Random Thoughts by Shelley: Beautiful imperfections

There is nothing more rare, nor more beautiful, than a woman being unapologetically herself; comfortable in her perfect imperfection. To me, that is the true essence of beauty. – Steve Maraboli

Week #47 – 49 Weeks ‘til I’m 50 – Ready, Set, it’s all about A FOCUSed plan to get there! Yikes…only 3 weeks left.

So here I am less than 3 weeks to the big day.   Am I ready? Well, I have to be, it’s going to be here regardless of what I do. I am still preparing to do so with gusto instead of dread. You bet, with a bit more research, I'm confident I'll be prepared. What have I been researching you ask? Beauty tips for the older woman.

As women get closer and closer to the big 50, being human, we tend to have our doubts about our ability to pull off ageless beauty. I’m guess I’m no different. When my kids were young, I came upon a very simple make-up routine. Nothing spectacular, but have always loved how quick it goes. As I have a little more time to myself instead of having to get them ready too, perhaps there’s something I’m missing? I looked in the mirror and what did I see? Hmmm…perhaps it is time to change up the make-up scene?   There are a few more imperfections happening as I age. Can they really be minimized? Make-up, hair, and clothes. The 3 big cover-up tools at our disposal!

Hair first…off to a visit with my hair dresser. While I’ve been trying to convince her and myself that we need to go grey. It just comes down to neither one of us being quite ready.  Instead, we went with a new color, by adding highlights of the auburn color my hair turns when I've spent too much time in the sun. A gradual move to lighter colors. Just subtle enough that if you look at me you might notice something is different, but not sure what. Perfect.

Now looking closer in the mirror, with the new hair color, my make-up really didn’t look quite right. Not sure what it was, so I started doing some research. Thank goodness for the internet. In the comfort of my own home, I can discover what do to. Unbeknownst to me, I found out I am supposed to change how I do my make-up as I age. What? Yep, according to YouTube videos. I’ve been doing it wrong!

Seriously???? Enter in…a perfect time wasting opportunity. I was completely sucked into taking a look at the things women do to stay looking “young and beautiful.” When women start to really feel their age and notice it more and more in the mirror, their make-up routine needs to change too, so they say. Perhaps it’s just me, but it is fairly easy to get drawn into YouTube videos that “show you how to do it right”.

Then I started to think, “OMG…I’ve been doing it all wrong, now what…I guess it’s time to go shopping.” Tricks of the trade, come with special tools too! So after I looked at my very minimal tool set, there was absolutely no way to create the look without buying all the tools. I hoped substitutes from Walmart would work.   The cost and time of purchasing the recommended products from overseas would only prolong the process. Time, after all is ticking away way too fast!

So off to the store I went. I was like a teenager buying make-up for the first time.  A candy store of options and colors. I wandered aisle after aisle, with my long list of items to buy and a teenager budget, aka., helping with children's college budget. There I stood numb searching for items I’d never used before. To top it off, I must have looked like a complete novice as I struggled to see the items with my bifocals. If you wear bifocals, you know what I mean. There’s the awkward look of either getting too close to the items on the shelves so you can see them, (aka, the zoom into the shelf look), or the neck breaking tilt as you try to focus your eyes in the bifocal area of the lenses. Back to reality - I'm not a teenager anymore!

An hour later, and a very sore neck, I was a proud owner of a pile of make-up tools, composed of close substitutes from what I could remember I had to buy for the perfect kit. A little embarrassed, ready for a glass of wine to celebrate, I was secretly excited to try something new! I headed home to watch more videos, drink some wine, and watch some more techniques before trying out the tools. It was too late in the day to try anything new. The tool kit sat on my counter for another day.

In research mode, I found tons of options to watch. I did notice that more blonde women make videos, and that didn’t help me at all. One lady’s site was very entertaining though. Her make-up ritual included way more than my new kit. Entertaining or not her extensive plan was out. I stumbled across a young brunette who showed how to do eye brows. Apparently as you age, they seem to disappear and fade away. A quick look in the mirror, dang, they're right again! But, they are very important for a youthful look, so they say. Time for bed, I was exhausted!

Day one comes and I tried out some of the new techniques. With thankfulness that I work from home most of the time, my experimental phases are only witnessed by my pets and my husband. My first day’s attempt with the “youthful” directions about eyebrows, I had some seriously brown eyebrows, and definitely not as pretty as Audrey Hepburn! To top it off I had the caked on look of the foundation. Bless my husband’s heart, after 25 years of marriage he has mastered the skill of not saying anything unless I ask. I didn’t ask, and he didn’t say. He did give me a extra hug or two that day. Was I younger looking?? Perhaps his bifocal issue in the awkward zone helped too! Nah...it was simply beautiful imperfections mastered!

It was definitely time for the wash cloth and for a new teacher. Off to YouTube for a few more lessons on application. I wanted to see what brunettes do and what women my age or so do. I came across a couple helpful websites.

My two favorite sites: http://www.lisaeldridge.com/ and http://www.robertjonesbeauty.com/

After several days of the routine taking longer than it had for years, I’ve modified it some to incorporate the new techniques and old techniques. I’m far from perfected yet, and I still have research to do. And…unlike the lovely ladies in all the videos, I’m definitely not ready to share a picture! I am enjoying the practice, practice, practice stage. It is kind of fun painting a new look. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable with the tools of the trade and mostly more comfortable with my imperfections.

Perhaps the routine will become a new habit? Coincidentally…21 days makes a habit and that’s how long until the big day. I can move on to the clothes next. Time to wear those new skinny jeans and boots to see if the clothes make the woman. Jeez...Enough said and enough time spent for now!

I’ll leave you with some of my favorite beauty quotes for a little inspiration.

The mirror is the worst judge of true beauty. – Sophia Nam
Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art. – Eleanor Roosevelt
Flawed, we’re truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful. – Justina Chen
We desire to possess a beauty that is worth pursuing, worth fighting for, a beauty that is core to who we truly are. We want beauty that can be seen; beauty that can be felt; beauty that affects others; a beauty all our own to unveil. – Stasi Eldredge
Beauty is how you feel inside, and it reflects in your eyes. It is not something physical. – Sophia Loren
Outer beauty attracts, but inner beauty captivates. – Kate Angell
Happy girls are the prettiest. – Audrey Hepburn
Beauty is the illumination of your soul. – John O’Donohue
It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being. – John Joseph Powell
There is nothing more beautiful than someone who goes out of their way to make life beautiful for others. – Mandy Hale
‘Nothing,’ wrote Tolstoy, ‘can make our life, or the lives of other people, more beautiful than perpetual kindness.’” – Gretchen Rubin
You are imperfect, permanently and inevitably flawed. And you are beautiful. – Amy Bloom

Thanks for stopping by ~ Enjoy all your moments in life where you’re comfortable being beautiful you!

PS – Photography moments finding beauty!

Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams. – Ashley Smith