Makeup or no makeup?

* Illustration by: Andrea Pippins *

Alicia Keys has recently written a poignant essay on Lenny.com . Below are my favourite quotes:

" Been working on listening to myself and stop fulfilling other people's idea of 'perfect'.~ Alicia Keys

" Every time I left the house, I would be worried if I didn't put on makeup: What if someone wanted a picture?? What if they POSTED it??? These were the insecure, superficial, but honest thoughts I was thinking. And all of it, one way or another, was based too much on what other people thought of me."~Alicia Keys

" I found my way to meditation, and I started focusing on clarity and a deeper knowing of myself. I focused on cultivating strength and conviction and put a practice in place to learn more about the real me."~Alicia Keys

"Cause I don't want to cover up anymore. Not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my thoughts, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing."

~Alicia Keys

Many women inspired by this message have taken to their instagram accounts, posting photo's of themselves without makeup, using the #nomakeup hashtag.

This sounds like a beautiful statement of a return to Self Love for Alicia Keys and I salute you. So "make up or no makeup?", I don't think that there has too be a yes or no answer to this question. Make up is a creative tool, that I and many women love to experiment with. But what is important is developing the ability to not let it define or control you, or your standard of beauty. To learn to truly love and accept yourself underneath it all, to be comfortable in your natural makeup free skin.

#makep #skin #natural #selflove #selfconfidence #selfacceptance