Can I “face” the world?
So, has anyone sent you #TheNoMakeupSelfieChallenge on Facebook? At first, I just ignored it as my friends passed it around. I do love my makeup.
It might stem from being a child in the south during the 60s and 70s, watching moms put on a dress and lipstick just to go to the grocery store. It may be a compensation for growing up in the shadow of an intensely beautiful mom, who turns heads still at 75.
Or maybe I’m just a little vain? Ding. I think we have a winner.
My moisturizer takes a few minutes to soak in. This morning, in my hotel room, I started doing my usual inspection and “critique” of my face in the mirror as I waited for it to dry. Wrinkles, dark spots, redness - I guess I’m checking to see what has deteriorated overnight. I may not hide my age from the world, but I don’t like my face to announce it, either.
As my body impatiently screamed for coffee, I sat there, waiting for moisturizer to set. I was puzzled, and maybe a little embarrassed. Who, exactly, was I trying to impress this morning? I was in a hotel, in a town where not one person knew me –so what if I trotted out in the world with a bare face? What’s the worst that could happen – people faint, babies cry, birds fall out of the sky?
I picked up my phone and snapped a photo so I could compare it to one I took yesterday, right after a TV appearance (it took me over 20 minutes to do my face and hair yesterday morning). I was shocked to see there wasn’t a ton of difference. Yes, one looks a little more polished and colorful, but the face is – for better or worse – still me.
So I threw on some shoes and toddled out into the world with my sports top, yoga pants and bare face. No one in Starbucks fainted. The doorman didn’t say “jeez, put on some lipstick, lady”.
This doesn’t mean I’ll be tossing the lip gloss any time soon (stockholders in L’Oreal can breathe easy). I’ve discovered that, while I CAN go without it, I still enjoy the whole ritual and routine of what my grandmother used to call “putting on my face”. So, I choose to keep doing it – for me, because it makes me feel more like the “best” me.
I think I’ll take a pass on sending that No Makeup Selfie Challenge to any of my Facebook friends. I hope every woman chooses to face the world each day with her best - and she also lets her own heart determine WHAT her best may be.
So, has anyone sent you #TheNoMakeupSelfieChallenge on Facebook? At first, I just ignored it as my friends passed it around. I do love my makeup.
It might stem from being a child in the south during the 60s and 70s, watching moms put on a dress and lipstick just to go to the grocery store. It may be a compensation for growing up in the shadow of an intensely beautiful mom, who turns heads still at 75.
Or maybe I’m just a little vain? Ding. I think we have a winner.
My moisturizer takes a few minutes to soak in. This morning, in my hotel room, I started doing my usual inspection and “critique” of my face in the mirror as I waited for it to dry. Wrinkles, dark spots, redness - I guess I’m checking to see what has deteriorated overnight. I may not hide my age from the world, but I don’t like my face to announce it, either.
As my body impatiently screamed for coffee, I sat there, waiting for moisturizer to set. I was puzzled, and maybe a little embarrassed. Who, exactly, was I trying to impress this morning? I was in a hotel, in a town where not one person knew me –so what if I trotted out in the world with a bare face? What’s the worst that could happen – people faint, babies cry, birds fall out of the sky?
I picked up my phone and snapped a photo so I could compare it to one I took yesterday, right after a TV appearance (it took me over 20 minutes to do my face and hair yesterday morning). I was shocked to see there wasn’t a ton of difference. Yes, one looks a little more polished and colorful, but the face is – for better or worse – still me.
So I threw on some shoes and toddled out into the world with my sports top, yoga pants and bare face. No one in Starbucks fainted. The doorman didn’t say “jeez, put on some lipstick, lady”.
This doesn’t mean I’ll be tossing the lip gloss any time soon (stockholders in L’Oreal can breathe easy). I’ve discovered that, while I CAN go without it, I still enjoy the whole ritual and routine of what my grandmother used to call “putting on my face”. So, I choose to keep doing it – for me, because it makes me feel more like the “best” me.
I think I’ll take a pass on sending that No Makeup Selfie Challenge to any of my Facebook friends. I hope every woman chooses to face the world each day with her best - and she also lets her own heart determine WHAT her best may be.