Why I Don't Wear Make-up Everyday.

...Or ever really, for that matter. Back in High School, I loved make-up. In particular, I was obsessed with Urban Decay, Barry M & Benefit - basically, anything that was bright, colourful & expensive! In those days I worked in Boots and thought nothing about blowing my entire wage on various eye shadows, nail polishes & make-up brushes, particularly since I could take advantage of my staff discount in the process. But when I left home & took on the big bad world, my love of make-up started to dwindle.

First, there was the realisation that being late for work for the simple reason of perfecting my eye liner just wasn't possible. Unlike when I was at school & not getting the perfect cat-eye was reason enough to not bother going in at all (true story), I couldn't spend the same amount if time each morning on doing my face as I used to.

Next there was the money. Make-up is expensive. And so is rent, bills, food, bus fares & generally living without your parents financial support. Things had to be prioritised, so instead of splashing out on another new nail polishes and trying out each new mascara the week it was released, I had to condense my make-up bag to fit into a budget.

Then came the kids. Or the pregnancies, in fact. Morning sickness & first trimester exhaustion meant any extra minute second of sleep was precious. And if my constant throwing-up didn't give my pregnancy away, my pale face & unwashed hair certainly did. And then after giving birth, you soon realise that babies have a sixth sense - one that knows the second you want some me-time (be it to have a shower, do your make-up, or even pee...) they wake-up, scream, poop or otherwise do whatever they can to put a swift end to your plans to be an actual human being for 5 minutes.

And once you're a Mum, you soon realise no concealer will hide those bags, regardless of its miraculous claims or extortionate price tag. Plus exhaustion means rubbing your eyes, which with mascara on, can only equal a mess. Not to mention how unlikely you are to actually take the effort to remove a face full of slap before collapsing into your sheets, that you have been sleeping on for longer than you care to admit (isn't motherhood glamorous?). We could also go into post-partum acne but I don't want to completely scare anyone off having kids - but make-up isn't going to help it, put it that way!

So that's how I fell out of the habit of using make-up. Now though, John can happily play on his own & David can sit quite happily, long enough to allow me to shower & pee, so why haven't I dug my make-up bag back out? Quite frankly, it's laziness. I'm too lazy to apply my make-up, I'm too lazy to maintain it and I'm too lazy to remove it. It's far easier to avoid the whole affair altogether. Of course, I probably look more 'presentable' with some slap on but honestly, when I'm often wearing clothes that I've removed snot & sick with a baby wipe, after already haven worn them for two days previous, I'd feel like a bit of fraud having a 'presentable' face when the rest of me tells otherwise!

I'm very lucky in that I inherited my Dad's luscious long eyelashes and can easily get away without mascara, especially with regular eyelash tinting. Plus I make a regular effort to look after my eye brows - tinting shaping & plucking those little stray hairs. And skin care has always been an obsession of mine - cleanse, tone & moisturise! So although I'm lacking in foundation & blusher, I do try to make my face have a bit of substance to it, making me less self-conscious of being permanently bare-faced.

But will I go back to wearing make-up any time soon? Not likely. I don't need make-up to feel confident, all I need for that is two wee boys that couldn't care less if their Mummy went out in her pyjamas with bed-head (at this age anyway...). And I like being able to rub my eyes without smudging my mascara too.