It Took These Ladies Just 28 Days To Prepare For A Moment Of A Lifetime

Anything can happen in just 28 days, such as gaining an abundance of confidence to strut the catwalk during New York Fashion Week (NYFW) without any makeup during a show solely highlighting your face. Nineteen influential women did just that with the help of a few Olay products. Influencers such as Mama Cax, Maya Washington, Jackie Aina, Kahlana Barfield Brown, Cydnee Black and many more courageously completed this challenge. In the span of four weeks, these ladies used only a few Olay skin care products each day. That meant cutting down on the extensive number of skin care products they normally used to just three to five of the following items: Olay Reginerist Whip Face Moisturizer, Olay Eye Ultimate Eye Cream, Olay Total Effects 7-in-1 Anti-Aging Daily Face Moisturizer, Olay Daily Facial 5-In-1 Water Activated Dry Cloths and Olay Eyes Deep Hydrating Eye Gel. Many may shy away from going without makeup, but the women bravely joined Olay’s movement to #FaceAnything. And fresh-faced and fearless, they walked the runway at the end of the challenge. Maya Washington, known as Shameless Maya, shared with ESSENCE, “When I heard about the messaging, I was like, You know what? I’ve actually never tried the products. Let me just try it. So I had a genuine reaction.” Washington, who enthusiastically described her skin as the “the best,” also shared that she has combination skin, sensitive cheeks and an oily T-zone. Thoroughly impressed with her initial experience using Olay’s products, she ultimately favored the Olay Reginerist Whip Face Moisturizer and Olay Eye Ultimate Eye Cream, which gives her eyes a likable tinted finish. After the event, ESSENCE also had the pleasure of sitting down with Mama Cax, who is a model who truly prioritizes skin care over makeup. She said, “I think for anyone who has a busy life, it’s hard following all the steps that we need to do.” Pleased with the outcome of the challenge, she continued, “This was a way to challenge myself—if I had a busy day or not—to follow two to three simple steps.” When asked about her favorite product, she said, “I’m always conflicted, but I feel like my absolute favorite is the face wash, because my favorite part of the day is taking off my makeup…. [Olay Daily Facial 5-In-1 Water Activated Dry Cloths] are a part of my skin care routine now.” Yes, this event was about cheering on these 19 women for completing this courageous act, but it was more about their ability to #FaceAnything and to encourage others to do just that.