone ask me if I’m sick?

Would my boss pull me aside and tell me that not wearing makeup was unprofessional?

Would I stop getting hit on by the mailman?

But none of this happened. I simply went to work, did a good job, and went home.

The next day I woke up and skipped the makeup again. And the day after that. And the day after that. And now no makeup is my new normal.

Why did it take me six years to get to this place? BooneOakley, an ad agency, didn’t hire me for my complexion-hiding skills. They hired me to write copy and be fun at holiday parties.

Besides, all the men in the office wear their skin imperfections loud and proud so why do women need to be the ones to hide? Well, that’s over for me. And it should be for you too.

Here’s why:

No one cares. Not one person has noticed (or at least said anything to me) about my lack of makeup. One coworker told me I look, “really tan” (lol it’s the melasma) but that’s about it.

I can sleep in. As someone who loves sleep, waking up 20 minutes later every morning has been a real treat.

It’s cheaper. A typical makeup purchase for me is $150 to cover the basics: mascara, foundation, bronzer and blush. It’s no surprise that now all my products are lasting a lot longer.

My skin is better. The best part about my new routine is how my skin has reacted. I haven’t had a bad breakout in months and my skin feels less oily and gross by the end of the day.

So, if you’re reading this article and thinking “Yeah right, Mary! I could never do that!” I get it. I used to think the same thing. Until one day I did it. And, I have to say, it’s pretty damn empowering to just wear your own skin every once in a while.