My name is Diana. I'm an author, journalist and TV presenter.
I've noticed an obsession with our image online lately
and it's really starting to bug me.
I spend about £40 a month on make-up,
but it used to be a lot more.
It's a tiny addition to the staggering £77 billion
valuation of the European beauty industry.
But how much of that is based on insecurity?
Looking at just a few stats,
three quarters of us say that make-up boosts our self-esteem.
Over half of us say that not wearing make-up gives us negative feelings
and, most worryingly, it says that girls start spending money
regularly on make-up as young as the age of seven.
I'm on my way to meet a young woman called Rowan,
who is a self-confessed make-up addict.
As a professional make-up artist, make-up isn't just her job,
it's her life.
So, this is my beauty room.
Oh, wow!
It's like a professional set up in here.
Do you think you've spent a couple of thousand quid on make-up?
Probably more.
When I put my make-up on,
I come alive more, I'm more me.
Are you more confident? Yeah.
But even with make-up I'm still not 100% there, but I'd say it makes
such a impact on my confidence.
What advice then do you have for someone like Rowan, who might be finding
their habits turning into something that's a bit more of an addiction?
It's the same with any addiction, it's just letting go of it
and saying, "You know, there's so much more to life than this."
The self-confidence that that brings, that you are you.
You're happy to be you and just put that out there for the world to see
is a really, really good self-confident moment.
So, you know I met Ros, a psychologist, yesterday.
Yeah. Well... How did it go?
It went really good.
Yeah. But she said we need to face our insecurities.
OK. By taking off all of our make-up. All of our make-up? Ohh.
Will we go for it?
I suppose so, if we need to.
I really don't want to.
Look at all this gunk, coming off our faces.
But it's so funny, because all of this, adds so much more confidence.
I look ugly, don't I?
No, I think you look really fresh and really cute. Ahh.
So, now that we've got the slap off. Mm-hm.
do you think we should head on out there and face the world?
OK.
I'm down for it.
I'm a little bit scared, though. Yeah.
For Rowan and I, this is the moment of truth.
We both feel vulnerable to step out of the house completely barefaced,
but it's a crucial stepping stone to embracing ourselves as we are.
And letting go of that control over how people perceive us.
As we sit here completely make-up free,
nobody seems to react.
It's as if it's just another day.
And little do these people know what a big experience
this is for me and Rowan.
How do you feel?
I think I feel a bit more liberated, as you say.
More empowered not wearing the make-up out in public.
Even though I'm still, you know...have, like, the anxiety.
I don't feel like I'm as on the edge as what I normally am.
Well, I think you're a gorgeous person on the inside and out.
Thank you. And I think that radiates.
So, if we've learned anything it's just to embrace who we are
and, like Ros said, let go. Yeah.
And yeah, let go of that control that we feel like we have to give
this perfect image out all the time. Yeah, definitely. I agree.