Friday night my eyes began to itch. By Saturday night I was ready to claw my eyeballs out; my eyelids were dry and flakey, my eyes were bloodshot and I was super cranky. Even after Visine allergy drops and popping an antihistamine pill I was still irritated on Sunday. So, Monday after work, I went down to the clinic where a Doctor told me I could have a contact allergy, although there’s no way to know for sure without expensive tests I can’t afford, so the best thing to do is to not wear make-up or wash my face with soap for an entire week. Wha?! Yeah, that’s what I’m supposed to do. I could have developed an allergy to my soap, face cream, makeup, or it could be the cat in my new apartment.
I know this is going to be difficult (the whole no makeup and no face washing thing) so I’ve decided to hold myself accountable to the 100 people that read my blog (maybe) and post about my struggle.
Someday I'm going to regret putting this on the internet
Day One
I usually give myself an hour every morning to go though my routine. I shower, dress, eat, do my hair, put on my face, change outfits two to seven times, write a little, read a little, listen to a bit of a podcast, brush my teeth and get on my way. This morning I found myself walking over to my make-up bag wanting to smear on blush or at the very least mascara. But I didn’t. I circled around my room a few times, scrutinizing my thin skin and flaws in the mirror. Then I decided to hide behind the glasses I never wear thinking that it would serve as a mask or at the very least a distraction away from my red puffy eyes.
I’m also trying not to wash my hair every single day. Today was the day after I washed it so I walked around feeling not only ugly but greasy too.
Since I wore my glasses today everyone just assumed I wore contacts every other day. I don’t. I have 20/20 vision but an astigmatism which means I have difficulty adjusting to low light. Luckily my glasses are fancy -I’ve been told I look intimidating in them- and I wore my Fleuvog Boots, so no one noticed. When I was on the bus a teenage girl told me I had “great shoes.”
Not wearing makeup today caused me to hide a little from the world. I didn’t go to a party I was invited to because I didn’t feel up to it. But that has a little bit to do with the fact that my eyes are still itchy and red. Tomorrow I hope to rock more confidence, with clean hair and the thought that sexy is a state of mind. I just had to get one day of sulking out of the way.
Sara Bynoe 
You are far braver than I.