Growing up in a semi-rural New Zealand township with endless outdoorsy activities to be enjoyed, minimal opportunities to get into trouble and a maximum of three eligible tweenage boys to get in trouble with, there was little need to grow up at all.

I was quite happy as the class clown, giggling with my little girlfriends, diving for coins on the bottom of the pool or playing bungee jump with Barbie off the balcony.

Well, that was, until I hit highschool and everyone realized how gorgeous I was.

Some of those boys started paying attention to me, you see. So I started paying attention to myself, in the mirror.

Yikes. Un-groomed eyebrows, style-less hair, and not a scrap of make-up.

If I was going to live up to my new-found diva status - I needed a little work.

Alright. Eyebrows plucked, hair fixed with 18,000 sparkling butterfly clips and a heavy-handed swipe of Cherry Glitter Lip Smackers lip balm.

It was a moment in time. I wasn't a little girl anymore. I was a goddess.

How far we've come...

You know those baboons with the red bottoms?

Well yeah, my face looks like a baboon's ass right now.

It's covered in a red rash, after an unassumingly self-inflicted allergic reaction.

I did this to myself - hilariously, in my ongoing effort to improve upon the face I was given.

Revlon ColourStay Foundation, you son of a bitch. You ruined everything.

About six weeks ago, I was running out of foundation. My favourite Maybelline Mineral Power brand.

No worries? No. They don't sell it anymore.

Ok. Back to the drawing board. I was going to have to choose a new brand.

As any woman knows, picking out a new brand or type of foundation is about the shittiest, most impossible thing you can do in the make-up aisle.

After 30 minutes, I picked out the Revlon.

Within 24 hours of first applying it, I was clawing at my face, begging for a cleansing wipe like I was in a life or death situation that hinged on a moist towelette.

Next day, I was in full blown face rash mode. My 'pulled backwards through a poison ivy patch' look lasted a week and a half. The Revlon was in the bin, and I found some mineral make-up to anoint my wounds. I guess when you use mineral make-up your face doesn't take kindly to the normal stuff?

Anyway, in the meantime, I started to break out. Of course.

No worries, get some tea tree oil on it.

Boom. Mr Rashy no likey, and I get another slap in the face.

COME ON.

The love affair is over

After first discovering make-up (of the glitter variety) more than 10 years ago, and using it almost without a break - suddenly, I'm thinking my face is trying to tell me we need to take a time out.

I've had to let my face heal up, so I've minimized the amount of make-up I use, but what happens after that?

No more make-up? No more concealer-foundation-translucent powder-bronzer-blusher-mascara-eyeliner-lipstick?

Well, that's a bit drastic. But if there was ever a time to cut back on my cosmetic usage, it's now.

Why not, right? I can survive without layers and layers of make-up, riiiiiight?

Pulling back on the cosmetic crack

Here's how I'm going to overhaul my make-up dependency:

Step One - Reduce the number of products you use on your face. If you use eight, try limiting yourself to six, and then four. Which products are actually enhancing your beauty, and which are you using just because you're in the habit of using them? This exercise might help you figure that out...

Step Two - Those products you're using - how good are they for your skin? Mineral make-ups can still give the results of your average (yucky chemical-filled) products, and if you've got sensitive skin, they're definitely worth a go. They sometimes offer other benefits too, like actually improving the look of your skin, or offering sun protection.

Step Three - Focus on improving the natural beauty of the skin on your face, to fix it up, instead of covering it up. Try an eye cream to help out those under-eye bags, wash your face with a steaming hot cloth to open and unclog your pores, and exfoliate regularly. You might want to try a beauty supplement too!

Step Four - Try going one day a week with only one product. Maybe that's just a little concealer over your blemishes, a bit of blusher to give your cheeks some colour, or a pop of lipstick. It might be all you need!

I'm going to give it a go (I kinda have to!) - so do you think you could reduce the amount of make-up you use everyday?