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Live your beautiful self in 2012

Published: 
Sunday, January 1, 2012

 

Bombarded and conditioned by the media and people we see on a daily basis, we can be obsessive about a particular image of and for ourselves. For some of us, the thoughts spark occasionally, we feel a bit self-conscious for a while but we soon recover and forget about it. For others, it’s a long and painful life of yearning for a self they can’t afford or attain. In extreme cases, a woman may look in her mirror, see what she wants to see and live a life of delusion. Do you have a love/hate relationship with your inherited features and overall image? The following advice may help you face, do battle with and defeat the skinny body, flawless skin, perfect features and glamour hair demons. 
Assess yourself 
Make an honest assessment of who you are in the skin you wear. Start with the fact that whatever you see in your mirror makes you uniquely beautiful. Sure, if hard work and honourable goals lead women to pursue and attain a particular image, give them their due credit. However, acknowledge and appreciate the elements of your image that you acquired from your distinct gene pool. Remember too, that there are celebrities who pay big bucks for some of the features you dislike or take for granted. 
 
Avoid the unnecessary and unrealistic comparisons
We can’t all have the body, the facial features, the genetics that go into what some may call a “classic beauty” but we can acknowledge beautiful people without comparing ourselves to them. Magician beauticians have secrets to create stunning images from plain Jane clients. Seek them out if an occasion warrants a special look. Make sure that it is who you are beneath what others see, that drives your confidence.  
 
Ask your friends
An honest friend could open your eyes to the star that you are with your unique beauty points. Be careful not to dismiss compliments from friends, for you may be tossing a gift of appreciation and rejecting a gesture of affection. A friend may appreciate and even envy something about you that you missed or you downgraded to a feature to ignore, hide or eliminate.
 
Analyse beauty products before you buy
Do not let manufacturers, business owners, celebrity endorsements and sales personnel manipulate you into making purchases that feed your insecurities. Do the products’ claims seem plausible? Are their promises too good to be true? Will using them lock you into an image that is unrealistic for your ethnic features, your lifestyle and your budget? Will they blind you to your beautiful and authentic self? 
 
Adhere to a regular maintenance regimen
The vicissitudes of life can leave us drowning in stress, which often shows on our faces, in how we dress and relate to people. Regular maintenance is key to keeping your image fresh, healthy and authentic, especially during stressful times. In lieu of pricey procedures, adopt a budget-friendly, do-at-home beauty regimen and diet that will help to create and maintain a healthy glow. If gym fees are too much of a strain, follow a well-executed exercise program at home. 
 
Adopt a confident stride
Each of us has features we don’t like but we shouldn’t focus on and allow them to over-shadow our best parts. Be proud of and grateful for the body and features that make you a classic beauty in your own right. Play up your best parts and walk with confidence.
 
How do you judge your image? 
 
Let us live our uniquely beautiful selves in 2012. 

 

womanwise

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