You Can't Airbrush Self Love

Today's post is very near and dear to my heart face. You can't airbrush self love. And that goes 2 ways... You can't airbrush yourself so much that you suddenly love the way you look (not really) and you can't airbrush away self love if you truly do have it. I touchup my pictures in Picmonkey and I feel no shame for it! I can get rid of the bags under my eyes, smooth out my skin, and brighten my hair in seconds! Still, there are two flaws pointed out to me by two not-so-smooth guys, that I can never/will never get rid of. Want a laugh? Read on!

"You Got the Thing On Your Nose Fixed!"

The first flaw was pointed out to me by an ex-boyfriend just after I had nose surgery for a deviated septum. No matter what celebrities say- surgery for a deviated septum does not change the way your nose looks! That is plastic surgery.

So there I was, finally healed and able to go on a date and the first thing he said was, "You got the thing on your nose fixed!" Um... what? What thing? Apparently, all these years I had actually had a little slant to the tip of my nose. I never knew till that moment and it had, in fact, not been fixed! Jerk, burst my perfect-nose-bubble. LOL.

"EW! What is that!?!?"

The second flaw was so ungracefully pointed out by my husband. Every now and then it comes up and we start laughing all over again.

We were talking one night, when he leaned in and exclaimed, "EW! What is that!?!?" He was pointing to a freckle. He apparently had never noticed it until that moment and was convinced alien poop had landed on my face and that was the correct way to notify me. hahaha. It's just below my left eye, next to my nose. I had never really paid any attention to it before. Naturally, he burst into nervous laughter and apologized a million times. I was not the first victim of him blurting out things, so I knew he meant no harm. But in the end there it was- this giant freckle of a flaw shining bright in the almost-center of my face.

It's not nearly as cute as the mickey mouse freckle I get on my bottom lip in the summer, but you can't cut freckles off so what's a girl to do?

Fast forward a few years, many nights of frustration with makeup, many pictures torn up for showing too many chins, and far too many bad thoughts soaring through my mind on an almost daily basis. There I was sitting on our couch in the most perfect light of the day and I started to wonder what I looked like.

Do you ever look in the mirror and see one (beautiful, glorious) thing and then see a picture of yourself later and want to cry?

I do all the time. So with nothing else to do with this free-time, I decided to start snapping pictures with my phone.

What I found is that the closer I got, the more I liked what I saw. I got goofy with it and took pictures of me fake laughing, smiling big, turning to each side, yawning, etc.  

How does the world see me when I do this _____? 

In the end I feel that I have a new appreciation for myself and my face. So my nose is a little slanted, oh well. And I kind of like that freckle. I kind of like all of my freckles. They make me who I am. I am beautiful.

Go do it! You know you want to. :) Grab your phone and snap some close-ups. You are beautiful.