Imagine putting down your beauty brushes, putting away your foundation and saying goodbye to your blusher for 200 days. Well that’s exactly what American student Annie Gauru did – the aspiring journalist set herself a challenge to not wear make-up for seven months. Wanting to look at her own perception of beauty and of those around her, the Born With It Beauty Project was born.

After one final make-up faced night out on New Year’s Eve, Annie put away the slap and spent the next 200 days attending parties without make-out on.

Obviously it wasn’t as easy as it all sounds: “I was often tempted to quit. As a 20-year-old college student at Indiana University, I spent many weekends at fraternity parties surrounded by intimidatingly beautiful young women. My friends were right that no one would really know if I cheated. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t care.”

Annie completed the project this month and says: “I am not against makeup, but I am against the feeling that I have to change my face to feel good about myself. If you think you couldn’t possibly try my experiment, then it would probably be a good experience for you too, even if just for a week,”

We all did the #nomakeupselfie but going outside for 200 days without our face on, well, let’s just say – Annie is one brave girl.