I AM BEAUTIFUL

59 Replies

So you’re probably wondering what the title is all about. Recently I watched this interesting experiment where they took 4 women, got them all dolled up (professional hair and makeup and photos) and then photoshopped the pictures. Their reactions were not only surprising but so refreshing and honest. My favourite part was when one of the women said: ”Once you take away your imperfections, there’s not much left of who you really are!!” So honest and so true. Take a look at this 2.5 mins video.

After watching this video, it got me thinking about how we see ourselves, how we are constantly comparing ourselves to other women, to celebrities and to models in magazines. Why do we do this? Why are we constantly focusing on our flaws, instead of embracing them? Why are so many women choosing to get plastic surgery and morph their appearance until they are almost unrecognizable?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? Why can’t we appreciate that those flaws make us unique. What are we teaching our children, our daughters? It needs to stop!!!!!

I recently read this blog post from Daily Life titled, “When your mother says she’s fat“, about a daughter writing to her mom about how her negative image affected her daughter’s image of herself. We don’t realize that our children don’t see our flaws, our wrinkles, our grey hairs, our stretch marks, extra weight, they just see us. My son calls me a princess. He tells me that I’m beautiful. He doesn’t see the flaws that I see. He loves me just the way that I am. After reading this article, I realized how we have been damaging not only our daughters, but also our sons. We’ve shown our daughters to not only not love their bodies, but to try and change it and we have taught our sons not to respect women.

Recently I had a discussion about my son about how beauty is only skin deep. I was trying to teach him that the reason why his friends like him is not because he is cute, it’s because of his beautiful personality, his big heart and his loving demeanour. I explained to him that beauty is not about the way people look, it’s about who they are, what they do and how they treat others. I want my son to grow up realizing that beauty is more then about how a person looks. I want him to see the beauty within someone, like how I see the beauty of his soul, of his being.

So after reading that post and watching that video, I got an idea. I know that I post mainly about fashion, but I also try and emphasize that it’s not about the clothing, it’s about how they make you feel. Do they make you feel pretty about yourself? Do you feel confident when you leave the house, or are you focused on all the things you want to change about yourself?

So next Tuesday March 4, please join me in my link up called “I AM BEAUTIFUL“. The idea is for us women to post pictures of ourselves without make up on or our hair done, to show the world and ourselves that we are beautiful just the way we are. If you are not a blogger and would love to participate, please send me a picture by Friday Feb 28 to vodkainfusedlemonade@gmail.com and I will include it in my post.

To get you guys inspired, here is a picture of me in all my morning glory before heading out the door to yoga. No make up, nothing. My husband tells me that this is how I should always look, no make up. He loves me au-naturel :)

Vodka Infused Lemonade

Below is a button if you want to post it in your blog.


vodkainfusedlemonade.com

May this blog inspire you to join me next Tuesday and show the world that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and that this world would be a very dull place if we all looked the same!!! Let’s start embracing our beauty and our uniqueness and teach our children to love themselves for who they are!!!!

Please follow me via Facebook, Bloglovin, Pinterest or Twitter.

Don’t forget to link up Thursday for my weekly Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday Link Up.

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!!

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59 thoughts on “I AM BEAUTIFUL”

  1. Rita

    Agi for some reason the video is not working:/…but the words alone suffice. Such a sweet and touching post…..and something we ALL need to hear. You are beautiful Agi…and I love you au naturale! Look at those beautiful big blue eyes! We live in a world where we’re constantly comparing ourselves to others if not by beauty…by success…where we live….what we drive…marital status…kids…etc….and it really takes a toll on one’s self esteem. Like you said…we just have to embrace ourselves (flaws and all) and stop comparing ourselves to others. Great post, Agi! <3

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    1. admin Post author

      I couldn’t agree with you more Rita. I’ll look and see if the video is working. Thank you for your sweet words Rita and I hope you join me next Tuesday :)

      Reply ↓
  2. Inge

    What a wonderful idea! I think we all like to make sure we only show our very best on our blogs but it’s not realistic (nice, but not realistic haha). I think I’m going to try to get up the courage to join you. I’d seen that video before, even shared it on my personal facebook.

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  4. Tori McKimm

    You ARE Beautiful-and I totally love what you are doing with this idea!! Women def. need to know they are worth it and feel good about themselves no matter what :) Thank you so much for sharing-and I def. would love to participate. I will send a picture and if you need any other help with this project, please let me know!

    Tori
    FashionBlingGirlyThings

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  9. Leeann @ Join the Gossip

    What a positive post! I love it and the idea for next week’s post. So inspiring. I’m going to be out if town but I’ll try to prep a post!

    Thanks for linking up for MMG :)

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  11. Lisa @ Sorority Life to Army Wife

    This reminds me of the Dove campaign where two strangers met then described each other to a sketch artist. And some researches think that if you truly saw yourself from a third person perspective (meaning not in a photo or in the mirror), you wouldn’t recognize yourself. We see our flaws, other people don’t.

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  12. Sarah Christine

    I am pretty sure that you just read my mind, because I already have a post ready (well half written) that is planned to be published on Tuesday titled “I Love My Body” and is pretty similar to this, so I will definitely be linking up!!

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  13. Gina (@OntheDailyX)

    I so admire your courage, and you’re lucky to look so nice without any makeup. I think it’s just your personality shining through. Thank you for the inspiration and thanks for linking up to Manic Monday! :) Gina
    On the Daily Express

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  14. Kezzie

    Hello! Lovely to meet you! I popped over from the Twobirds to see this post!!! Beautiful idea and so important! I actually don’t wear make-up except on special occasions (like dressing up for a party/wedding/going out evening) because I want to be me on a daily basis, I don’t want the hassle of making myself up and prefer to sleep. Plus, people don’t get used to that being me and find it strange when I don’t wear it. (Plus it feels special when I DO wear it, not just a mask!) Similarly, my hair is a mess most of the time (even in outfit posts on my blog!). DOn’t get me wrong- I look at myself in the mirror and closeup shots and think, “UHRGH!” at times, but then I smile and don’t notice the bags under my eyes, big nose etc!!! ;-) And the great thing is, in a lot of cases, it makes me look younger (apart from the haggard thing!)- I overheard a conversation between my head and deputy head teacher who were wondering how old I was going to be on Friday for me birthday (33)and they said I looked like I was about 12!!!! I smiled!
    x

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  16. Mama and More aka Zaz

    You are so right, it is so important that we are positive about our own images in order to teach our children to be confident in themselves. It also means we need to teach them how to look after themselves, eat well, and of course emphasise the importance of inner beauty, and that we form relationships based on loving personalities and shared interests, not just the outer shell. I’ve even written a post a while ago about trying to hide putting on makeup - my mother never wore any at all, and I only started regularly wearing makeup after I got married (just because I liked my wedding makeup!). It’s an important message, and I am already drafting my post in my mind to link up to this - hope that anyone who does can perhaps also link up to the Tuesday #AllAboutYou link party I co-host, as this theme really fits too!

    Thanks Agi, wonderful post x

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  17. carolyn

    This is so fabulous! I did a post about this a while ago… and as a photographer offered women in my area a free beauty shot of themselves…
    Here is the post…http://www.ccmcafeeperspective.com/2013/05/i-am-beautiful.html
    Great idea! You are beautiful, thanks for sharing!

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  18. Corinne

    That video was great! Thanks for sharing. I think it’s so easy to accept other peoples natural beauty, and think and truly do mean it when they say they look amazing without makeup, but to accept oneself in this way is a totally different story.

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    1. admin Post author

      You’re welcome Corinne. I hope it inspires more women to be confident and happy in their own body and with their own beauty.

      Reply ↓
  19. guliamonika

    Agi- count me in. You’re beautiful and so so glad that you came up with this. Especially for someone like me who doesn’t know how to wear make up (Except my kohl) but hey, I’ll ditch my kohl as well for the au natural look :)

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  20. Carylee

    The video was great! I did Boudoir photos last year, and that was eye opening, seeing myself “photoshopped” and knowing what goes into a professional shoot - seeing my potential as a cover model. It made me feel even better seeing the non-photoshopped pics! What a great line - the ideal doesn’t exist. Yet we all want it!
    I will see what I can do about incorporating this into my Tuesday post! Great idea for a linkup!
    And thanks for sharing this with Manic Monday!

    Reply ↓
  23. mamadecreations

    I LOVE this post!!! I really struggle with self esteem issues and try to remind myself from time to time that I am beautiful, but sometimes it’s really hard. Thank you so much for linking up at the MaMade Blog Hop, I hope you’re having a great weekend!

    Reply ↓

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  29. ADA

    This was so great once again. That video was phenomenal. I want to share it on my Facebook page. We are who God made us to be and what we are supposed to be: gray hair, freckles, crazy hair, chiseled chin, squinty eyes, hair above the lip, thick eyebrows, small eyes, big eyes, birthmarks, black, white, yellow, whatever your “flaw” may be. Yes getting your hair and makeup done, doing facials and/or pampering yourself is good for your mind, your body & your soul as well as your physical well-being but no Photoshop in the world can take the place of your true self, or change the real face you expose to the world every single day. This video makes me embrace my flaws and think that I am beautiful on my own way and I want my daughter to grow up and take this positive message with her too. I want her to grow up to be a strong and positive woman and feel beautiful not because of how she looks on the outside, but because of how she feels on the inside. After all, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Because in this world of smoke and mirrors, the most beautiful thing of all should be your heart!

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  31. Cous Cous and Cork Wedges

    Oh I wish I’d seen this! So sorry Agi I’ve been behind on blog reading & needed a good catch up with yours & now I’ve missed this! You ARE beautiful & its such a brave thing to do but it shouldn’t be right? We should all be comfortable in our own skins! My Hubby says the same about me too! Love u & your blog! <3 Ax

    Reply ↓

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