WELCOME TO FASHION FRIDAY (Beauty Begins Within)

I began the journey of writing this blog to not only keep my mind sharp and fresh but to share my journey in the hopes of encouraging others. Begining a blog in and of itself is an interesting journey and I am enjoying every minute of it. It is however, my desire to encourage women to have balance as we grow in years. As we grow older and wiser we recognize many things will change some way beyond our control. That being said, we don't have to sit on the sidelines helplessly. We can do things to make sure we live a happy, balance, peaceful, successful life. To get this segment started I've invited my very good friend Calandra the Author of THIS AND THAT WITH CALANDRA to share some of her Fashionista wisdom with us.

Read and enjoy!

Beauty is NOT Only Skin Deep by: Calandra Branch

“We wear the mask that grins and lies. It hides our cheeks and shades our eyes.” – Paul Lawrence Dunbar

When Valerie asked me to write this blog post, so many ideas flooded my head – I thought of all the makeup applications I had done, videos, FOTD (Face of the Day) posts on my blog, etc. But as she launches her new series of health and wellness posts, I thought it would be more appropriate to start with the basics. A bare face…clean slate…a blank page. THIS is where the rubber hits the road.

At a recent mini-makeup party my best friend and I hosted, I started the event by saying, “If you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin, WITHOUT makeup, then you should leave right now because this party isn’t for you.” Of course I was being dramatic, but my central thought was sincere. True beauty comes from WITHIN. The most beautiful makeup will do nothing for an ugly personality. Now, can makeup help you feel better about your appearance? Absolutely!! I attended a formal function several months ago and rocked my first real black smoky eye. And yes, I looked in the mirror, grinned from ear to ear and said, “Girl you betta WORK!”

Ladies, don’t fall for the makeup okie doke. Don’t get me wrong…I love a good “beat” face like the next woman But what I love more is seeing healthy, naturally sun-kissed skin radiating a glow of self-confidence and self-love, whether bare-faced or with a ‘pop’ of color! Be beautiful…be healthy…be YOU!

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