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Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Beauty Truth Tuesday

I feel like we can be so hard on ourselves sometimes, especially when it comes to our appearance.  As I get older, I am trying to become more comfortable in my skin.  

It’s incredibly hard.

If you haven't already figured this out, I love all things beauty, fashion, etc. – I’m a girly girl, after all – so a lot of what comes with that is having fun with make-up, testing new hair products, trying new fashion trends.  

But the fact remains that there are things about me that I just don’t like, have never liked, and probably never will like. 


It’s funny, though, because I feel slightly MORE comfortable with my body since having my son, even though I know it’s changed it for the worse.  I try to think of all those changes as battle scars, in a sense, you know?  I think we all have our own “battle scars” that come from a multitude of things – genetics, health issues, operations… even stress.

I’ve read so many articles and watched so many programs where women talk about how, once they hit a certain age (usually around 40), they feel the best they ever have.  I think learning to accept ourselves for who we are is one of the biggest challenges in our lives, don’t you?  One blog I read not too long ago was about a mom who decided to wear a bikini on her vacation even though her body was much different than it had ever been.  To her, though, she figured that this is as good as it gets, so she may as well show it off now because it will only get worse.  That made me chuckle.  Probably because it's true!

Sometimes that means first acknowledging our personal battle scars, whether they be physical or emotional or both.  So today I’m going to share with you some of my "beauty battle scars."

  • I have a birthmark smack dab in the middle of my back.  I tried to get it removed when I was in high school, but the removal process made it look ten times worse.  I’ve always been embarrassed by it, especially when I wear a dress or swimsuit, and one time at the beach, a woman asked me what happened to my back because, she said, it looked like someone burned a cigarette on it.  That made me feel GREAT, let me tell you.
  • I am a super hairy person (thanks to my mom’s Italian family tree!).  I swear – I have the hair of a family of gorillas.  The hair removal process for me is long and exhausting.  Thank God for razors and tweezers.
  • I was not blessed with beautiful olive skin, though, from my Italian ancestors.  Oh, no -  I have pasty, white, glow-in-the-dark skin.  Self-tanner is my BFF.
  • I have man feet, so I keep my toenails painted year round in an attempt to make them look more feminine.
  • I have lots of gray hair.  It started in college, increased when I was pregnant, and hasn’t stopped since.  Needless to say, I will be coloring my hair for a long time.
  • I have horrible dark circles under my eyes.  I hate them, and even when I get a lot of sleep, they're still there.
  • I have a short torso but super long arms and legs.  I'm very "Amazonian," if you will.  Tarzan-like.  Very disproportionate.
I could go on - believe me - but I'll spare you, because now that those are out there, I am going to take a deep breath and do my best to stop focusing so much on them.  I will continue my beauty routines for them, like my concealer, hair color, etc., but I am tired of focusing on them so much.

I need to remind myself that beauty is more than what's in the mirror.  We are more than what we look like.  We are more than we think we are.  So here are some new thoughts I'm adopting:





10 comments:

  1. Love this! I think acknowledging your insecurities publicly helps! I posted a while back about the things I don't like about myself and how I've gotten over a lot of them and other I'm still getting over, and I don't really think about them as much lately. It isn't necessarily because I posted it, but I can let myself think that! I have man feet too! But we're opposite in body proportions--long torso and stubby legs over here!

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    1. Yeah, it definitely stinks to acknowledge them, but I can't change certain things -- just fix them with the help of products, you know? I'm willing to color my hair forever if I have to, though!! And thanks for admitting you have man feet, too. At least I'm not alone! :-)
      BB

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  2. Hi BB - As Mattie stated - this is a great post. My "beauty scars" include thigh stretch marks from either my eczema treatments and/or sleeping in a way that stretched my skin too much (oh well). I'm jealous of my cousin - who is the same gene pool - who has never had to shave her legs and can't figure who people do - I'm a prickly pear cactus after 2 days! And the gray hairs - I'm a bottle head! Still, trying to be grateful for what God has given me, and that beauty is truly from the inside... I love the quotes you provided, and also the cellulite meme.

    Have a great day, beautiful woman!

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    1. Oh, Laurie - I could shave and probably shave again a few hours later. I feel your pain! As for the gray hair, maybe it would make us look "distinguished" if we let it go - ha!
      We have to try to stay positive, right? Just saw the movie "Inside Out" today with my son, and I remembered how important positivity really is!
      BB

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  3. Love your post here! Nothing more beautiful than being unapologetically yourself....couldn't agree more!! xoxo!

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  4. love this post! I remember feeling horrible about myself in my early twenties, I'm so irritated with myself looking back on that time, I looked GREAT! lol

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    1. Isn't that the truth? But we were too crazy to realize that then, you know? In our next life we'll wear bikinis until we're 40! :-)
      BB

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  5. It's funny how the "flaws" in our appearance that we focus so much on, others do not see them. I've known you for how many years and I never was aware of these "imperfections". You are very beautiful. I am glad you are learning to embrace your beauty!

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    1. Aw, thanks, Nicole! I remember reading an article once that said to think that you were looking at someone else in the mirror...a friend or someone - just not yourself. You see yourself so differently then. It's weird. You focus less on what you think your imperfections are and start to see the best of you.
      Anyway, thanks for the comment. You made my day! :-)
      BB

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