: : : NO MAKE-UP ZONE : : :

Apparently, going make~up free is the latest celebrity fad for photo shoots and TV hostings. I've noticed a general trend in "back to the basics" thinking, not just in make~up, but in many arenas {for example, in food choices....e.g. organic and free range...and in the "going green" energy movement}. "Don't eat anything that you can't trace directly back to the sun!"

I applaud these efforts to streamline and simplify things that have gotten so complex and bogged~down that they no longer serve their intended purposes. I've observed this cycle of beginning with simple, gradually becoming more complex, and then eventually coming full circle with a re~simplification process. Take music, for instance. The Rococo music period {sandwiched between Baroque and Classical} was marked by refined decoration forms and ornamentation. The following Classical music era was distinguished by a cleaner style, very orderly and more simple, with clearer divisions between parts. In many ways, the Classical period was a response to the "sickeningly sweet", OvEr ThE tOp Rococo era.

Am I digressing? mmmm...I think it's all connected.

One of the main purposes of this no make~up, back to basics, natural beauty emphasis that is so popular as of late is to empower women to feel comfortable and confident as their natural selves.

Wait, wait, waaaaaiiiitttt....stop the clocks. This photo of Kim Kardashian au naturale is supposed to make me feel BETTER about myself?

Some days when I'm in a rush and I skip the make~up, I may say to some friends, "Aaahhh...I didn't have time to put on any make~up this morning..do I look horrible?"

After a pause and a puzzled look, said friend(s) will respond, "Uhhhh...you look exactly the same as always."

So much for putting in a little effort here and there! At first I thought they were just being nice, but I've been told this often enough that I've begun to think that maybe I DO look about the same and it's just more of a security blanket for me. Clearly I don't LOAD IT ON since going au naturale vs. some make~up apparently doesn't make much of a difference, but I still won't be posting a pic of me on here without just a little mascara. I like to make these babies look LONGER THAN LIFE!!!


So, gratefully no one wonders, "I wonder what Leah looks like without make~up?" {Admittedly I do wonder that about some people}.

But, no photo of me in the no make~up zone. I'm not quite that brave. ;-) {winking with my mascara~laden lashes}