When I got to thinking about what I could write for my next blog post I thought about the definition of beauty and what it actually is that makes somebody beautiful. The main focus of this ‘beauty’ blog has always been about using products and cosmetics to enhance or create beauty.
Other than my two week stint of drinking 2 liters of water a day, all the posts have been product-led. There is hardly anything on well-being and general happiness and health. I struggled with this for a good twenty minutes because talking about health and happiness isn’t really what my blogs are usually about. My blog is superficial. I don’t mean that in a negative way, but essentially make-up and cosmetics are about superficial beauty. I have never tried to be dishonest about that, there is a part of me that IS superficial. I like changing and improving my surface appearance but the person I am stays the same. However I then thought health is the first and very fundamental basic of being ‘beautiful’.
When I looked up the definition of beauty it said this:
• A combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form, that pleases the aesthetic senses, esp. the sight.
• A combination of qualities that pleases the intellect or moral sense.
I would say 75% of this definition is relating to appearance rather than anything slightly more profound. Yet there were words and phrases that couldn’t be translated as just physical. For example ‘moral sense’ and ‘qualities’ which got me to thinking.
I have a friend who is always harking on about ‘beauty’ on the inside. Whilst I know that people ARE beautiful on the inside I always thought it was a hippy thing to say or something parents tell their children to fill them with the necessary initial stages of confidence. However although I hate to EVER let her be right, I always had a secret inclination that she may be on to something. There is nothing more attractive than somebody genuinely laughing or smiling. Positivity and and general self-acceptance rather than over-bearing confidence can be beautiful. This often derives from a general sense of happiness. It may be that you are head-over-heels in love or you have a great, blossoming career. Maybe you have the support of an amazing set of friends and a loving family who stick by you… Maybe you have it all! Unlike cosmetics, these intangible types of happiness can’t be purchased or physically applied.
Whilst I may pay for my gym membership…the dedication and hard work it takes to get into shape and eat healthily is also something that can’t be bought. Whilst the ‘junk food’ days come and go, I think I can finally say that I am currently at my happiest because for once I have gained some form of control over my diet. I am trying not to gorge on addictive sugars and sluggish carbohydrates but eating properly and regularly and spending a solid but not excessive amount of time in the gym. The hard work has paid off (it has taken 6 months) and I can actually see new sets of definition and muscles. I know this has contributed to my overall appearance, not because my clothes fit better but because it makes me happy and confident which no doubt shows on my face. There’s no amount of make-up that could fake that.
A friend of mine joked yesterday about the state many girls find themselves in post break-up or mid-depression, a welcomed loss of weight but with the gaunt, worried face that says ‘whilst I may look great on the outside, I’m screaming and crying on the inside’. And she’s right, you do look good… We’ve all been there. During moments of depression the appetite just goes and suddenly the weight drops off and you’re thin without even trying. Then the compliments come and for a moment you feel good about yourself. Accept if you move your eyes upwards the face is full of angst and tears. When you compare this with the happiness of somebody who has a toned, svelte body that derives from working out it doesn’t seem so desirable.
So I guess what I am asking is if it isn’t the billion-dollar cosmetic industry that makes us ‘appear’ to be beautiful then what is it?
It’s about loving the life you’re living and keeping in good health. If you don’t love the life you live you need to figure out what it is that is stopping you from being the positive person that is laughing for no reason other than they’re happy. If you’re unhappy, you’re probably not in good health either so I guess the two go hand-in-hand. Once you’ve truly tackled the inner (CRINGE) beauty it is only then you can purchase products that work to enhance that natural, positive, smiling face.
Tessa Annable
Image sourced from: http://tinyurl.com/qzcv7qx
