Are you woman enough to give up makeup?

So this post from Life Teen on 102 things to give up for Lent came up on my newsfeed the other day and it got me thinking.

Now some of the things on the list I don't do anyway (spitting gum onto the pavement?  Disgusting), so obviously can't give up, Others on there I don't feel like I need to give up (I mean Pizza? come on - and I don't eat it much anyway on account of the whole funny diet thing).

One or two of them were things I regularly do anyway.  I regularly give up (most) makeup for lent, restricting myself to concealer, mascara (or for special occasions - although then I make myself have the mentality that it's the same as putting on pretty clothes.  It's to look different to normal, not because I don't like the way I look.

This is something that I think we, as women, particularly in the modern world, struggle with a lot. And I used a huge number of commas in that sentence. My GCSE teacher would not be happy with me... Anyway, yes.  Struggle.  We are told so often that we have to look perfect.  We have to look beautiful and totally put together at all times.  If we're having a bad hair day, or have a breakout, or are larger than a size 8, or have an unusually shaped nose, we're just not good enough.

I went through the whole of my school career hating my hair. People constantly mocked me for it, and it has taken me a long time to come to terms with it.  Even now I tend to have it tied up a lot if I don't feel like it's perfect when it's down - fun side of that though is that I've learnt a lot of new things to do with my hair, so it's getting to the point where I tie my hair up because I like the way it looks. For those of you who know me though, it's worth saying that this has never applied to the colour of my hair.  I like my natural hair colour, I just prefer the various shades of red it's been over the past 7 1/2 years...

It's so easy to look in a mirror and point out your flaws, but that's not how we should be living. My eyes are too small, my nose is too big, my pores are too visible, the shadows under my eyes are too dark. Maybe if I slather my face in makeup these faults will be hidden and people won't notice.

The whole "no-makeup selfie" thing actually made me really sad.  The idea that people are having to be brave to post a photo of themselves without makeup on is just... well, is that really how life should be?

I find that, from time to time, particularly if I've been wearing a lot of makeup regularly, I get to a point where I'm wearing makeup because I don't like the way my face is without it.  The first time I really noticed this was shortly before lent one year, so I figured, since lent is the perfect time to give up things you are overly attached to, it was the perfect thing to give up that year.  I've pretty much repeated the practise every year.

So here's my question.  How attached to your makeup are you? Do you wear makeup because you prefer the way you look with it or because you don't like the way you look without it.  If the answer is a completely honest yes to the first part, then feel free to carry on.  If the latter, then maybe this is an area of your life you should look at.

Maybe this is the year you challenge yourself to be woman enough to give up makeup for lent and learn to love yourself for who you truly are.

Hmm... this post went in a completely different direction to how I originally planned, so I shall just have to do another one soon!