Before you're all "Say what!?" and unsubscribe from my blog hear me out. I've been blessed with really great skin. I know this and fully appreciate it. Don't worry - I've been cursed with a few things to make up for it. Like huge bags (not just dark circles but bags that could double as a small purse) under my eyes until I've been awake for no less than 4 hours. And I've inherited varicose veins (the huge bulging kind) that have been protruding from my calves since I was 12. I could think of a few more things to hate myself about but this post isn't about that.
This post is about embracing and actually liking my beauty flaws and faux pas.
Like the occasional pimple. I regard these painful blemishes as beauty marks - a monthly gift to be embraced and worn with pride - not covered up or Photoshopped away. I kind of like it. And have you ever shown up to work or a dinner party and found that you and your best friend have the exact same pimple in the exact same place? I love it when that happens - it's our hormones' way of saying "matchy-matchy, same-same!"
Do you have any beauty confessions - flaws that society (or infomercials) have deemed unacceptable that you like? (Curly hair might be one of them.)
I have a giant mole/beauty mark on the left side of my nose. I LOVE IT. My sister has one on her chin. One time I had to have a headshot taken for work and the photographer PHOTOSHOPPED OUT my beauty mark. It kind of insulted me. I demanded he put it back in.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I have wavy/curly hair and I fight with it a LOT.
My skin is the opposite of yours, but I'm fairly sure if I had great skin I too would embrace (or at the very least accept) the occasional pimple! As it is, though, my skin is a constant source of anxiety for me and really is the driving cause behind my poor (physical) self-image.
ReplyDeleteBut enough about that! Haha.
I love my nose. I love my profile. I definitely don't have the kind of nose people dream about having (it's a lot like Jennifer Gray's "before" nose), but I think it's my best feature. It's the one thing about my face that's not completely average, so I embrace and celebrate it for what it is!
I'm working on trying to love my insane undereye circles, too...but that's tougher. Heh.
Side note: I LOVE messed-up teeth (not rotten, but crooked and maybe even a little yellow) on other people, especially snaggles and gaps. I've always regretted a bit that I had braces!
My kinky hair. I would always fight it in my teen years and now I fuly embrace it, even if I do look like Tina Turner some days.
ReplyDeleteI can't say that I have EVER loved a pimple lol, but I get what you are saying! I have horrible 15 year old skin on a 23 year old body and crooked teeth despite my 2 and half years of braces, but I still think i'm pretty in my own way :)
ReplyDeleteI have about 3 moles/beauty marks on my face and a dimple on my face. A tiny patch of freckles rest under each eye making themselves very well visible when I've been out in the sun. I used to hate them but now, well, we've made peace.
ReplyDeleteThe boys always like my "snaggle tooth." I kind of hate it. I even hate calling it that, but I'm not sure what else to name it. But as a young girl, I adored Jewel and loved that she too had a crooked tooth and a full face. And as I become older I've grown to appreciate that it makes me, well, me. I even had an ex boyfriend see me last year and say that he was so glad to see that I hadn't "fixed" it yet.
ReplyDeleteI have some pretty major stretch marks on my stomach, the top of my breasts, my upper arms... from being obese when I was a teenager. As unsightly as they are, I always feel kind of soft and compassionate when I look at them, thinking about that little girl. I try to see them as scars of the life I lived then that was really different than the one I live now. I learned a lot, and those are the proof. I don't LIKE them, don't get me wrong... butt I don't feel at war with them either. They just are. And their part of me.
ReplyDeleteI have a freckle on the side of my nose that is constantly mistaken for a nose ring. Kind of makes me laugh that people can't tell it's a freckle!
ReplyDeleteI'm freckly and mole-y. But I like it and embrace it... except when the occasional spot looks a little pre-cancerous, in which case, I get those suckers removed (yow). My dermatologist removed MY FAVORITE mole, and I miss it so... but Kathleen: I HATE PIMPLES. Only now, at 28, am I finally okay with letting them run their course instead of popping them. My skin has vastly improved over the years, so I don't get many pimples anymore... except during that time of the month when my hormones are raging... and I want to eat like a teenager. xo.
ReplyDeleteyou're too funny. i can't say i necessarily agree with you...but i like your approach kathleen. you're pretty awesome :) and you made me smile.
ReplyDeletehappy friday!
I have had bad skin up until about a year ago, now I have rosacea so I'm definitely not rocking a positive attitude about my skin..but I have curly hair & I straightened it everyday until 8th grade & then I decided to stop. I wear it curly everyday & I do occasionally go all straight, & people say things like "I LOVE your hair straight! I mean, I like it curly but it looks SO GOOD straight." I don't understand why curly hair is considered not as good as straight, it's always confounded me. Either way, I'm rocking my curls everyday because I LOVE THEM!
ReplyDeleteI am covered in freckles and have always loved them! I always loved my dad's freckled shoulders growing up, so I guess that helped me embrace my freckled face as an adult. Along with the freckles I also have pale skin, a broken-looking nose, freakish monkey-toes.... but like the freckles, I'm growing into them. =)
ReplyDeletei love my skin because i treat it amazingly and it rarely gives me trouble (since going vegetarian actually!) so i would not react like you do to a pimple ;)
ReplyDeletei don't have either, but on others, i always love a gap in teeth and freckles!
and on myself, i guess i like my mole / beauty mark. it's right above my lip so it was never a thing to like or not like. it just existed. but now it feels so special to me for some reason. maybe coming into my own as a woman. maybe living in LA where everyone starts to melt their faces toward 1 agreed upon ideal. who knows!
You are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI've got this tiny crater on my nose that's a scar from having chicken pox as a child. It's basically a part of me now and I've just accepted it, although I used to hate it. Then I realized no one can see it like I can.
ReplyDeleteI have good skin too, but lately if I don't sleep 8 hrs I wake up with puffy eyes and bags. Any rec's?
ReplyDeleteI have a black mole under my right eye and my friends son asked me "is that a booger under my eye" lol...the things kids say :)
I have curly thick hair that when I was a kid hated, but learned to love it and embrace it. People with straigh hair want curls and ladies can go bald too.
thanks for this post!
You guys! I'm loving all of your comments about this. I know it can be a little cheesy and broad to say "love your flaws!" but it's our tiny scars and moles and interesting noses or imperfect teeth that make us interesting to look at.
ReplyDeleteNaurnie - It makes me think twice about photoshopping (my own) and friends faces. I used to think I was doing them a favor but instead I'm just contributing to the homogeneity our culture has come to embrace.
Anna - I almost didn't post this because skin is SO personal and I've had lots of friends that have struggled with skin issues. It's definitely just an example of embracing imperfections. My brother has always had a thing for girls with interesting noses - WATCH OUT. I kid.
Urban Wife - ROCK the Tina Turner! I'd be all Mad Max Beyond Thunderdoming it if I looked like her.
Alyssa - You are beautiful.
Margie - I've been getting under-eye sun spots too! I heard someone once say it's from birth control.
Hailey - Ah, yes. The cool snaggle tooth. I love Kirsten Dunsts' teeth. I'm a little shy about my little teeth but Jeremy loves them - so I've learned to embrace them.
Mel - I love that. I love soothing my younger self. It's a really great way to remind us to be kind to ourselves.
Danielle - That's fun! I would put a piece of glitter on it. Ask B for some. ;)
Nicole - WHAT!? Was the mole dangerous?
Miss Teacups - YOU'RE awesome. Happy Friday. xo!
Jessica - CURLY GIRLS UNITE! Rock it.
Annie - I love it when I find a "flaw" in someone else who I completely admire. It always gives me inspiration to embrace my own imperfections. I love that you found that in your dad's freckles. I bet you're gorgeous either way.
Jessica - Ooohh, I think it would be hard to stand out against the accepted ideal in LA. High five to you for rocking your individuality. And I'm with you! I love a big front gap!
Erin - YOU ARE! xo!
Francine - We are harder on ourselves than anyone else, it seems.
Glenda - Unfortunately, I have no recommendations for puffy eyes. I'm too cheap to try different creams so I just tough it out.
ReplyDeleteOh! Julia Roberts has a mole under her eye. I remember seeing her in an interview as a kid and I became mesmerized by her little mole. And she's beautiful!
I have two birthmarks on my face and I hatedhatedhated them as a kid. Of course, they were much more noticeable then. Now I like that the port wine stain on the right side of my face is a kind of Jenny-emotional-meter; you only really see it anymore if I'm experiencing a strong emotion. I know my mom looked into having them removed when I was a kid, but now I'm so glad they never were.
ReplyDeleteI even have a strange sort-of fondness for my big, stick-out ears. So much of this appreciation just comes with age, I think.
I think if I had one pimple per month I'd like the pimple too. Unfortunately, after I turned 30 my hormones turned my chin into a war zone (I am not exaggerating - I'm talking cysts - 3+ at one time. It's never completely clear, no matter what time of the month).
ReplyDeleteBut I've come to terms with it since there isn't much I can do short of going back on the pill (or taking some other med). So I've accepted it. Doesn't get me down as much as it used to.
It's taken me many years, but I'm beginning to appreciate my rear end. I have a BUTT. I'm losing a lot of weight, but my BUTT will never be small. It is huge and out there and I'm just going to embrace it. My husband sure likes to, after all, and he has great taste.
ReplyDeleteYou're awesome. I love your blog and the truths that come through. I've felt bogged down by dishonest blogging lately and it is refreshing to read your words.
ReplyDeleteI haven't ever thought of one of my pimples as a beauty mark, but I'm definitely going to start!
I have 2 scars from having chicken pox when I was little. I have tried to hate them but I just can't. It's character and part of my story. The other one - my long tongue. I can touch my nose with my tongue and to me it's kind of like a normal person's carnie trick.
ReplyDeleteyay, you're a real person!
ReplyDeleteI like this a lot.
Starting today I'm going to embrace my gap-toothed smile!
ReplyDeleteStarting today I'm going to embrace my gap-toothed smile!
ReplyDeleteI have a dark, round mole in the same place as your pimple and i love it. i also love my big, bushy, dark eyebrows. my hair is blonde on my head, arms and legs but my eyebrows are straight up BLACK. i didn't even groom them for a long time because i liked how striking they are. i keep them under control now, but not toooooo much. i do NOT love my under eye circles but, meh, they're not the end of the world.
ReplyDeleteyou really do have gorgeous skin.
Kathleen I love your teeth. I vote you show them more. And I think you already know my love/hate relationship with my nose. I'm pretty close to convincing myself that it makes me look exotic and interesting rather than ogre like :)
ReplyDeleteyes yes! We always laugh about that!
ReplyDeleteGlenda, for puffy eyes or undereye bags, I've read that cucumber slices, black tea bags, and (seriously) Preparation H all work.
ReplyDeleteMy beauty "flaw" that I'm embracing is gray hair. I've got a big Cruella de Vil gray streak even though I'm in my mid/late 30s. Every once in a while, someone will hint that I could dye my hair but most of the time people actually comment on how much they like it (or that they like it because it reminds them of their mom- uh, thanks). If Emmylou Harris can be gorgeous and gray, I figure I can too. :)
Only you would post this.
ReplyDeleteWhen you're really candid like this, I like you even more - which is to say massive amounts.
ReplyDeleteI think my most annoying (to me) "flaw" is my skin. I had horrible acne (RANDOMLY) in my mid-20's. It was really hard at that age and I have some scars. I've finally learned that if I take really good care of my face I feel loads better about it. Somedays, I don't even notice the scars. :) It only took me about 9 or so years.
@Kathleen - The moles (I had four removed in one sitting, ouch) were biopsied and were "benign," thankfully.
ReplyDeleteAnd... as an aside: After I posted (above) about how my skin has "vastly improved" over the years, I got a pimple this weekend!!! Curses! I am naming it "Kathleen." (Kidding.) xoxo.
sure if I had a cute little pimple like you I might like it ;) I had great skin when I was young ... now it's horrible. I blame make-up. I never wore any in HS and now I don't wear a ton but still it's clogging my pores. That being said I love my freckles and wear less make-up to show them off. The only downfall. I no longer layout in the sun or go tanning so my freckles of my youth are fading with him. :( sad!
ReplyDelete"If Emmylou Harris can be gorgeous and gray, I figure I can too. :)"
ReplyDeleteI so hope I can be one of those ladies with the gorgeous
long, thick, silver hair. They amaze me.
My favorite and also most-hated mole was taken from me when I had a breast reduction a year ago. When I was a pre-teen, my friends would joke about how it looked like I had two nipples on one boob. I kind of miss it, but only for the confusion factor that it would put upon whomever was looking at my boob.
I can't imagine ever loving a pimple. EVER! They have been the bane of my existence for the last 20+ years. However, I have come to a place where they do not ruin my day, week, month, or year... as they used to have to capacity to do.
Ha - curly hair might be one of them for sure.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I thought you were pointing out a mole. Which I have tons of…and 2 above my lip (one Cindy Crawford look alike and one that's a little more poofy/big/not dark). I was picked on because of it when I was really young. Since then I totally embrace them and hope that I never have to have them removed. I photoshopped them out once…just to see what it would look like…it was like I had no eyebrows, that's how naked it felt.
Kudos to you for embracing the beauty in "flaws".
p.s. I've noticed 1 varicose vein on my calf the other day. damn.
i get where you are going with this and can appreciate it, but then you went on about the dinner party and matchy match pimples and totally lost me. gross.
ReplyDeleteSarah - Ha! Sorry to gross you out. Happy holidays! (May yours be pimple-free).
ReplyDelete