Everyday makeup look: "I have acne, redness, and dark spots so I rely on concealer and a topnotch foundation to even out my skin tone. I top it off with a peachy blush, a subtle shimmery brown eyeshadow, and either pink lipstick or lipgloss depending on my mood."
What she feels "naked" without: "Concealer! I've had acne for the majority of my life; some days it's barely there and some days it just explodes across my face. This challenge happened to fall during one of my bad acne periods, so there was a lot of concealer that came off."
How she felt taking it all off: "It definitely helped that the entire editorial team took part in the challenge. Misery loves company, right? I�m pretty self-conscious about my skin so having it fully exposed with no foundation was a little unnerving. However, it was nice to be able to touch my face and rub my eyes without worrying about smudging. I survived the workday, but I couldn�t last and reapplied before grabbing dinner and drinks with my friends. What can I say? I'm weak."
Photo 9/11
Tracy Hepler, Social Media Coordinator
Everyday makeup look: "I always apply light foundation and concealer underneath my eyes and over any blemishes. Then I use a cheek stain on the apples of my checks and cover them with a little bit of blush and bronzer and blend, blend, blend. Next up it's the eyes and I like to wear really simple, yet bold eyeliner underneath my eyes and on the top of my eyelids. I typically curl my lashes and apply two coats of mascara on the top lashes only. I seal the deal by applying lip color (sometimes lip gloss or lipstick or a combo of both), so long as there is a noticeable color (coral, pink, fuchsia, red, etc)."
What she feels "naked" without: "Under eye concealer and some sort of lip cover/color."
How she felt taking it all off: "I definitely feel as if I look a lot younger [without makeup] and my eyes don't pop as much as I would like them to, but I'm OK with that under most circumstances (errands, working out, casual outings with friends). If I was going out on a date, job interview or somewhere I really wanted to make a good impression, I probably wouldn't feel as comfortable. Not because I'm not comfortable in my own skin, but I feel as if I wouldn't come off as professional or as I cared about my appearance as much as I should. Yes, I've succumb to societal pressures."
Photo 10/11
Lola Marra, Editorial Designer
Everyday makeup look: "I start out with a primer, then use tinted moisturizer and concealer. On my eyes I use a cream shadow, eyeliner and mascara. I do blush or bronzer and cream highlighter, and finish with lip gloss or lipstick."
What she feels "naked" without: "Concealer!"
How she felt taking it all off: "My skin has been recovering from a rough patch lately so I was self conscious to go without makeup. Oddly enough after taking it off I felt really comfortable walking around the office. That was until I shared an elevator with our CEO. I took off my sunglasses and he said 'You look a little tired' (note: I slept a good 9 hours the night before). That sums up my no-makeup day. I reached for my concealer as soon as I could."
Photo 11/11
Jessica Amen, Sales Project Manager
Everyday makeup look: "Concealer under my eyes and on any blemishes, powder all over face, light bronzer on cheeks, brown or black mascara and light eye shadow (darker on lid and usually shimmer white on brow bone)."
What she feels "naked" without: "Lipgloss."
How she felt taking it all off: "I don't really mind going without makeup, because I've always had pretty good skin. However, with my dark, short hair, I've felt like I've needed to wear more makeup in general so I look more feminine. Also, as I get older and notice more wear on my skin, I am definitely a little more self conscious with a bare face."
We live and breathe makeup. No really, the staff at Total Beauty loves makeup. We talk about it in the break room, the bathroom, in meetings, over instant messenger, on each other's Facebook pages, even over margaritas at happy hour. We are an office obsessed.
This would surely be considered weird if we didn�t work at Total Beauty. Luckily, our freakdom is appreciated here. After all, if we didn't have a passion for makeup, we would be employed elsewhere, right? Right. And, if we didn't adore everything cosmetic and look the part every single day our boss would get ticked off, right? Eh, not so much. In fact, in a cruel twist of fate, we were challenged by our (usually reasonable) commander in chief to go without a stitch of makeup for an entire day. And, when we learned that it wasn't (as we'd hoped) just a cruel, cruel joke, there was audible upheaval, maybe even some soft sobbing in the corner.
To make things worse, we were asked to come into the office as we usually do (foundation-clad, blushed up, sporting our new favorite eyeshade, etc), and then to take it all off with makeup-removing towelettes so that this glorious day could be, you guessed it -- documented, for you (and everyone else in the world with Internet access) to see.
So what happened? Well, click through the pictures of the Total Beauty staff makeup-less to find out how each girl felt after the mask came off and see what we feel the most "naked" without. And please share what you feel "naked" without in the comments section below.
