What I mean by make-up is everything. And I cannot list the names of the products because frankly, I do not know their names. As a female of 26 years young I have never worn make-up in any shape or form. Not because I am against it but because it was never something I grew up seeing or felt that I needed.
You must understand, I grew up in the Caribbean where it's extremely hot and sunny most of the year. So hot that you begin to sweat right after a shower some days. More importantly, I've never had the experience of watching anyone in my home get all dolled up. My mother never wore make-up and neither did my older sister. I interpreted that as normal and to this day it still feels very normal. Their skin care routine was simply "wash and go" in every literal sense of those words.
Growing Up Bare
Mind you, their skin was and still is flawless. Clear without scars or marks, just an unfading sunkiss. And when I say flawless, I do not mean perfect by your standards but I somehow see it that way. I saw them as beautiful and on occasion when I saw others in make-up, my 15 year old self would wonder why they were wearing it. I always imagined that it must feel comfortable, like sweat sluggishly running down their face or like a piece of hair that the wind just kept allowing to taunt their face.
As I continued to grow I still never tried it until I discovered chapstick which eventually led me to lipstick. Then one day I painted my lips red and took pictures. It was a nice pop of color to my usual lack of bright lip color but a minute in and I wanted to take it off. I decided that it was too much to maintain. Not only that but it felt uncomfortable, I couldn't tolerate the smell on me and my lips felt like they had just curled up and died.
When I go to work, I go bare, just like everywhere else. I use chapstick but it has to be unscented with zero flavor, otherwise I simply cannot wear it. If it feels too greasy then forget about it. Some might call it plain Jane but I find other ways to spruce up my look. The no make-up look is still a look.
To this day I still practice this healthy skin care routine and it has yet to steer me wrong.
It is simple. I wash my face with water every day and towel or paper towel dry, then add some natural cocoa butter or shea butter or a little olive oil. That is literally it. If I feel the need to exfoliate or my face feels greasy then this is what I do:
Exfoliate using brown sugar or baking soda with olive oil or water then moisturize with aloe vera then seal with olive oil or cocoa butter
If I am greasy I will use organic ACV on a cotton pad then moisturize right after
The other thing that helps is that I eat well. By this I do not mean green smoothies everyday but often enough. Growing up, the word "organic" was never a term used because instinctively I knew that whatever I was eating was natural, except for anything processed, of course. I never had to second guess if a fruit was grown organically or not. It just was. Point is, whatever skin you are in, enjoy it and take care of it, whether you choose to wear make-up or not. Find a healthy routine that works for you and embrace what you do or don't do.