Woman's Tiny Change to Look 'Well Rested' Without Sleep, Surgery or Diet

We all have that element of our beauty routine we can't skip—whether it's never leaving the house without lipstick or always having a fresh French manicure—but could you ditch your daily beauty habit after 35 years?

Jennifer Mancinelli, from New Jersey, is doing exactly that as she gives up her signature black eyeliner and shares her journey on TikTok.

Speaking to Newsweek, Mancinelli, who is almost 50, said: "I started wearing eyeliner like this when I was 15, in the late '80s/early '90s. That was just the style back then, and I guess it just stuck with me these past 35 years.

"The black eyeliner on my waterline has been my everyday look since high school. It became part of who I was. I would wake up, and the first thing I would do is put on the black eyeliner so no one could see what I looked like without it. I remember driving to work one day having forgotten to put it on. I literally drove all the way back home to get it."

Mancinelli said she has applied the dark eyeliner every day since she first tried it, adding, "It was just what I always did. I have never really been into makeup, and this was all I knew and made me feel comfortable. I didn't feel like me without it."

Though applying eyeliner was a long-standing part of her daily routine, a TikTok comment prompted Mancinelli to forgo the product.

"I always felt good in it and never really thought there was an issue with how it looked on me," she said. "I decided to try to stop when someone commented on a prior TikTok video I posted. She said, 'No shade, but please, stop the under-eye line.'"

Mancinelli continued: "Some people may have been offended by this comment, but it made me question it finally, for some reason. So I made the 'day one' video as a funny video, hoping women like me could relate. I never expected it to blow up and what would happen next.

"The response to my makeup-less face went viral—with so many amazing, supportive comments that I was beautiful, and I looked 15 years younger. I received quite a few comparisons to Pamela Anderson with her current no-makeup look, which couldn't have been a bigger compliment. So here I am now barely wearing a stitch of makeup, and I feel great."

The changes in Mancinelli's beauty routine have extended beyond eyeliner. "I have embraced my natural look. My routine now consists of using better skin care products. I only use a face tint instead of heavy foundation and some mascara on my top lashes. Nothing on the bottom lids. I've also learned to fill in my now-waxed eyebrows," she said.

Mancinelli said that after stepping back from using eyeliner, she felt a significant effect on her self-confidence as she shared her journey on social media.

She said: "The biggest change has been my confidence level. As a woman turning 50, I wasn't feeling that beautiful or good about myself, so to have an army of women supporting you on TikTok has been a truly amazing experience.

"I took every recommendation as advice and not as an attack. Women started offering me advice on my eyebrows (which I never waxed in my life and are very sparse), tips for my hooded eyelids, hair color and style recommendations. And with every change, I felt better about myself. And then there were the women commenting that they, too, were taking this journey with me.

"I became a very accidental beauty influencer. It has truly been a 'women supporting women' story much more than just a giving up black eyeliner."

As for whether she'll ever go back to her signature look, the answer is clear.

"Absolutely not. I will NEVER go back," Mancinelli said. "This experience has been life-changing for me. I think the funniest yet best comment I received my first day in the office with no makeup was from a colleague who said: 'Something's different. You look well rested. Did you get Botox?'"

She added: "No one even noticed the black eyeliner was gone. They just noticed me and that I looked younger."