The rules:
Kate: I am not allowed to wear makeup during the school day but I can put it back on at home or during cheer.
Gwyneth: I have to wear makeup during the school day and I have to apply it myself as part of the experiment.
The personal process:
K: I dressed more casual to school because I wasn’t wearing any makeup. I thought that if I wasn’t putting any effort into my face I shouldn’t put any effort into my outfits as well. After the first couple days of doing this, I decided to make the conscious decision to dress nicer to hopefully disguise that I wasn’t wearing makeup. I was very self-conscious the entire week because I haven’t ever gone to school without wearing any makeup, and I was worried people would comment about me looking tired or sick. But, I was really surprised to have nobody comment on my lack of makeup. I was definitely expecting some reaction to my natural face.
G: Waking up almost an hour earlier than when I usually do was a tough adjustment, but I feel like wearing makeup forced me to put in more effort toward my clothes, my hair and my sleep cycle, which is a good habit to get into. The best part of the experiment is that I actually learned a new and valuable skill, and I was more awake by the time I got to school. I learned there are different brushes for different steps, blending is important and eyelash curlers don’t hurt despite the fact they look like robot claws. To be honest, the worst part was that a lot of times memorizing all of the steps and objects felt like I was studying for a science test instead of putting on makeup for the school day.
The materials:
To obtain the materials necessary to transfer one person’s make up process to the other person, we went shopping. It began with a big trip to Target to get supplies, where we picked up foundation, lipstick, blenders, brushes, concealer, blush, contour, mascara, highlighter and an eyelash curler. The total cost was fairly cheap, which is unusual for makeup. We went through the process step by step to practice the full face routine one of us would be doing all week and the other one would be giving up to ensure that the process would be an exact mirror for both of us.
The conclusion:
K: It was nice being able to pretty much wake up, change and go during the experiment. I was able to excuse my late nights by telling myself that I could sleep in later because I didn’t have to spend any time on my makeup. Looking into the future, I’ll consider going some days without makeup if I’m in a rush to get to school. I learned that my physical appearance doesn’t make a difference in the sense that people didn’t treat me differently or dismiss me because I wasn’t as “put together” as I thought I had to be.
G: I had a great time feeling fancier during the school week. It gave me something to look forward to when I had exams or a ton of homework. I also received good reactions from a lot of people that said I looked “glowy,” which I learned is a good thing. Moving forward, I am definitely more inclined to spend time on my appearances to start my day off positively. This experiment taught me to ignore the stigma surrounding makeup and just do whatever feels right day by day.