Kindness Makes Headlines In Beauty and Lifestyle.
In honor of Mother’s Day, Beauty and Lifestyle magazine, Allure, asked celebs to reveal their mother’s best beauty tips. Some celebs like actress/dancer Jenna Dewan Tatum, stuck to physical beauty saying her mother told her “you can never have enough blush on, and always leave the house with something on your lips, whether it is lip balm or lip gloss." However, others like trainer Jillian Michaels offered inner beauty tips stating, "one of the best pieces of advice from my mom was to not be afraid to admit when you are wrong. Instead of hiding behind a mistake, she taught me to make it a sign of strength, and to truly grow and progress from it. I’ve used this advice throughout my life and my work with others. Now I’m paying it forward in teaching it to my kids."
In paying homage to mothers, Allure puts an emphasis on how much a guardian’s influence shapes our lives. Through their guidance and lifestyles, we grasp our individuality by deciding what we want to hold on to and disregard. But most importantly, they gift us with our first taste of self-love. With our parents or guardians, we feel the most protected and secure in ourselves because their validation has taught us we’re worthy of it.
On the other hand, we need to be reminded that kindness isn’t always the standard. Death and life truly are in power of the tongue and generational insecurities are real.
In 2013, Dove released a commercial in their Real Beauty Sketches campaign entitled “You’re More Beautiful than You Think”. This commercial explored the gap between how others perceive us and how we perceive ourselves. Each woman was the subject of two portraits drawn by FBI-trained forensic artist Gil Zamora: one based on her own description, and the other using a stranger’s observations.
While doing her first sketch, research participant Florence mentioned her mom said she “had a big jaw”, and continues to give a critical impression of herself. When she is shown her sketch compared to how her partner views her, she is amazed by a more open and lively face, and is filled with gratitude stating: “I should be more grateful of my natural beauty, it impacts the choices in the friends that we make, the jobs we apply for, how we treat our children…it impacts everything.”
This week, I challenge you to erase all insecurities you may have or that may have been brought on by others. If there is something you desire to change about yourself, do it but only because it will make you happy, not because it bothers someone else. If you have children, embrace your responsibility to pour endless encouragement into them. They need you to show them how to reach their potential. Your parents created an irreplaceable being and you owe it to the world to show us what we’ve been missing.
Live loved.
- Mel
KAE Contributor
