Let Your Face Be Seen in 2014!

As I've been gearing up for No MakeUp May 2014, I've noticed a meme going around Facebook of women posting themselves makeup free, #nofilters.

In light of a similar challenge calling friends to shotgun a bottle of whiskey and any other ridiculous liquid you can think of, it excites me to see this trend taking off, especially now as May is around the corner.

I started No MakeUp May 2 years ago as a way to explore my own relationship to makeup, to see what came up when I put the makeup down (you can read more about it here).  And never to one to do something small or alone, I challenged other women to join me as well.  One was a teacher and shared the amazing story of how when she challenged her own classroom of boys and girls to go with no makeup, it sparked an incredible conversation on how boys see the girls in their class.  It was especially transformative for one young girl who dared to go bare for just a day.

So as May 1st doth approach I invite you to show your courage and go nude - whether a day, a week, a month or for the minute it takes to take a photo.  Either way, answer the survey and follow this blog and together let's support one another as we bare our bare face to the world!

I also invite you to join the "Nude Gallery" by sending me a photo of your radiant face to nomakeupmay@gmail.com!

And here's my own first "naked" photo of 2014:

Mission Accomplished!

31 days makeup free

31 days of having to see

  31 days of finding my power

Then wanting to hide in a faraway tower

But as the days passed by I began to discover

 That underneath it all was my long lost lover

Eyes of clear blue that saw deep in my heart

And spoke words of commitment to the most broken parts

She spoke of my courage, my wisdom, my strength

And to grant me my freedom she would go to great lengths

For this self imposed prison, I've been granted the key

Stepped through gates of love and at last embraced me!

I began this blog journey with a quote from a FAR greater poet - 

"Love is not love which alters when alteration it finds" ~ William Shakespeare

True beauty is seen through the eyes of love and what I've learned throughout this month is that to love myself is to see myself as I am, blemishes and all, and know that I am beautiful.  Advertisers would have us think differently.  "Go ahead love yourself, but wouldn't be easier if you had less wrinkles?  Or dewy skin?"

Now, is that to say that women who wear makeup don't love themselves?  OF COURSE NOT!  

But for some and certainly for me it was so.  

I think of another quote that I have also become more deeply connected with this month.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, GORGEOUS, talented fabulous?  Actually, who are you NOT to be!" ~ Marianne Williamson

See, for me, putting on makeup or finding the right fitting clothes, or shoes, or accessories, or whatever, was all about me saying, 'I have no right to be gorgeous, or even somewhat attractive, as I am'.  Who am I to walk into a room and have people notice?  So I apologize and fix myself in order to fit in, to meet the correct standards so that I can exist in the world.  Meanwhile, inside me there is wisdom and insight, humor and music, intelligence and truth.  But none of that mattered because the package never seemed suitable.  

Now I'd love to report that I have been completely transformed.  That after 31 days of seeing myself I have had a life changing epiphany and will never wear makeup or feel small again but alas, it is not so.  If there's one thing I've learned this month is that, this is a complex and deeply rooted issue.

But I'm certainly not where I was 31 days ago.  Indeed, 32 days ago I knew the only way I could do it was the fact that I had announced to so many people that I was going to do this in an effort to change the world.  I had to put my money where my mouth was and I am so glad that I did.  I realised that it IS possible.  And that there is so much to be learned in doing it.  

I wanted to spark conversations, get people thinking and that has happened.  And mostly I wanted to know that I could truly see myself and not apologize.  I also wanted us to find out what emerges when we start swimming up the stream of perfection.  What would we bump up against when casting aside our makeup or whatever we use to cover our perceived imperfections. 

One strange thing that I did notice, that I can't quite put my finger on, is that I found it easier to truly embrace my reflection without makeup.  Maybe, because I was no longer hiding behind the made up veneer, I was forced to see myself as I truly am and, I have to say, I was kinda happy with what I saw; what I see.  

I am a complex organism made up of many many cells all with their unique function to make me a walking, talking, thinking, feeling, human being.  I am complete with thoughts, spirit, emotion and energy.  My purpose in this world is to awaken the truth in others.  To inspire people to choose life (not necessarily in that anti-abortion way but rather in the, make choices that will move your life forward in the direction you desire way) and choose love (as in love for yourself and love for others cause if you truly loved then you would truly want the best for yourself and for others) in every moment (as in THIS moment because THIS moment is the only moment we have, it is the only thing that is NOW, that is real and that is tangible.  It is in THIS moment that everything can change.  Not the past moment and not the future moment, NOW).  

And none of this has anything to do with what I look like.  It will not change if I'm wearing lipstick or not.  Okay sure, the world will embrace me differently but I choose to believe that I have the power to change that.  One month at a time!

So thank you everyone for your support - whether from the sidelines, or by letting your true radiance show or even by financially supporting the cause that I am also hoping to support - Juno House.  

This has been a great beginning and it is only the beginning.  Stay with me and together we will change the world for the better, for ourselves, for those who went before us and those that will follow in our path.  Let's continue to be the change in a world that so desperately needs truth, love and acceptance.   

The Knockoff Syndrome

We are paying to put on beauty, meanwhile our true beauty remains diminished.  The reason why we consider things like clear skin, shiny hair and a slender body as beautiful is because, at the most fundamental level of our innate instincts is the need to procreate with a healthy mate that will carry our DNA to the next generation.  It boils down to survival of the fittest.  

What has happened, however, in the past century is that we have learned to fake health.  The quality of our food continues to diminish and disappear and our level of activity has become a recreational option.   We treat our bodies with little respect or thought for what it actually needs to function at its optimal level yet we are still able to look completely "healthy".  It's like finding a perfect knockoff for a Coach bag - you appear to own the luxury without actually paying for it. 

And the beauty industry has tapped into it.  You wanna eat what you want, drink what you want, live as hard as you want and still look great?  Then buy our product!  A friend pointed out the clever wording that advertisers use - "Healthy Looking".  Be it skin, hair, body, name it.  But is healthy looks as healthy does?  What are we really buying when we shell out $80 for that skin cream that promises a glowing even complexion?  I submit to the court that we are buying a lie.  And even worse, most of these products are so riddled with toxins that we're harming our bodies even more by using them.   You know what gives glowing clear skin?  Hint, it didn't come from a lab but you could grow it if you wanted to. 

But who wants to eat fresh vegetables and fruits and lean meats and beans and grains, it's all so hard and confusing.  Just give me a pill and hand me my diet Coke, I got no time to figure that stuff out.  

We live in a society where we have traded in our health for the quick fix.  We've so disconnected from our bodies that we leave it to doctors, magazine articles and makeup products to carry us through life so that we don't actually have to take responsibility for the consequences of our actions.  That is until our doctor tells us we've developed cancer, or diabetes or we see our pale drawn complexion in the morning before we can paint on the facade.  

 Do we want to just look healthy or do we actually want to be healthy?  Our skin is the last thing to get nutrition.  So what is your skin telling you?  As you see yourself makeup free, start to connect with your body, with what it's telling you it needs.  Begin to see your body, not as a flawed reject from the manufacturer but as the miracle that is you.  Everything that goes on in your body in every second is a miracle.  As I sit here and type I think of all that is going on between my brain, my fingers, my cognitive and sub-concious thought.  Our bodies are a thing to be admired and celebrated, not picked apart and "fixed".  

I challenge you now to close your eyes and place your hand upon your heart.  Feel it beat as it pumps life giving blood to every inch of your body.  Feel your breath go in and out without thought.  Become aware in this moment of how many thoughts your brain can sort through in a second all while making sure everything is working as it should.  Take this moment and honour your body and with that thought look at yourself in the mirror and acknowledge the miracle you are.  

You are no knockoff - You are a miracle!

  

Own the Skin You're In

Stars Without Photoshopping

What drives me crazy is the fact that people are getting paid good money to write articles and hunt down photos to show how shocking our favourite female celebrities look without makeup!

I actually like this one because it's points out how ridiculous media has gotten with the way it treats photo images that don't live up to some standard created by who the hell knows!

What ticks me off, though, is how much time and energy is given to making any note at all that Kim Kardashian has cellulite (funny, though she claims to own it unapologetically, all her semi-nude photos seem to be her head stuck on top of a body moulded from smooth plastic) , Katie Holmes leaving the gym (gasp!), Megan Fox's photos to prove that she hasn't had botox.  They even consulted experts to analyze her photo to either prove or disprove it!!!  Are you kidding?!?!  She tweets in an attempt to say I haven't had work done and because we refuse to believe that a woman cannot be beautiful without it we spend hours trying to debunk it.  Now I don't know if she did or didn't but at the end of the day WHY ARE WE EVEN TALKING ABOUT IT?!?!?!?!

Maybe instead of being sad that their photo was altered against their wishes why aren't these women who claim to stand up for natural beauty but a clause in their contract that disallows any retouching.  Then those stars couldn't be photographed, you might say.  Well then good!  Maybe if they ALL agreed then the magazines would have to wake up!!!

It's time to OWN THE SKIN YOU'RE IN!!!