The Face in The Mirror....

What do you see when you look at your face in the mirror? Do you see your authentic self or a reflection of who you are?

I ask myself this question recently while I was putting on make up to go attend a dinner, a reunion dinner actually, of a group of MGPS girls. I wondered, as I looked into the mirror, am I becoming more comfortable with the uniquely looking face that stares back at me? I really hope so. You see, this growth of self acceptance and self love is slow and very subtle, especially after years of benign neglect.

My husband, excited with all the make up action, whipped out his camera and took loads of pics of the 'painted' me.

It dawned on me, one of the ways that we can begin to love our faces is to enhance them with makeup. Those lipsticks, gloss, blushers, eyeshadows, eyeliners, mascara and glitter powder are symbols of love actually. Love for our faces....

There was a time, during my twenties, when I wouldn't have dreamed of walking out of the door without my war paint on. At that time, makeup was for me, a sophisticated mask that endowed me with self confidence and to a certain extend acted as a camouflage.

Then in my thirties, af ter having the kids, and started spending more time outdoors with nature, I stopped wearing makeup except when attending dinners or functions. It was (and still) a relief to stop wearing cosmetics on my face because doing so gave me an opportunity to learn to feel more comfortable with my features. The world I had come from had been so self absorbed and obsessed by appearances. Now later in life, I was only starting to get in touch with my inner woman and not concentrating too much on her outer packaging.

But thruthfully, I noticed a difference in the way I felt about myself without makeup. When I put it on, I tend to like what I see in the mirror. I like the reflection of my face all coloured and painted in the mirror. When I didn't have my makeup on, I rarely looked!

I now understand that looking my best, working with what I already have (big eyes and rounded cheeks, I have been told) is not as superficial a goal as I originally thought it was, in those days. These days, makeup is simply a tool to look my best. When I look my best, I feel better. When I feel better, I accomplish more!

Making up my face has again began a self-affirming cycle of acceptance for me. It is a ceremony of self nurturing and a presentation to my husband too (he loves it when I put on makeup!). And lately, the ritual of putting makeup on, can be very spritual for me.

So, today when I glance in the mirror, I mouth a thank you to Allah for this face that stares back at me, and put on some lip gloss.....

Here's sharing some of the pics that Mr. Hubby took....