The past year has seen me wearing more makeup than ever before. I was in a relationship for eight years, and when you're with someone for that long, you start to feel pretty comfortable in your own skin. When that relationship ended [1], so did my comfort. All of a sudden I found myself going on dates [2] again, and while I used to stay in on the weekends, instead, I was out with my girlfriends, going to dinners, and meeting potential suitors. My breakup made me lose a little bit of confidence in myself, but makeup helped even the playing field. So, I started wearing it all of the time. Even on casual walks around my neighbourhood.

I have sensitive, acne-prone skin, and to say it wasn't used to all the makeup is an understatement. I take a hormonal acne medication [3] called Spironolactone, and while that helps cut down on a lot of my breakouts, I still get pimples when certain products don't agree with my skin. While I used to go months without ever placing a stitch of makeup on my face, over the last year, I rarely went a day. When I was given the opportunity to try a week without makeup, I jumped at the chance, knowing my skin needed the TLC. Although I was a little nervous — my bronzer [4] and contour sticks had become like a safety blanket — I was excited to see the results.

For seven days, instead of focusing on makeup, I took the opportunity to focus on my skin-care routine. My basic regimen stayed pretty much the same; I've been using a new serum to combat my hyperpigmentation [5], and that stayed in my rotation, as well as my favourite moisturiser, eye cream, and SPF.

I also started using my LED mask every single day, sometimes twice a day. I'm a big fan of LED masks, but when it comes to being consistent, I'm lazy. The fact that I wasn't wearing makeup at any point during the day, however, made it easy for me to throw it on at any time, whether I was working at my desk or cleaning up my apartment. I also started doing more face masks, and wearing eye masks every single morning. (My current favourite is the Peter Thomas Roth 24K Gold Pure Luxury Lift & Firm Eye Patches [6] (£60).)

Of course, there were mornings when I woke up and I needed a little extra help. In those instances, I'd mix a bit of the Drunk Elephant D-Bronzi Bronzing Drops with Peptides [7] (£33) with my moisturiser in the morning, which instantly gave my skin a much-needed glow — no base products required.

So, I went a whole week without makeup, so what? Well, for starters, my skin looked better overall. Before I started my no-makeup journey, a huge pimple popped up on the side of my nose, and I'm not overreacting when I say it was the longest-lasting zit I've ever dealt with. Even though I was tempted to reach for my concealer to cover it up, instead I grabbed a Starface Hydro-Star [8](£12). I truly think skipping out on the makeup is what finally got the blemish to disappear.

Overall, one of the main things I learned was that life was easier without makeup. I didn't have to spend an extra 40 minutes getting ready every day, and I didn't have to spend time cleaning products off of my face every night before bed, either. Yes, it was a little weird going on dates and going out to dinner with a completely bare face, but it also felt liberating.

Growing up, I always heard that I needed to give my skin "room to breathe," and while I always felt like the sentiment was bullshit, I saw a huge difference in how I looked and felt after going just seven days without makeup. My skin was brighter, smoother, and generally felt more well taken care of.