Below is the documentary for Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches project.  It’s so eye-opening, and I think every single person should watching this.

I’m blown away by this video, and you can find others, as well as the portrait exhibition here.  I see this in my friends, in my family, in myself.  People–not just women–simply don’t see themselves for the beauties that they truly are.  We all nitpick and focus only on the negatives (or what we perceive to be negatives) and forget to look at the whole package.  We need to learn to see ourselves like other see us.

I love makeup.  Clearly.  It’s why I started this blog.  But I don’t want to use makeup to hide or mask who I am.  Makeup should be used as a way to enhance your natural beauty and express who you are.  If you have big, beautiful eyes, play those up rather than focusing on how unhappy you are with your nose.  If you have great cheekbones, flaunt them instead of worrying about the size of your forehead.  These are just examples, but we all have those things that we constantly are wishing were different or more like someone else’s.

Unfortunately, I am in no way exempt from this manner of thinking.  I could go on for ages about all of the things that irk me every time I look in a mirror.  It’s part of our culture to focus on the negative and find a way to “fix” it.  To idolize images of women that are airbrushed, photo shopped, and/or surgically altered.  But we are all beautifully created and not a single one of you needs “fixing.”  Embrace and recognize your beauty, because you really are more beautiful than you think.

Best & Blessings,