Ever fancied a beauty pageant that no longer judges a woman by her looks? Can such an event exist? Ex-beauty paegants, Katharine Watson and Jodie Eardley from Abergele, Wales, have turned dreams into reality. They are ploughing the path to creating a beauty paegant with substance. Having had experience in the cut throat world of beauty queens, they are providing a platform for girls to bolster their confidence - without the bikini contest! The aptly named Miss Essence of Kindness, is on the hunt for women who have a cocktail of self-confidence, inner beauty and ultimately, kindness. Much more than swishy, glamorous ball gowns, these girls will demonstrate through interviews and their efforts in raising money for charity, as to what makes them unique.
The aim of the paegant is for every girl, no matter her size, shape, colour or race will have the opportunity to compete. Moreover, the woman who emanates kindness, and inner beauty will win the crown! Hurrah!
Photograph: digitalart from www.freedigitalphotos.net
Last night I was introduced to a beautiful, fun-loving blonde friend. Now, whilst she sucked on a dainty cigarette, she said something interesting: "I spend so much money on my face and my body to maintain it!". (I felt it too rude to ask if she opted Botox or plastic surgery, but didn't see the tell tale signs). Here, I was chatting away with a bubbly blonde, who non-nonchalantly complained about several things: including her wrinkles and how her roots were showing; when ironically, we were two streets down from Harley Street, the most famous medical street in the world, where hundreds of ill patients seek expert treatment for cancer. Any type of cancer can leave even the most beautiful woman feel unfeminine and questioning whether she is beautiful.
The point I'm trying to make is: those who have beauty often get sidetracked by insecurities, leading them to hundreds of ways and means to maintain it. As the saying goes: "You don't what you've got until its gone". It got me thinking about women battling with cancer who look for ways to soften the blows of cancer: they search for ways to maintain their femininity, their physical beauty and their mindset, whilst they watch how cancer takes its toll on their physical appearances. I began searching for videos on cancer and inner beauty (which I've posted below) to see how cosmetics is used as a tool to bring out a woman's femininity. I felt these woman began to appreciate and understand simple ways and techniques to harness the healing process. Some opted for health eating, others sought out glossy, real human hair wigs and others tuned into yoga. All in all, when I researched this topic, I could see female cancer patients, even if their exterior appearance was crumbling, they picked up the pieces and cemented a whole new beautiful person!
I hope these videos shed light on inner beauty and what it means to feel beautiful :0) Enjoy
Online dating: is a hot bed of harsh, or often judgemental comments on people's profile, who may not always be on the supermodel list, but have qualities, characteristics or a je ne sais quois sex appeal that isn't always picked up from virtual reality.
One man, however, is determined for people, especially men, to see beyond pretty faces. Ex-D.J Jonathan Marga Luhur, launched Updaterus.com for Indonesians, after having first-hand experience of always having been surrounded by gorgeous faces in the entertainment field. He understood how man can be intoxicated by a woman's exterior appearance and sadly side line her character; when in fact, she could be the ideal women for him. Ultimately, he believes, it's a woman's attitude, characteristics, goals and hobbies, which shows her true beauty and this is what men should acknowledge.
I would love to hear your comments, opinions and thoughts if you've tried online dating and feel like you're being judged on your looks. After all, what has attracted you to that person? Looks? Personality? Or both? I look forward to reading your comments :0)
Make-up techniques and how-to's can rule YouTube and search engines. After all, once you lose your cosmetic virginity you know you're a woman; a woman who wants to know how to paint herself beautiful. So I ask you: Do you remember the first day you applied make-up? Or watched your mother or sister doll themselves with real cosmetics, whilst you toyed around with fake lipsticks, compact mirrors and blushers? Each girl has her 5 minute or 1 hour pat, puff, conceal and highlight cosmetic routine that begins at an early age and continues right until the walking sticks appear. But what if one day, you zipped up the cosmetic bag, declaring "enough is enough!" - you will show the world what you truly look like first thing in the morning, without your "artificially painted face".
Well, two brave women unabashedly withdrew from their daily cosmetic routines and their challenge was: no make-up for inner beauty.
Molly Barker and Caitlin Boyle both run organisations to help teenage girls develop their self-esteem. Barker, who trains girls to be triathletes, felt she needed to abandon eye palettes and lip glosses to endorse the true meaning of inner beauty. She then joined forces with Boyle (who runs OperationBeauty.com) and both set aside their clockwork beauty routine. They proudly named their experiment The Naked Face Project, were they gave up nail polish, anti-wrinkle creams, hair accessories and deodorant for 60 days, to show that sometimes women depend heavily on cosmetics. However, the beautiful point they made was how each of them felt more comfortable in their own skin; they felt lighter, more youthful and were at peace in "their own skin".
Neither of them are beauty bashers, but through this journey, they've come to understand what truly empowers them. And that's what true and inner beauty is all about: knowing that external items or lashes are mere camouflages to the empowered woman that lies beneath.....
To find out more or to take part in The Naked Face Project click here http://www.thenakedfaceproject.com/
Below is a video posted by www.OperationBeauty.com with an inspiring message of beauty - Please take a few minutes to watch it:
As children we see beauty everywhere, and in everything. As adults, we tend to let out judgemental eyes scour over which face and body is attractive. I came across this video that questions how and if we actually can see inner beauty. What I loved about this video is how the girl saw people's beauty despite their physicality. She does her best in suspending judgement and begins analysing and understanding what makes each individual person beautiful. It really makes you think..... watch it with an open mind and heart.
Be Your Own You magazine, a publication dedicated to encouraging girls self-esteem and inner beauty awareness, featured a fantastic interview that caught me eye: Teenage author Meg Haston's first book, How to Rock Braces and Glasses challenges the unrealistic standards of beauty set up by society and hones into the fragile and back stabbing world of teenage girls.
Haston's protagonist, Kacey Simon, falls from grace when she is saddled with braces and glasses and begins developing her musical talents. No longer perceived as the ideal popular teenage girl, Kacey's friendships begin to dwindle. Despite the blows she faces at school, Kacey builds her inner strength, showing her peermate she will continue on the path she chooses, even if she doesn't fit into the mould of the archetypal pretty girl.
What started out as a mere story, has now been soared into the realms of television with a series on Nickelodeon. With teenage bullying becoming an increasing social problem, I feel the How to Rock Braces and Glasses series is a powerful message to teenage girls to stop feeling insecure and have faith in who they want to become.
What makes a woman beautiful? bareMinerals new campaign is championing inner beauty and has "set out to find beauty". The thirst to challenge the world of beauty and start a trend of healthy beauty beliefs is the crux of InnerBellissima. So here's the story behind bareMinerals successful slogan of "Be A Force of Beauty"
271 women were invited (all models were blind casted) to answer right questions about their attitude to life and their impact on the world around them. The team narrowed down their respondents to 78 phone interviews (again this is without seeing their faces). 26 women were called back, which finally led to "five forces of beauty" been chosen.
More than just embodiments of physical beauty, the judges chose these women according to their ethos of: "beauty is what you do with it". Each of the women chosen (who are gorgeous!) has steered their live towards their dreams, despite nagging naysayers and challenging circumstances. Ultimately, this is what makes a women their true beauty she is - a powerful and determined force who isn't ready to take no for answer. What I loved about the message was that a women needn't be afraid to shine because ultimately, their inner beauty is what changes their world for the better.
