People who wear makeup have been to “beauty bars.” Sometimes they’re swanky shops with perfectly coiffed artists just waiting to paint you in the colors of their choice. Other times, the beauty bar is in a chain store or pharmacy, where you stand perplexed by the hundreds of items promising to make you look “better,” or online, where an endless number of products hold all kinds of “magic!”
We’re often led to believe that if we “look better, we’ll BE better. Hmmmmm….

Why do we do it?
We’re bombarded by media that screams, “THIS is what beautiful, desirable, sexy looks like”! And, although the industry is moving away from the practice, we’re so used to seeing airbrushed photos that lines between fantasy and reality are constantly blurred. I’m concerned about the next generation believing they have to look like celebrities and models plastered everywhere. Self-esteem issues—especially in girls—are prevalent. Children lose their childhoods fast enough, and the obsession with physical beauty worsens it.

Yes! to “if wearing makeup allows you feel better about yourself (and life.”) There’s significant value in walking out the door with your head held high—whether from a great outfit, a supportive circle of people, or the perfect lipstick. Equip yourself with whatever it takes to make the journey more enjoyable, but be aware of how much “armor” your need just to “face the world.”

Of course, we want our images to convey “confident, attractive, and happy,” however, beauty doesn’t exclusively apply to appearance. If our makeup (and outfits) take over, we sometimes forget our authentic selves. Always “undercover”—caught up in the “external us”—we can lose sight of the “genuine us.” Egos may be momentarily bolstered, but if we’re disingenuous, a downward spiral of depression and cynicism can be created. We often forget to visit The Internal (mind and spirit) Beauty Bar. 

Introspection
• The United States is the #1 consumer of beauty products, yet only 19th worldwide in happiness!❶
• I wonder if “The Land of the Free”❷ is actually imprisoned by the “The Magical Land of Cosmetics.”❸
• As we spend more and more on looking “younger” and “better,” over 1.89 billion people live in extreme poverty. ❹ 

Food For Thought
When do we choose to be human safety nets, walking toward, instead of running from, those who are hurting, hungry or alone?
• 80% of humanity lives on less than $10 per day. ❺
• The richest, 10% of the population, own 82% of the world’s wealth.❻
• Income Inequality in our country is higher than any other G7 nation.
• The poorest, 40% of the population, have only 5% of the world’s wealth. ❼

Moving Forward
John Ortberg, a California Pastor, wrote, “we live in a place more concerned with the conditions of our cars or our careers or our portfolios than the condition of our souls. Maybe because a dent in a soul is more concealable”.

A dent in our soul is more concealable. We cover up our external, physical selves, yet only God and us (if we choose) “truly see” our souls cry out in pain or know what it needs.

What if, for this week, we choose to “see” the beauty in us without all the “bells and whistles”? What if, for this week, we think about the state of our spirits? What if, for this week, we visit a different kind of “Beauty Bar”—the one without all the fanfare, the one that’s waiting quietly for us, the one that feeds us, the one that truly matters?

May your week be filled with genuine beauty,
Kay

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