HOW TO: NAKED FACE

Some days you just gotta go naked. Don't get me wrong, I love makeup, but every once in awhile I feel like my skin needs to breathe.

When I lived in Montreal, I would see these beautiful girls on the street sporting fresh, dewy, makeupless faces and wonder how they did it. For instance, my friend Daniela always breezed into our coffee dates with lovely natural skin. I'm not saying that we should all throw our makeup cases to the wind, but now and again it's nice to leave the house just the way you are.

The biggest problem that I have with wearing no makeup is that I usually end up regretting it mid-way though the day. Maybe I stumble into a classmate who is looking fabulous with not a dark circle in sight or maybe I start to feel self-conscious when the cold air makes my face red. But after some thought, I've found a solution ... be completely and utterly unashamed of your makeupless-ness. Avoid bashing yourself by saying things like, "Oops, excuse my face - I was just running errands." Instead, give yourself a little mental compliment like, "I look fresh and healthy today." I know, I know. This sounds completely over-the-top-I-watch-too-much-Oprah (fun fact: I've actually never seen an entire episode), but I figure it's better to be cheesy and self-helpful than self-destructive.

If you feel weird without makeup, try doing it in baby steps. Start with a clean face and then lightly add a little concealer under your eyes. Set it with a smidge of powder. Skip foundation, eye shadow, primer, eyebrow pencils, lipstick and eyeliner. Sweep on a touch of blush (just a little!) and if you still feel uncomfortable put on one coat of brown mascara. Then get dressed, take a deep breath and go along with your day. You'll be surprised how many compliments you get :) And when you bump into your oh-so-chic friend on the street, just remember, she's probably wondering how you look so pretty without makeup on.

Talk soon,
Vi