Another Beauty Blog?

Hi everyone!

I am a 25-year-old living in the midwest (preparing to live in Europe for a year next year).  I am a recent college grad planning to eventually pursue a Master's, but I am also a huge beauty geek.  I have competed in pageants and done some modeling, and I am also building my own business through Amway Global, which includes the Artistry makeup/skincare line (one of the top five lines in the world, and the official sponsor of the Miss America pageant).  Between these three life experiences, I've managed to learn some important beauty information.  My friends are always asking me to share, so I thought I'd share it with everyone right here!

I am also an evangelical Christian, and I've seen two different extremes growing up in the church.  There were the women who believed it was worldly and sinful to wear a dress that wasn't from a garage sale or to own a hair straightener.  Then there were the women were always hosting the "ladies' luncheons" or "Girl's Nights"- but would only invite the women with the designer clothes and Mary Kay makeup.  It wasn't until recent years that I realized that beauty IS a huge part of who we are as women, but it ISN'T all that we are. 

Here's my stance on physical beauty: every, EVERY woman is created with natural beauty.  It's great to go au natureal sometimes- wash your face, get your hair out of your eyes, throw on something comfy, and voila! Some women like to go this way 24-7, and that's great.  Some other women, like myself, like to experiment with clothes and hair and makeup...but our goal should be to enhance our natural, God-given beauty and to accentuate our best features, not hide it under a false exterior.

We can hide our beauty in two ways- one way is by choosing not to take care of ourselves.  I'm not talking about sweatpants-and-ponytail days (hey, we all do that!).  I'm talking about foregoing basic hygiene habits, letting food control us, giving in to anxious habits like nail biting or skin picking, etc.  Like I said, we all have days when we just don't have time or energy to worry about our appearance- but overall, we should show respect to God's creation, including our own bodies.  But we can go to the other extreme and hide our beauty in another way- by allowing ourselves to become so consumed with vanity that we cover up God's handiwork in a shallow, fake beauty.  We can spend ridiculous amounts of time and money on cosmetics, clothes, and unecessary plastic surgery.  We can obsess over counting calories and go ballistic if someone interferes with our workout routine or beauty sleep.  Girls who don't look as good as we do are below us, and girls who look as good or better are our archenemies. 

Obviously, neither extreme can bring about true, lasting beauty.   The truth is, cliched as it may sound, that beauty really does come from within.  Precise makeup, flawless hair styles, and flattering clothes can only accentuate what is flowing from our innermost being. 

So, in this blog, I hope to share some of the beauty tips that I have obtained over the years, but I also hope to have many great discussions on what inner beauty looks like.  Please message me with questions; I will share what I know and find answers to what I don't know!!