Modesty, Noun
1. freedom from conceit or vanity
2. propriety in dress, speech, or conduct
Now what does propriety mean? You can either click on this {link} for the literal definition, or summed up it can mean proper, decent, appropriate, polite or TRUE NATURE....
"God has given you one face and you make yourself another" - Hamlet
In a recent article on Yahoo.com, they shared a photo of a reality television star, Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi without ANY make up on. Now Snooki is notoriously known for fake bake'n it up, layers of bronzer, fake eyelashes, radical hair colors, and tons of cosmetics applied to her face. What do you think? Better with or without make up? In my opinion, she looks TONS better without- she went from Oompa Loompa to Snow White! ;) .....
Ever wonder why women start wearing make up in the first place? It usually starts in your teens and doesn't end until you're very mature. Teenage young ladies wanting to look more grown up, trying to fit in with peers, wanting to fix their 'flaws', or maybe trying to mimic a famous celeb's image, will start wearing cosmetics to 'make up' for lack of self confidence and individuality. They can then form a life long habit and mind set believing that they ONLY look good with make up on.
In the article on Yahoo of Snooki wearing no makeup, nearly all the comments agreed that she looked much better without it, yet our society is constantly flashing advertisements giving ideations that we NEED make up to fit in and look good. In this day it truly takes self mastery to NOT wear make up.
When I was a teenager, I used to perform in Hawai'i in front of tourists dancing hula and tahitian and we were told to wear heavy make up and false lashes because the bright lights would wash out our features. I'm pretty sure this is the same thing many celebs and models need to do since they are constantly in front of cameras and bright lights. Now that I'm older I don't wear heavy makeup and occasionally wear light make up for special outings, occasions and usually for church. I don't always feel confident with out any make up on {I'm no Angelina Jolie} but do think that when you are wearing make up casually, then it should be JUST to enhance the features that you have and not let them get hidden by wearing too much. You should not look completely different when you do or don't wear make up. Embrace who you are and the beauty that you have.
To the brave and confident women who don't ever wear any makeup I applaud you. To those who do, I suggest to keeping it natural and modest. You don't want to look like someone else when all that makeup comes off. You are probably very gorgeous if not MORE without any on! Don't be fooled by celebrities or cosmetics ads. No one is flawless! If you do end up going heavy on the makeup then I wold recommend only for VERY special occasions. Buy cosmetics in natural shades and tones. Try to stay away from all those very tempting colors- greens, reds, purple, orange, blue {unless you know how to use them}. Hope this article helps you to reflect on how you do your makeup, how much makeup you put on, if it's modest, and why you do. Remember that you were created in the image of God and as my husband likes to say, "if it isn't broken don't fix it!"
