Operation No Makeup

Today I wore no makeup to work, just as an experiment. Would it make me less productive? More self-conscious? Or would I just be happy to have 20 extra minutes in the morning?

All three ended up being true. I definitely wasn't dying for my co-workers to see me au natural though. It's not like I wear a ton of makeup normally, but I do like to look my best for the office. I typically wear powder, lipstick, blush, mascara and eyeliner. So to strip down and show my bare face to the world was ... a bit frightening to say the least.

"Did you just come from the gym?," my co-worker Ryan asked first thing this morning. Since I obviously wasn't wearing yoga pants and a ponytail, I KNEW he was referring to my cosmetics-free face. I just said, "No," and shuffled to my desk.

During an 11:00am meeting, someone asked me if I was coming down with something. "You look pale," she said, worried. I assured her I was fine -- and shot her a nasty glare (how dare she, right?). She encouraged me to get some chicken soup at lunch, not realizing that all I really needed was a shot of MAC Lipstick in Spice It Up instead.

I did feel a bit younger and more fresh-faced sans makeup. And it was nice to not have to worry about whether my eyeliner was smudged or if I had lipstick on my teeth.

But, I'll admit, I just didn't feel on my A-game. Thank goodness I didn't have any face-to-face interactions with my top bosses because I definitely didn't feel as confident without my makeup shield.

I found myself hiding in my office, and emailing questions instead of stopping by someone's cubicle to ask. And when I went to the ladies' room around 3:00pm, I noticed I was getting a zit. Great. I would have given anything for my trusty concealer at that moment.

When the day was done, I realized I had learned an important lesson. I was still the same person without makeup, but I was a better (more confident) me with it. Does that make me vain? Probably, so sue me. But it also makes me human.

Do you wear makeup to work? If so, would you ever show up without it? I dare YOU to try.

Is the answer no? Then check out the makeup look that's perfect for you.

Or maybe you should give my red lipstick experiment a try, it's definitely spicing things up at my house.