5 Day Skin Detox

This week I decided to challenge myself to cut back on my daily work makeup.  A series of annoying breakouts inspired this idea. I can’t help but wonder if it was caused by packing on makeup lately.  In April my hours at work changed, giving me an extra hour to get ready each morning.  I have been taking full advantage of this time to do full face looks pretty much every day.  It has been fun and a great start to my day, but the product overload may be taking a toll on my skin.

To test my theory, I’m cutting back to hopefully help my complexion clear up.  I’m basically going cold turkey by using only five products:

1. bareMinerals Matte Foundation powder – applied with Morphe M406

2. bareMinerals Well Rested concealer powder – applied with Sephora PRO Angled Blush Brush #49

3. L’oreal brow stylist plumper gel

4. L’oreal Voluminous Miss Manga Rock mascara

5. Revlon Infallible Makeup Extender Setting Spray

I chose bareMinerals because I like these products and the brand is well known for mineral products that improve skin.  Here are claims from their website:

“As the mineral experts, we believe makeup and skincare should not only make you look good, but they should also be good for your skin. That’s why we started the mineral makeup revolution with our award-winning Original SPF 15 Foundation, and it’s the reason minerals remain an essential part of every innovation that we develop for your skin. Experience the transformative power of bareMinerals.
Read more at http://www.bareescentuals.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BareEscentuals-Site/default/Experience-Show?cgid=BM_SUB_DIFF#JdjrSF7JXpjmrAqZ.99“

It is day two, and I am embarrassed to admit I am already struggling.  Saving time by having a five minute look was cool on Monday, but contour, highlight, and winged liner were calling my name today.  Today the weather is a bit warmer, and the bareMinerals wore off quite fast.  The only thing keeping me sane during this little project is using Nyx Butter Gloss and Buxom lip gloss- they are my ride or die and can improve any look (and my mood!) throughout the day.  (I am so dramatic…)

Pros

Makeup feels lightweight, more breathable than usual

More time to sleep in 🙂

Giving my skin a break

Less Snapchat selfies because I don’t look very good -_-

Cons

Not feeling put together/ done up

Not getting to do full face glam- it’s the best part of the day!

Breakouts showing through

Having to powder more heavily on my break to cover oil and spots

After initial application it looked nice, but after ~3-4 hours the makeup was basically gone.  These photos show the look right after I was done: 

Tomorrow I am going to use my Boots No. 7 matte primer to see if that gives the foundation more staying power.  It’s not cheating since primer is basically skincare right??  The bareMinerals matte foundation is great, but isn’t enough on its own to cover my spots all day or fight my oily skin.

This weekend I’ll update this post to report if I experienced any improvements, but I don’t think this “detox” will last more than just this week.  One week is a short amount of time to expect any changes, but I am surprised by how much I already miss my usual routine!

Moving forward, I plan to give my skin more love on the weekday mornings.  I have the bad habit of doing a thorough regimen at night, but minimal skincare in the AM- just cleansing and throwing on SPF.  My morning routine definitely needs to be stepped up- toner, eye cream, moisturizing lotion, etc. to create a barrier against all the heavy duty products I throw onto it.

I wish that this post had been a rave review of a new miracle routine that made me feel beautiful and fresh-faced, saving time and being a minimal way to get ready everyday while making my skin glow… apparently I’m too high maintenance for that. Nevertheless, I may try to do this once or twice a week or continue to try other variations of minimal makeup.

Thank you for checking out my page! Please let me know if you have any recommendations for products that decrease breakouts or make you feel put together with minimal effort. 🙂

**UPDATE** I definitely saw an improvement in my skin from cutting back!  Pores were less clogged, I only saw one new small breakout, and a few of the older ones have cleared up.