Blog #2

Olyvia Ruiz

For a full school week (5 days) my cousin, two peers, and I participated in a social experiment. My cousin and I who wear makeup on a daily basis, are going barefaced for a week and take notes on any differences in ourselves and the way people treat us. My two peers, Adriana, who doesn’t normally wear makeup unless there is a special occasion, is going to wear makeup for a week and will examine the same interactions.

Day 1: Olyvia-Leaving my house today was difficult, the first day of my a long week going all-natural. I kept thinking "I'm forgetting something" as I got ready, but I wasn’t. The abstence of the daily makeup application made me feel awkward. I was nervous going to school, even though my friends know about my experiment so I was not expecting a crazy reaction from them. One person approached me and shockingly said “You’re really doing it”, and conversed with another peer to see if he could notice the difference; he didn’t. Surprisingly, no one else noticed, which came as a shock to me. My face feels very bare but to a relief I can rub my eyes without worrying about looking like a boxer with a black eye. It is also nice knowing that when I go to bed tonight that I don’t have makeup left from day still on my face, even though I was self-couscious.

Adriana- People said she “looked really pretty”, “[her] eyeliner looks good”, and that “[her] makeup looked good”. She received more compliments when wearing makeup than when she wasn’t.

Karissa-She had a lot of people asking, "are you sick?"Others asked , "why do you even need makeup?" She also found it easier in the mornings not having to worry about time and getting everything perfect, but later in the day she felt like her eyes looked bare and squinty and not attractive. She kept pushing through , thinking that the week would get better and today people were just shoked by the change of appearance.

Day 2: Olyvia-My mornings are a little easier and it takes me about 15-20 minutes to get ready instead of 30 minutes to an hour. On Tuesday one peer asked me “Why do you look so tired?”. I explained that I am not wearing makeup and he suggested that I should at least put some foundation on.! Although he said it in a joking manner, it still stung a little. Other than that one incident my day went well and no other encounters with anyone else centered around my appearance.

Adriana- So many compliments were coming her way. People complimented her eyeliner and said she looked nice. Others asked why she was wearing makeup, as if she needed a reason. She also was annoyed that she couldn’t rub her eyes due to the fact that her eyeliner and mascara would smudge on to her hands and face.

Karissa- She told me her second day makeup free was better. She still received weird looks and questions like, “where’s your makeup?” The looks she got made her feel insecure about walking around with a bare face. This made her walk with her head down, but she looked at the bright side, no one was blatantly pointing out the difference in her face.

Day 3: Olyvia- Today was a simple day. I felt more comfortable not wearing makeup, but I still want to wear it. I feel more confident than I did on day 1. Hopefully after this challenge I will care less about how I look to others.

Adriana- She felt that she was receiving so many more compliments than when she wasn’t wearing makeup. Why didn’t people compliment her more when she wasn’t wearing makeup? This made her feel frustrated. She felt that more people noticed her wearing makeup, but she wasn’t offended. She says, “I don't like makeup unless I'm going out, feeling in the mood, or going to parties with my family.”

Karissa- She explained to me that as the week goes on it continues to get better with her friends. She was talking to a guy she liked and they hung out for the first time. She felt so insecure because of her bare face that she couldn’t keep eye contact. Although, around some people she is okay with not having makeup on, other people that she may not be close with she feels more insecure.

Day 4:Olyvia- Someone in my art class said to me,”You look beautiful without makeup.” It made me kind of happy but on the inside thought, what about when I wear makeup? I’m excited to wear makeup again. My morning routine is so different. Although I have more time in the morning I still don’t like it because I’m, constantly feeling like I am leaving the house forgetting to do something. The week is crawling by at a snail's pace.

Karissa- She felt less insecure about her looks although she felt like people were giving her weird looks. Although she felt better about not wearing makeup she still prefered it. It gave her confidence and a strange sense of self.

Adriana- Didn’t wear makeup.

Day 5: I decided to switch it up. Today Karissa and I return to wearing makeup while Adriana won’t be wearing makeup.

Olyvia- Wearing makeup again felt more normal. My morning routine felt complete. I enjoy applying makeup, but I know that I also use makeup as a mask in some ways. I use it to cover blemishes that I don’t want others to see. I applied my foundation, concealer, mascara, eyeliner and lipstick and felt refreshed and back to normal.

Karissa- Today she received more compliments then she did all week. This made her feel good. She was also so happy to be able to wear makeup again. She will not be trying this challenge again though because she feels more like herself with it on and she feels beautiful.

Adriana- There was less stress today because she did not have to worry about her makeup messing up or having to do it in the morning. A big relief for her was being able to rub her eyes.Even though that sounds kind of silly to some people you can’t rub your eyes with eye makeup on or it will smudge all over the eye and hand, leaving you looking like a racoon.