Who's the Fairest of Them All?

My last post was all about being able to be tan and beautiful the safe way. There is no question that our society prefers the bronze goddess look above pale skin. But where does that leave all the fair skin girls? What about all the lovely ladies who burn pretty much the second they step outside or can't seem to find a self-tanner that looks natural?
 Well I say embrace your fairness! There is something so beautiful and ethereal about women with pale skin. Don't worry about trying to achieve the tanned look. You've got a unique glow thats all your own! Plus, fair girls tend to have more freckles and I looove freckles :)
 Look at celebrities like Nicole Kidman or Julianne Moore. In my opinion they wouldn't be near as beautiful if a makeup artist packed on the bronzer and tried to make them into something they're not.

Love whatever skin color God decided to give you. You're gorgeous!

Beautifully Bronzed (the safe way!)

Coco Chanel. That's who we can blame/thank for making tan skin be seen as beautiful and in style. In the 1920's this iconic fashion designer accidentally got some sun while vacationing with friends on a yacht. When she came back to Paris the public took notice of her darkened skin and, well..the rest is history. Up until then tan skin was perceived a working class trademark since it was associated with outdoor work. Coco changed all that and suddenly the bronzed look became fashionable, luxurious and healthy.
 Unfortunately being a sun worshipper is anything but healthy. With the risks of deadly skin cancers, premature wrinkles and leathery skin its a wonder that we all don't just stay indoors all the time. But we do quite the opposite. We slather ourselves in tanning oil, buy memberships to tanning salons (more on that later) and spend hours baking ourselves to a crisp on the beach or by the pool. We nonchalantly shrug our shoulders whenever we hear/read about the dangers of too much sun exposure. I've even heard some tan-aholics say that they don't care if they die because at least they will die tan and beautiful. How sad. Nothing is worth the risk of your life and health no matter how beautiful it makes you look.
 So what about tanning beds? They aren't as bad because they mainly use UVA instead of UVB rays right?? WRONG! Both UVA and UVB rays have been linked to causing skin cancer. Also UVA rays will prematurely age you like you wouldn't beleive! "Well I only tan for a few minutes at a time." Did you know that 30 minutes in a tanning bed is equal to 7 hours in the sun?! And did you further know that women under 30 who tan regularly are 75% more likely to get melanoma? That's the deadliest type of skin cancer and it can spread to other parts of your body and be very difficult to treat.

 Even now that you know the risks I realize that you aren't going to stay inside or carry umbrellas everywhere you go to protect yourself. You still want dark, golden, glowy skin. Yeah, I do too. That's why I self-tan. There are so many self-tanners out these days that can give you all the beauty with none of the health risks. Yes, there are some low quality tanners that will go on streaky or turn you into an Oompa Loompa. But there are several out there too that will give you a natural, dark color. My personal fave is Banana Boat Summer Color self-tanning lotion.

It goes on dark so you can see exactly where you are applying it, the color develops within just a few hours, it naturally fades away without leaving you patchy and its only about $7 at the drugstore.

 The main thing I want you to remember is that besides self-tanning, no tan is a safe one. And with all the cosmetics nowadays that have SPF in them, you have no excuse not to remember to put your sunscreen on every single day. When you go to the beach or pool please take just a few extra seconds to spray on or rub in your sunblock. Your future older (and healthy, unwrinkled;) self will thank you for that extra effort!

"Crowning Glory" or Crown of Frizzy?

"Long, beautiful, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen... I adore hair!"  ~James Rado and Gerome Ragni, Hair

Ah hair. We as women really do tend to have a rather complicated love/hate (or maybe just hate/hate) relationship with our locks. I've read that, besides weight, if women could change just one feature about themselves that most of them would choose their hair.
 I'm biracial so I was born with extremely curly and frizzy hair. From a very early age I remember my mom trying her best to rake a brush through my curls while I tearfully sat through the pain. After I was old enough to take care of it myself all I remember is woefully pulling it all back into a bun day after day because it was too wild for any other style. I desperately wanted long, shiny, straight hair that blew romantically in the wind. So when I was 15 i started chemically straightening my hair. While it wasn't the miracle i was looking for (i still had to use a flat iron to get the hair really smooth) it was a lot better than nothing and I still relax my hair to this day.
 Most women/girls I know care a lot about their hair. We wake up a few minutes earlier so we can fix it just right, we go into a panic attack if our stylists announce they are moving away, we wade through all the shampoos, conditioners and sprays trying to find the miracle product that will give us our dream hair. Men on the other hand do not seem to understand this. They can get away with being able to walk into any barbershop where a complete stranger will snip away for about 10-15 minutes and somehow they almost always come out looking just fine. Men say, "Don't worry about it. Its just hair." Yeah...right. *eye roll*

                            How many of you have done this at some point in your life?






    After a lifetime of watching Pantene commercials I think we would all much rather be this girl:

I had trouble figuring out what direction I wanted this post to take. My friend Emily suggested I talk about being content with what God gives you. To be honest, my first thought was how do I write about something that I'm not? I'm not happy with the hair God gave me. After all I have spent a fortune over the years trying to change it. I don't know when (if ever) I will be truly satisfied with the way my hair is. But I do know that I can work on being more thankful. I've also been watching a lot of YouTube tutorials of different hairstyles. I've tried out a few of them with pretty good success.

So God, I'm not sure why you didn't give me the long flowy hair of my dreams but, hey, thanks for giving me hair in the first place ;)

Sleepy Worship

Let me start by saying that I absolutely love my church. I have learned so much and grown in my faith by leaps and bounds since my family became members over 5 years ago. Like every church, its not perfect but I'm deeply committed in a way I've never been in the past.
 One of the "non-perfect" things is that during praise and worship the congregation always seems...well, asleep. In no way do I want to judge people and how they worship God but when you look out and see hardly anyone singing along with the choir than you wonder what people must be thinking. It's been like this for as long as I have been attending so while it does frustrate me, I've also just gotten used to it. I just try to concentrate on my own attitude and make sure that my heart is in the right place for worship.
 Our pastor is aware of this problem and apparently decided to add 3 more songs to what we usually sing in the morning. Now I have no problem with this idea and I love having a longer praise and worship time on Sunday. I was raised in a contemporary church back in Hawaii so singing 6 or more songs does not seem odd or long in the slightest. It actually wasn't until we moved to the South that it became apparent to me that many churches really just want to sing their 2-3 songs and be done with it. How sad! Why would we not want to spend as much time as we could praising our Creator?? Our choir leader once said, "How can we put on a time limit on the One who we are going to spend eternity with?"
 I don't really know how people feel about singing these extra songs on Sunday. I guess only time will tell. What I do know is that I want The Church to wake up! Wake up and realize that if we really believe that God is here with us then He deserves our time and undivided attention.

My Beauty/Makeup Philosophy

"True Beauty comes from within. Its not something that you put on in the morning and take off before bed. It radiates from your body when you walk with grace and confidence. It shines in your eyes when you express your individuality. It glows from your heart whenever you wear a smile on your face. Glow baby glow!" ~ Me :)

 In a nutshell, that's basically my entire outlook on beauty in general. We've all heard before that its what on the inside that matters. But just because we have heard this saying almost ad nauseam does not make it any less true. Some of the most beautiful people I know don't wear a stitch of makeup or follow all the latest fashion trends. I have known some people that would not be considered pretty in the commercial sense but they just radiate this light from within and you can't help but be drawn to them. Outward appearances will fade with time but your inner beauty will last forever. As much as I LOVE makeup I do not want to be remembered simply as the girl who does cool eyeshadow. I want to be remembered as a woman who loves the Lord, who can be depended on and someone who shows kindness to everyone.

 Ok, now for outward beauty. I really enjoy taking care of my appearances. I wash my face religiously and invest my money in quality skin care products. I do something different with my makeup almost everyday because I love to experiment.
 However you do not have to own 20 lip glosses or $50 face creams just to make yourself look good. I own a lot of excellent products that just come from good ol' Walmart! Sometimes women get scared of the word makeup. They immediately conjure up images of pancake foundation and Bozo the Clown red cheeks. They shy away from cosmetics because they feel like it would make them into a different person.
 Makeup should NEVER be a mask (unless of course the occasion calls for it such as Halloween). After applying makeup you should always look like you but enhanced and polished. And there's no need to spend an hour trying to put your face on. A great 5 minute face really just consists of concealer, blush, mascara and lip balm. The best thing about beauty products is that they wash off. Its not a tattoo so you don't have to be afraid of trying something out of the ordinary.
 I think the biggest thing to remember is that outward beauty is merely an opinion. There is no "standard of beauty" because everyone likes something different. I know that seems hard to believe when every magazine seems to show the same type of girl on its cover. You know her...she's got the tanned skin, long flowy hair, skinny but with curves magically in all the right places. Most people (including me) think Kim Kardashian is one of the most beautiful people alive. While I don't care for her much as a person I would love to have her gorgeous complexion and luxurious hair. I was shocked when my brother and some guy friends told me that they thought she was hideous! You see? Its all a matter of opinion.
 I love making myself look good and showing other how to do the same. But in the end, God doesn't care about how long your eyelashes are or how flawless you can get your skin to look. He created you. He sees your heart and knows how beautiful you truly are.

Read me!! Pretty please? ;)

"Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it." -Confucius

I've never considered myself to be the blogger type. I sit down for several minutes staring at a blank screen waiting for some spark of inspiration while never actually writing anything. I did try starting a blog about a year ago but I was too shy to let anyone read it which totally defeats the purpose. Then I got irritated that the only person reading it was me, blah blah, 5 posts later I gave up.
 But I believe I'm ready to commit to this new venture. I've been inspired by reading some friend's blogs and I think I may have caught the writing bug! Let's hope a side effect is coming up with oh-so-clever and profound posts. Or at least thoughtful and entertaining ones. Sooo a little bit about me:
 I'm about to turn 23. I live at home which has its ups and downs but is pretty good all around. I'm completely committed to being an authentic Christian and really living my life for Jesus. My family moved from Hawaii to a small southern town about 11 years ago. Still dealing with culture shocks at times lol. My passion is makeup/skincare. I love all things beauty related and finding out how many different types of beauty there are in this world.
 This blog will most likely wind up being a mishmash of topics. I want to write about everything from growing in my faith to how to apply bronzer to dealing with racism. Most of all I want to remind people that you can find so much joy in life when you take the time to see the beauty in simple things. Cliche? Yeah, probably. Still true? Definitely!