A shared a video on Facebook live in my Thighs and Lows Facebook group earlier this week but the thing with speaking live is thoughts aren’t totally laid out. I wanted to revisit this subject and talk further about it because, frankly, it’s really important. Let me start at the beginning.

It started last week during Fourth of July weekend. I knew I’d be outside a lot and it hit 100 degrees here in Austin, so I decided not to wear makeup. It’d basically melt off if I tried. We were lucky to have a four day week but starting Tuesday, I was off to a late start. To make sure I got to work on time, I decided to scrap the full face and put on the bare essentials- mascara, powder and brow pencil. That day was a little difficult for me. When I don’t have all of my makeup on, I tend to skulk away and try to fade into the background. I just don’t feel confident. Well, Wednesday morning came along and guess what? I was running late again. Yeah, this happens a lot. So, I cut my makeup routine down to the essentials again and made a decision that morning. I was going to do this for 7 days straight. It was a personal challenge, something I needed to do for myself. So that’s exactly what I did. For 7 days, I wore the bare essentials and, I have to say, I got a lot of extra sleep in. I never fully got comfortable, and I never fully felt confident but this was a huge step for me to start loving myself.

You see, I tend to overcompensate for my weight. I always make sure I have the perfect hair, the perfect makeup and the perfect outfit on. The thought behind this is if I have everything else put together, I’ll be able to be seen as beautiful, to be completely accepted despite my weight. I’ve taken great strides to learn all the top makeup tips and trends. The problem is, I take this knowledge too far. I contour everyday and am usually spending an hour on just my makeup alone! Since it’s a daily routine, I never took the time to step back and realize how ridiculous it all is. Me spending an hour and a half on my beauty routine just to go to work is a little out of control. Had I not challenged myself this past week, I may have not ever come to this realization. In fact, it got me really thinking.

Right now, we currently live in a society where perfection is an idol. Most photos we see are Photoshopped. Heck, there are even apps you can download free on your phone to clean up photos before you post them to Instagram. While it’s all tempting, you can see how out of hand things have gotten. We’ve pushed aside the raw beauty of humanity for this completely unrealistic mask of perfection. We often only post the photos that show our best sides, crop away all the ugly and pop on a caption that tells people how great life is, when often we’re exaggerating the situation for the fruitless preservation of our self-image. When did we stop being genuine? We as a society have set the bar so unbelievably high that we can’t honestly meet it.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love makeup and I plan to continue enjoying it with all it’s primers, highlighters and full color options. In fact, I don’t think makeup is the problem.
The problem is so much deeper. So, I want to challenge you this week. What is something you’re using to overcompensate your worth in this world? Maybe you should take a step back for 7 days and self examine. It could really be eye opening. It certainly was for me. It may not change anything for you but at least you’ll get to know yourself a little more intimately. The most important thing I want to point out is for you to fall in love with your natural self. God made you just the way you are for a reason. He made you in his image of perfection. Take time this week to embrace that and appreciate your raw beauty.