Beauty - A Love/Hate Relationship

I'm short, my eyes don't match (did I ever mention I have a lazy eye?) and don't even get me started on my brows! Uneven as can be. Not twins or sisters. They're more like second cousins twice removed. My front teeth are huge (they look like chiclets) and my nose is crooked. My forehead is big and my skin isn't perfect. But this is who I am. It all comes together in some generally decent way - I think. I'm good with how I look. Not in a conceited way, but in the sense that I feel good about myself. Confident in who I am and how I've been put together. Our features shape who we are. My moms lips, my dads hair - it all tells a story. So, when I put on my makeup in the morning, I'm not looking to mask who I am. I like who I see and I'm not looking to change it. I have come to love makeup because I look at it as two things. (1) To enhance and shape the features I have and (2) as a form of art - a way of transforming one thing into something else that's not more beautiful, but different in a fun and interesting way. I used to love going all out with makeup on one side of my face and seeing how it can alter features so dramatically just with color and shading. It honestly just blows my mind sometimes and I love playing with shapes and color. It's a form of expression. Unfortunately, this all gets lost sometimes. Why is she wearing so much blush? Her eyelashes are tiny. I can't believe she went out looking like that. Therefore pushing us to feel as though we can't leave the house without checking the mirror a hundred times or like we're not acceptable to the world without a false pair of lashes. But, even worse than that is that we do it to ourselves. Obsessing over every detail and comparing ourselves to others. Ugh, her skin is flawless. I wish I had her hair. Pushing us to want and do things to ourselves to morph into things we are not. So today, I wanted to talk about my love/hate relationship with beauty. The things that nag me and the things that make me fall in love.

Bangs and so on and on

I guess this is all really about changes. What I've always enjoyed about makeup is being able to play around and change things up without having to commit. Hot pink lips today, smokey eyes tomorrow, bronzer for the beach. I'm so indecisive that I love it when I can change things up without a care. But, I've been trying to make a few more lifestyle changes. If you can't let go and just take a plunge into new things, who knows what you will be missing out on!

A couple of months ago, I had a stroke of boldness and got bangs! What?! My hair stylist sectioned them off, opened her scissors, looked at me and said "are you sure?". I can't believe I said "yes"! Since getting them, I've been through every emotion in the book. I hate them, I love them, they're so cool, I look like I'm 5, they look so edgy, I don't have time for this! I'm now in the weird phase of growing them out. So, I'll wear them to the side or center part them for that french girl look. I have to say though, that after all of that, I have no regrets about cutting bangs. Yes, I'm growing them out, but it's challenged me to try new hairstyles (which I never do) and figure out different ways to work with my hair. I've also realized how much I love having hair to frame my face when I pull it back into a bun or ponytail. It looks so cool. So, I've decided to keep bangs, but long. I'm waiting to grow them where they're about nose/top lip length. This way, they'll blend into the rest of my hair, but if I want to pull them down when the rest of my hair is back, I'll still be able to do that too.

Long story short? Don't be afraid to try new things. What's the worst that can happen? I've had some ups and downs, but I've learned a lot and found out things I like that I'd have never known if I hadn't tried this out. It's all about being versatile, creative, not taking yourself too seriously and not being afraid to make a change. Be bold!

Starting to blog is part of my "being bold". Trying something new and seeing what happens. It's really fun to start something different that you know has potential, but don't know where it will take you. I'm looking forward to continuing drawing, photographing and writing more for next week. I have a lot of ideas in store (a forever long list, actually).

Until then.

p.s. I recently picked up the new Maybelline Baby Lips Lip Balms and I'm thoroughly enjoying them. They're affordable, moisturizing, have a perfect tint of color and best of all is that every single one smells amazing! The Limited Edition Electro collection is out now and they're in black tubes which is cool. They are fun brighter colors than those in the permanent line. If you're around a drugstore, you should check them out! And if you've never tried Baby Lips, what are you waiting for?!