Beauty Product Minimalist

I’m admittedly a little dense when it comes to beauty products. I’ve always been a bit of a tomboy, and I didn’t start wearing make-up until I was nearly in high school. By the time I started, my family had just moved, and I was too shy and embarrassed to ask my friends for help. Not that it would have mattered, they were almost all guys. Then again, they probably still would have known more than me.

To this day, I purchase mostly drug store products and whatever I come across at health food stores. I’ve YouTube’d most of the techniques I know (which aren’t many), and some days — especially during allergy season, I just don’t wear make-up to work. I know I should care more, and I know I should try harder, but given a list of life priorities, beauty products and make-up always seem to fall to the bottom. I’d honestly rather spend my time and money elsewhere and keep things simple wherever possible.

But even though I give it low priority, it’s hard not to feel awkward or less attractive around many of the women I know. When we go out I feel plain, and even when I put on make-up it looks (to me) like I’m not wearing any. There’s no way to know how Kaitlan will choose to develop her own appearance, but I definitely want to feel better about this area of my life or be of some support when she comes around.

Pregnancy so far has really gotten me to step out of my comfort zone in a lot of ways. I’ve been more assertive about my needs/wants, and I’ve bought clothes I never thought I’d step into. Crazy right? I put significantly more effort into my appearance than I did pre-pregnancy. My outfits are dare I say…girly? And I match jewelry with them — or at least I try to.

So with this momentum, I definitely would like to attack my issues of self-esteem with make-up and beauty products. I know I’m in my thirties and that I could definitely do better by my appearance, as well as the health and maintenance of my skin. I’ve always avoided the sun religiously, so that’s helped tremendously, but I could certainly be doing more.

Lately I’ve been trying some new and different things, and I thought I’d share them here to reinforce my efforts. These are just the start (gotta start somewhere right?) but I already feel so much better so here they are…

I received samples from Burt’s Bees Brightening Line a few weeks ago as part of my ambassadorship with Women’s Health. I’ve always had kind of an uneven skin tone, so I was excited to try the Dark Spot Corrector and Even-Tone Moisturizing Cream. I’ve been using the samples over the past few weeks and love them — they are actually working! I’ve always been a big fan of the Almond Milk Beeswax Hand Cream, Radiance Body Lotion, and Beeswax Lip Balm, so this doesn’t feel too outside my comfort zone. My samples are almost gone, so I just stocked up with the real deal bottles.

In addition to my Burt’s Bee’s obsession, I also love Melaleuca. My mother-in-law first bought me a few of the home products a few years ago, and slowly I’ve become hooked on a few of their beauty products. I swear by their Renew line in the winter for dry skin, but after a few weeks, I am loving their Body Satin line as well. She also got me hooked on their Sun Shades Lip Balm.

I’d like to venture a little further into better make-up next, but for now, I already feel so much better about my face. So much improvement without compromising my “minimalist” approach and the efforts are definitely paying off — both in appearance and my self-esteem.

Have any make-up or health and beauty products you absolutely love?

Disclosure: I am participating in the Women’s Health Action Hero program and have been provided with samples from the Burt’s Bees Brightening Line and the opportunity to participate in an ambassadorship program for the period of a year in exchange for my thoughts, awareness through blog posts and opinions about any products or opportunities I partake in.