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Experiment Proves Beauty Is Much More Than Skin Deep

MIAMI (CBSMiami) -- Ladies, what would it feel like to go a year without makeup, jewelry, salon haircuts or new clothes?

We asked women on the streets of South Florida.

"Honestly, I think I could only last a couple of days," said one woman. Another agreed. "You're speaking to someone that jogs on the beach in Key Biscayne with red lipstick so I don't know if that's possible," she laughed.

Phoebe Baker Hyde decided to give it a go and swore off beauty and all the trappings because dolling herself up was bringing her down.

"Nothing I put on my body or wore on my face was giving me that self-confidence," explained Phoebe.

Pheobe gave up makeup, cut her hair and stopped shopping for an entire year.

"I didn't want to stand in front of that mirror and have a mirror meltdown. 'What am I going to wear? Oh I look terrible! Gosh does this make me look fat?' I just didn't want to do that anymore."

Phoebe didn't use any foundation, blush, concealer, lipstick, or mascara. She did allow herself a little lip balm but it had to be clear.

Phoebe talks about her transformation in her book, "The Beauty Experiment."

"There were people who didn't bat an eye, there were a few who did react and that dynamic was very interesting for me to watch throughout the course of the year," she explained.

The result? Baker Hyde said she felt more beautiful than ever without all the makeup.

What did her husband think?

"We had a conversation about leg shaving," she said.

The real inspiration for the change was the birth of her daughter.

"Being able to stand with my daughter, in front of a mirror and say, 'Hey, we look great' and actually believe that."

Pheobe doesn't think that every woman needs to ditch make-up, and said she really missed her under-eye concealer.

Now that the experiment is over, most days she only uses chap stick and moisturizer.

"This is just me and if that's not good enough, then maybe it's not me that has the problem."

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