Tag: beauty
Embrace Your Freckle-Face
The first time I was jealous of someone’s tan I was probably about twelve. I was lying on the beach of a small island near Martha’s Vineyard with my two best friends, and like every summer, I had a sunburn. I’d slathered SPF 50 all over my body to my mother’s request, and I still had a sunburn. My friends, olive-skinned and gorgeous, with dark brown hair perfectly streaked with natural highlights, were tanned to perfection while I was “lobster-girl,” as my dad lovingly referred to me.
I was jealous beyond words. As twelve-year-olds often do, my friends and I came up with a great (i.e. idiotic) plan: we would cut athletic tape into shapes to put on our bodies so they would remain pale while the rest of our skin got tan. I traced a star, a spiral, and a flower onto the tape and willingly trimmed them down before we stuck them to our hips. We walked to the beach, spread our bodies out over our towels, and waited. My friends loved tanning and laying in the sun; after about five minutes, my skin was hot, my hair was burning, and the sunlight was seeping through my translucent eyelids and killing my corneas. I peeked at my friends; they were still peacefully soaking up the sun. Frustrated, I sat up and gave up on my goal to ever be tan in life.
Friends, teachers, coaches, acquaintances, and even strangers have told me I’m pale. All people, from all walks of life, have decided it’s necessary to point out how light my skin is. Fun fact, pale people never forget how pale we are – you don’t have to point it out to us like it’s a new development we haven’t noticed. I always laughed when people made jokes like, “oh I thought you were wearing white tights, but those are just your legs,” or, “I bet if any of the cream cheese from your bagel fell onto your skin you wouldn’t even notice,” but they really weren’t funny. Because here’s the thing: making fun of people for any part of their natural appearance is body shaming. It’s not inherently mean, but what you’re saying when you tell someone they’re “too pale” is that they don’t fit into society’s mainstream (and often fake) world of beauty.
But pale is beautiful. Recently, more than any other time in my life, people have told me they love my freckles. And know why I have freckles? Because I’m pale. A few weeks ago I watched a ridiculous YouTube tutorial about how to put on fake freckles and I was shocked – freckles aren’t just a cute kid thing anymore, apparently they’re the newest desirable beauty trend.
That being said, whether they’re “in” or “out,” here’s why you should always love freckles: they’re a sign of youth – a lot of people’s freckles fade as they get older, which is why so many more kids than adults have freckles; they can be a great indicator of when you’ve been slacking on the sunscreen – as cute as freckles are, they develop because of sun exposure, so freckles can remind you to layer on that sunscreen; no two freckles are the same – they make you unique; freckles can hide unruly blackheads and pimples – the different shades of freckles across your skin can conceal redness and irritation without actual concealer (meaning you can let your skin breathe); freckles are beautiful.
If you need more convincing, just look at this spread Vogue did on freckles or check out this article.
Sometimes I Wear Tiaras, Even During My Own Graduation (What Tiaras Mean to Me)
As you can see from the photo, my graduation cap bore my signature tiara, complete with sparkles and the color pink. Maintaining this blog for the past two years has dramatically changed my outlook on life – probably more than any college class, this blog taught me what I wanted to do with my life. That is why, for my final moments of my undergraduate career, I decided I couldn’t be complete without a tiara.
It wasn’t about the tiara itself, in fact, for those of you who don’t know, “princess” is not how I would ever describe myself. I like pink and sparkles and glitter and all things girly, but I still don’t think of myself as a princess. I was never a princess-obsessed little girl, and I am not a princess-obsessed grown woman. Tiaras, to me, mean confidence. They mean self-assurance and strength. Tiaras are a blatant symbol of womanhood, and womanhood is a beautiful thing. Tiaras mean beauty, elegance, and smiling even when you’re upset. Tiaras mean being strong when all eyes are on you and being strong when you’re alone. Tiaras are about mothers, daughters, sisters, and feminists.
For everyone who thinks “Sometimes I Wear Tiaras” is just a silly blog title, you’re wrong – for me, it’s so much more. This post was originally going to be about me wearing a tiara on graduation, but it’s turned into more than that; just as my blog has turned into more than a place for me to put rantings and personal stories. “Sometimes I Wear Tiaras” has opened so many doors for me and shown me where I might want to go in life. And tiaras aren’t just accessories, they are a way of life.
Why Jenna Marbles Should Be Your Beauty Icon
If you don’t know who JennaMarbles is (have you been living under a rock since 9th grade?), then you should immediately look her up. She’s a popular YouTube vlogger who posts videos about a variety of topics, like how to do your makeup drunk, what girls and guys think about during sex, and the infamous “face” video; her videos are hilarious and she’s totally the voice of our generation (okay, maybe not our generation, but definitely the voice of broke twenty-somethings who are trying to get their lives together but still like getting drunk on wine). But beyond being an internet sensation, Jenna Mourey is freaking gorgeous. She usually rocks perfect makeup (and pretty heavy amounts of it), but once in a while she goes au natural and seems totally comfortable like that too. Most importantly, Jenna isn’t afraid to try new makeup and beauty trends (gray hair? She wore that months before it became big). Her videos may be iconic, but her beauty is pretty iconic too; check out the pictures below if you need to love with JennaMarbles even more than you already do.
Most of the time, her makeup looks something like this (heavy mascara, natural-looking blush and lip color):
But she’s also totally comfortable going without makeup (and with silly faces):
She absolutely kills it with funky hair colors:
She called this one her “silver fox” look
She makes crazy lipstick colors look reasonable (I may be running to the store to buy bright blue lipstick as soon as I finish work today):
And she hits the nail on the head with the most important beauty mantra of all:
(images via tumblr.com and Instagram)
Flash Tattoos
Why “You’re Secret Hot” Is An Insult, Not A Compliment
Last week, a man told me I was “secret hot.” What does that mean, you ask? Well, it means that I look pretty average until I put on makeup and a fancy outfit. Then I look hot. He explained that I look normal when I’m at work (in my dining hall clothes), but then I put pictures on Facebook of me with more makeup and tight dresses, and then I look hot. I think he was expecting me to say thank you, but mostly I was offended.
Here’s the deal: I don’t need random friends of mine to validate my looks. I’m perfectly fine with my boyfriend being the only guy to tell me I’m hot. Apparently when I wear jeans, converse, and a t-shirt, I look pretty plain. SHOCKER. When I’m working at the dining hall, I’m not trying to look good, I’m trying to do my job.
I truly think the guy who told me this was trying to compliment me – but honestly, I’d much rather be complimented on my ideas, my work, or my writing than on my appearance. Sure, it feels nice for people to tell you that you look good once in a while. But just because I’m a woman doesn’t mean I need to be reassured about my appearance on the daily. And telling me that I’m “secret hot” is a very backhanded compliment. But you know what? My boyfriend fell in love with me wearing a nasty purple baseball cap, black nonslip shoe covers, and a gross green apron. So I’m not “secret hot.” I’m just hot.
How to Rock the Strong Brow
Why ‘You Are Beautiful’ Is More Than Just A Compliment
Check out my article republished on Unwritten!
Under $25, 5 Minute Beauty Routine
“You Are Beautiful”
As some of you may know, I was 19 before anyone outside my family and close friends told me I was beautiful. People had told me I was pretty or that I looked hot, but nobody had ever called me beautiful. The word gained so much power for me because it was so underused in my life. All I wanted for a long time was for a guy to tell me I was beautiful.
But this isn’t about my lack of love life or the concept of beauty, it’s about three simple words: You are beautiful. Those three words take less than a second to say, but people don’t say them. And for anyone out there suffering from insecurity (aka all of us), those words can mean the world.*
Today, tell someone they’re beautiful. Think about all the people in your life who you consider beautiful human beings, and ask yourself how many times you have actually told them they’re beautiful. My guess is that number is pretty low. It is for me. And think about how you would feel if someone unexpected told you that you’re beautiful. So now tell them. You can explain it, you can confess your love, or you can just say the three words: You are beautiful. It’s that simple. I dare you. You have no idea how much they’ll appreciate it.
And you, reading this right now, you are part of the reason I have more confidence in myself, and that makes you absolutely beautiful.
* For the record, when I talk about beauty and the word “beautiful,” I am not solely talking about physical attractiveness. To me, “hot” and “pretty” describe someone’s physical appearance; “intelligent,” “kind,” and “interesting” describe someone’s internal being; the word “beautiful” encompasses both internal and external amazingness. Beautiful is a powerful word that is one-of-a-kind. I hope that by understanding my definition of beauty, you can understand the kind of impact it can have on people.
Style Icon: Stacy London
Style Icon: Kate Middleton
Style Icon: Rachel McAdams
Style Icon: Anna Wintour
Style Icon: Mariska Hargitay
Style Icon: Meryl Streep
Style Icon: Emma Watson
Sometimes I Wear Tiaras 