Beauty?

I'm a woman that finds beauty in nature, just as I believe natural beauty is the only real kind. Mind you I have no problem with the idea of enhancing that to certain degrees. As in nature, the perfectly planted flower, beside the towering oak, only encourages the eye to appreciate the magnificence of the tree.  Generally, this seems to not be a popular opinion, especially with the men I know. We aren't talking about the tree anymore, but the natural beauty of a woman, without all the trappings applied, otherwise known as make-up. I couldn't sum up my thoughts any better than this quote from Mrs.Barbara Streisand in the movie, "A Mirror has two Faces"

"Gregory Larkin: You don't use make-up, do you?
Rose Morgan: What's the point? I'd still look like me, only in color.

I hope not to alienate any women that might disagree with my point here, so let me be clear in saying that everyone's idea of beauty is personal. I would never judge another woman for her desire to put the whole face on. That said, yes, I disagree that that is beauty. If you must cover your face to be "beautiful" then who is this new being that's pretty;it isn't you, is it? I'm curious, to be honest, what is the answer to that question? All that foundation changes your actual skin tone. A heavily lined and shadowed eye almost changes your eye color. Blush...well it gives this false sense of...what? modesty? The days of pinching our cheeks to look naive, virgin'isc and young are long gone. Lipstick I understand to a certain degree but when piled on, extending our real borders to create some puffy lipped femme fatale, really is distasteful to me. 

Perhaps my real point here is that if we create another "us" then isn't that a lie? Men, and women, admire that particular beauty naturally. I think it is like looking at a work of art but once that becomes more personal, does the fact that you are actually a Monet matter? See, Monet's art is beautiful from a distance but once you get close you find out that that is only a trick of several layers applied. If a man takes this woman with the flawless skin, bright eyes and sexy lips home but then wakes up with that same woman with uneven skin, or heaven forbid blemishes or freckles, smudgy eyes and thinner lips,what then? Is this not some form of deceit? I couldn't blame a man at all for feeling deceived. The answer for some women is to wake up quickly and reapply that face. However, the day will come when that alarm doesn't go off in time or the routine merely becomes tiring and the real you will appear. Personally, I merely feel like showing the real me from the start is the only way to have an honest relationship. I don't want to entrap a man to want me; he has to want the real me, freckles and all.

Another real factor is I just don't want to have to deal with the upkeep of it all. When I am in the sun, I don't want to have to worry about my eyeliner getting smudgy. If it rains, I would miss the beauty of it because I'd be too concerned about the running of my  mascara. Lets not forget the moments of intimacy when the guy wants to touch your face and comes back with a hand smeared by foundation or lipstick of his own. The actual weight and wear of make-up makes me nuts! I also have a keen sense of my age and how the years are flying by so eventually I know that my skin will suffer by the chemicals in this make-up. Ladies, look good now, put your warpaint on but it will come back to haunt you when you reach that age that make-up can no longer hide and in fact, has damaged. 

I certainly wish I had Angelina Jolie's lips(who doesn't?) instead of my normal-sized, if not slightly too small lips. I would love to have one of those gorgeous, perfectly shaped noses instead of my father's that sits on my face. God knows I often wish my green eyes shined as brightly as Milla Jovovich's stunning blue ones. I wonder if there is any woman on the face of the planet that is truly happy with every feature of her body. Nah, I don't really wonder, I know that woman doesn't exist because we are taught that we aren't enough. The make-up commercials, models with bright lights and lots of perfect camera angles make us believe that their beauty must be ours. I don't buy it and lord knows I wish more women felt that way. 

Maybe it will take me longer to find the man that sees my beauty. Maybe women won't look at me and want to be me as they do that make-up laden woman. The thing is... I will know who I am and show the world that I won't hide that person, no matter what the standard of beauty is for the moment. Boldly and with confidence I believe natural beauty is the only one that time will never derail so here I am.