Pretty is as pretty does
The other day I was looking down at my cell in order to take a picture and as I clicked ‘camera’ it was on selfie-mode. The words OMyG poured regrettably out of my mouth when I saw staring back at me my “No makeup-morning hair-bad reflective lighting on my face” moment. I couldn’t push the button fast enough to turn the picture around! Then I found myself on an immediate Google search for a plastic surgeon to book a lower face lift!
I’ve played out this scenario more times than I wish to admit over the past years so why it is still a shock to me is actually a bit humorous. This transformation of accumulative years has seemingly taken place overnight, just waiting to attack my vulnerable moments when the idea of getting older is feeling like such a drag.
So after I played with the Google search, I did what I have learned to do with my more tender moments over the years. I took a step back to ask myself what was really going on with me.
Why was I not accepting getting older and flowing effortlessly into becoming more mature while the laws of gravity are sucking my skin downward to meld with mother earth? (Well of course that shouldn’t sound appealing to anyone!) How do I ‘do my age’ and accept and love who I am inside so that these moments don’t take me off course? What happened to my believing when a person tells me I’m pretty and I think they are saying this just to be nice?
I remember reading about Jane Fonda’s Ah-Ha moment when one day, as she passed a window, she saw her reflection but didn’t recognize the person who was looking back. Though she was adamantly against plastic surgery prior to that moment and had even had her breast implants removed she didn’t like what she saw so she decided to clean up for her Third Act. And today she looks even more beautiful as she rocks her world carrying a new mature sense of confidence and wisdom.
Sometimes on social media a woman will post that she has decided to no longer wear makeup and to accept the freedom of her naturalness. All well and good for her but why does wearing makeup and enhancing ones features mean that you are not free?
When we see a rainbow are we not drawn to its beauty with all those wonderful colors? Doesn’t looking at how pretty it is make us happy? If a rainbow was made up of neutral colors ie. Brown, beige, white, black would it have the same long-lasting effect of soothing our eyes and soul?
When I was a flight attendant, we had certain ‘rules’ that we signed up to abide to. Our appearance was under scrutiny always from the top of our head to the soles of our high heels. We actually had a grooming supervisor and if we detoured from the guidebook of rules we had to report to them.
We were supervised from the kind of jewelry we were allowed to wear, the makeup and color of our lipstick, the weight we had to maintain, the length of our hair and if too long we had to wear it up and so on. It was part and parcel in taking this job…we agreed to following these rules and it was our responsibility to follow them and not protest.
The results? We looked pretty all the time; we felt good about the way we showed up; we were able to present ourselves in a more professional manner to our customers and we drew more respect and admiration from them. Even today people reflect on those years when being a “stewardesses” was known for being the glamorous.
Like rainbows, people like looking at pretty…always have, always will!
What I am attempting to say here without offending those readers who are not into makeup is that our face is an empty palate of possibilities to highlight and enhance with makeup…and when we get older it is important that we don’t give up our beauty and turn beige.
Wearing makeup means that we are putting on our best face and it actually encourages others to want to be around someone who is showing up like they care about themselves and their life, overall.
We live in a visual world where people still judge us by the way we look. Unfortunately, as we age we seem to become less visible, so maybe our sense of self worth shouldn’t be bound up with our appearance. But it is.
Older women who make the effort to “put on their face”, are more inclined to make other changes in their lives. It has inspired many to lose weight, start an exercise program or just “keep up appearances” when life’s difficult challenges come our way.
As women age wearing some makeup does affect the way we are treated. We have a lot of work to do in helping to heal the world today and we must be seen, heard and valued. With living longer lives we need to grab all the help we can to have people sit up and take notice of what we have to say. And if mascara, blush and lipstick can help with this then let’s get going! We’re worth getting to know!
So take a good look at how you’ve been showing up every day and see if you can mimic the feeling you get when you get dressed up to attend a birthday party or wedding or any special event. Don’t just let this feeling sit on the shelf waiting for a special occasion but learn to celebrate it everyday by looking like you care!
When we look good we feel good and when we feel good we are more healthy, happy and vibrant. The world needs more of us to shine!
To your brilliance unfolding,
