The Mirror of Beauty

The probe of human mind has marked every inch of success but the art of drawing parallels for what beauty is, has remained a great mystery. For some philosophers, beauty is the degree of attraction and admiration, provoked in an observer. But it is argued that the same beauty does not affect everyone the same way. It varies dramatically. A few think thanks have defined it as a degree of perfection, but perfection in one field may not be of any interest to an observer. So beauty is very difficult to explain fully, but it may be said that it is a game of comparison. Suppose there is only one woman in the world, now question is whether she is beautiful or not. The answer unambiguously is that you can't say anything because you don't have another woman to compare with.

But sailing beyond the ocean of imagination, one realizes that there is a factor that determines the degree of beauty, i.e. a personal dictionary, which translates the mortals and assigns degree of beauty. The holy words of human history will peep out from the gale of truth and will strongly proclaim that Juliet was a goddess for a Romeo a god for her and rest, the particles of dust. Heer for ranjha was enough, and he for her, to lead whole their life together with few straws of love. But remember, if all the lovers of the world of the world are invited to a party to ask who amongst all is the most beautiful, they certainly shall stamp the claim of beauty on the hearts and souls of their own beloved which indeed is not their narrow-mindedness but a natural fact that 'beauty lies in the eyes of beholder'.

One day a great historian whispered in my ears a story...
'once upon a time there was king so fond of beauty that he called his most loyal and faithful negro slave and ordered him to go from east to west and from north to south and fetch him such a paragon of beauty that neither moon would have risen with such splendors nor the oysters of ocean would have given birth to such magnificent pearls; neither ladies of paradise would have looked so charming not the preachers of beauty would have been able to give such bewitching example, neither any artist would have created such mind blowing portrait nor a poet from the depth of his imagination would have been able to compose such riveting verse; neither any dove would have its pinion soar such marvelously not the Aphrodite would have marked such excellence. And if I say for her that she is the most beautiful spirit God ever created, then the claimants of beauty should have said:' we are like lumps of coal in a mine and she a diamond among us.' So, go my man whose head crown of my faith rests, on whose shoulders stars of firm belief shine and on whose chest medals of sure obedience are stamped. Go and present me the beauty that should be praised and witnessed by the twinkling stars.'

The negro servant bowed down and went away calmly to the peaks from where the sun pierced its shining fingers into the dark curtains of night, from where Shakespeare and Shelley enjoyed drinks of inspiration, from where the portrait of Mona Liza was found and from where moon extracts its gleaming light; and thus he went through plains to mountains, through valleys to deserts, through unfathomable cares to celestial cities and through each and every inch of this world where life seemed breathing.

After indefatigable efforts, he went to the king, presented him what seemed the goddess of beauty to him, his Negro daughter. At this, the king asked,
'did you not find any soul more beautiful than this?'

He kept silent for a while, then raised his head and said:
'Your Excellency, my blood shall be showered in your feet if I speak but the truth. You asked me to bring Aphrodite but I brought my Negro daughter; the reason was my loyalty. Your Excellency, for you her black complexion may seem coal in the dark but for me it is as beautiful as back rose or a diamond. To you her dry hair may look like that of a witch of some old myth dancing in woods but for me her hair is no less than the curtains of paradise. To you her wrinkled hands may seem as a deserted sight of this land but to me they seem as gods, to cope up the world's fate in it has sketched these lines on it. To you her eyes may seem as those of angels when embodying eyes have mistaken but to me success. To you her wide nose may seem as dark, unfathomable caves of stone ages but to me it is no less than Noah's Ark. Therefore, Your Excellency, my obedience and loyalty to you compelled me to bring my daughter to you.'

Then the historian smiled and said, 'Yes! Beauty lies in the eyes of beholder.'

In quest of defining and explaining the beauty, two schools of thought have emerged so far. One proclaims importance of inner beauty and the other preaches the pleasure presented by worldly beauties. But in fact all beautiful things are not necessarily good, charming and attractive but all good and true things are always beautiful. Therefore, it is well said by Keats:

Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
That's all ye know on earth
And all ye need to know.'

The school of thought preaching inner beauty bore these words on the preface of its textbook:

'History is evident that the world has given birth to many worldly beauties which only could help to quench the thirst of people and awake beast in them. Many beauties passed by without any notice but the beauty of soul and conscience has claimed triumph over hearts of millions and marked its eternal existence. The people blessed with purity of soul, truthfulness of their conscience, goodness of their deeds and firmness of their faith have succeeded to scratch their name on the forehead of this earth and lead their nation to the peals of glory. And thus they are still breathing in the hearts of many mortals. Nobody asks whether Aristotle was handsome or not, whether Alexander was strong tall in stature or not and whether Anarkali when buried alive inside the walls posed like a queen or not. People do not ask such questions, but everybody does ask that how they climbed to success inch by inch. The open secret of their success, in fact, is their character, behavior, determination, zeal and enthusiasm which contributed towards their success and inner beauty.'

On the contrary, the school of thought preaching worldly beauty is thanking his God in these words:

'Thanks my God, for you have blessed us such beauties, whose single glance shuns off our day-long tiredness, whose heart may prove as a place of eternal peace to our souls, whose sight reminds us of your Excellence. Thanks my God, you have bestowed upon us such beauty, the wish to achieve, which proves a source of fuel for our body, mind and soul. This beauty has decorated this terrifying and worthless world; and it cheers us up when we are cooped in the cells of gloom, worries and misfortunes. Oh God! Really the beauty that you have blessed us with is a source of living in this frightful world.'

In fact, since the creation of this universe, beauty has been neglected and stigmas of frailty have been marked on its forehead. Beauty seems to be an emblem of nothing but thirst rubbing machine. Those who dwell in this world have been really mistaken in understanding the true beauty. When the beauty reigns its lost crown these mortals will see with their eyes open and sense smelling the truth that worldly beauty was just a mirage. Praise be to the Lord, who gifted us these praiseworthy inner beauties which indeed enabled mankind to kindle flames of love even in the dark. And, therefore, we must stop lauding the beauty only. We should also extol its creator, the Almighty GOD.

The Maharishi Ayurveda Approach to Beauty and Skin Care

"Every person is born perfect. Inferiority is a mistake of the mind, a cloud covering the light. Dissolve the clouds by observing a balanced life with healthy habits. Nourish your mind and body. Connect with your own inner self. Celebrate your own magnificence and your beauty will always shine through." -Dr. Rama Kant Mishra, renowned Ayurvedic physician and dermatologist

The Three Pillars of Beauty

Maharishi Ayurveda (MAV), the modern, consciousness-based revival of the ancient Ayurvedic medicine tradition, considers true beauty to be supported by three pillars; Outer Beauty, Inner Beauty and Lasting Beauty. Only by enhancing all three can we attain the balanced state of radiant health that makes each of us the most fulfilled and beautiful person we can be.

Outer Beauty: Roopam

The outer signs of beauty - your skin, hair and nails - are more than just superficial measures of beauty. They are direct reflections of your overall health. These outer tissues are created by the inner physiological processes involved in digestion, metabolism and proper tissue development. Outer beauty depends more on the strength of your digestion and metabolism, the quality of your diet, and the purity of your blood, than on external cleansers and conditioners you may apply.

General Recommendations for Outer Beauty

As we will discuss, the key to skin care is matching your diet and skin care routine to the specific skin type you have. Meanwhile, there are some valuable recommendations for lustrous skin, hair and nails that will be helpful to everyone, regardless of skin type.

1. Diet: Without adequate nourishment, your collagen layer thins and a kind of wasting takes place. Over time, your skin can shrivel up like a plant without water from lack of nourishment. To keep your skin plump and glowing:

A. Eat fresh, whole organic foods that are freshly prepared.

Avoid packaged, canned, frozen, processed foods and leftovers. These foods have little nutritional value and also they are often poorly digested which creates impurities that localize in the skin. The resulting buildup of toxins causes irritation and blocks circulation depriving the skin of further nourishment and natural cleansing processes.

B. Favor skin nourishing foods.

1. Leafy green vegetables contain vitamins, minerals (especially iron and calcium) and are high in antioxidant properties. They nourish the skin and protect it from premature aging.


2. Sweet juicy fruits like grapes, melons, pears, plums and stewed apples at breakfast are excellent for the skin in almost everyone.


3. Eat a wide variety of grains over different meals and try mixed grain servings at breakfast and lunch. Add amaranth, quinoa, cous cous, millet and barley to the wheat and rice you already eat.


4. Favor light, easy to digest proteins like legume soups (especially yellow split mung dhal), whole milk, paneer (cheese made from boiling milk, adding lemon and straining solids) and lassi (diluted yogurt and spice drinks).


5. Oils like ghee (clarified butter) and organic, extra virgin olive oil should be included in the diet as they lubricate, nourish and create lustre in the skin.
6. Use spices like turmeric, cumin, coriander, and black pepper to improve digestion, nourish the skin and cleanse it of impurities.


7. Avoid microwaving and boiling your vegetables. They lose as much as 85% of their antioxidant content when cooked in this way. Steaming and sautéing are best.

Caring for outer beauty through knowledge of skin type

Besides these general recommendations the key to Outer Beauty is to understand the difference in skin types so you can gain the maximum benefit from your individualized skin care regimen. MAV identifies three different skin types based on which of the three main metabolic principles (doshas)- present in everyone, but to different degrees- is most dominant in your body.

Vata Skin

* Description: Vata is composed of the elements of air and space. If you have a vata skin type, your skin will be dry, thin, fine pored, delicate and cool to the touch. When balanced, it glows with a delicate lightness and refinement that is elegant and attractive. When vata skin is imbalanced, it will be prone to excessive dryness and may even be rough and flaky.

* Potential problems: The greatest beauty challenge for vata skin is its predisposition to symptoms of early aging. Your skin may tend to develop wrinkles earlier than most due to its tendency to dryness and thinness. If your digestion is not in balance, your skin can begin to look dull and grayish, even in your 20's and 30's. In addition, your skin may have a tendency for disorders such as dry eczema and skin fungus. Mental stress, such as worry, fear and lack of sleep, has a powerful debilitating effect on vata skin leaving it looking tired and lifeless.

* Recommendations for care

With a little knowledge, you can preserve and protect the delicate beauty of your vata type skin. Since your skin does not contain much moisture, preventing it from drying is the major consideration. Eat a warm, unctuous diet (ghee and olive oil are best) and favor sour, salty and sweet tastes (naturally sweet like fruits, not refined sugar) as they balance vata. Avoid drying foods like crackers. Drink 6-8 glasses of warm (not cold for vata types!) water throughout the day and eat plenty of sweet, juicy fruits. Going to bed early (before 10 PM) is very soothing to vata and will have a tremendously positive influence on your skin. Avoid cleansing products that dry the skin (like alcohol-based cleansers) and perform Ayurvedic oil massage to your whole body (abhyanga) in the morning before you shower.

Pitta Skin.

* Description: Pitta dosha is composed of the elements of fire and water. If you have a pitta skin type your skin is fair, soft, warm and of medium thickness. When balanced, your skin has a beautiful, slightly rosy or golden glow, as if illuminated from within. Your hair typically is fine and straight, and is usually red, sandy or blonde in color. Your complexion tends toward the pink or reddish, and there is often a copious amount of freckles or moles.

* Potential problems: Among the many beauty challenges of pitta skin types is your tendency to develop rashes, rosacea, acne, liver spots or pigment disorders. Because of the large proportion of the fire element in your constitution, your skin does not tolerate heat or sun very well. Of all the three skin types, pitta skin has the least tolerance for the sun, is photosensitive, and most likely to accumulate sun damage over the years. Pitta skin is aggravated by emotional stress, especially suppressed anger, frustration, or resentment.

* Recommendations for care

Avoid excessive sunlight, tanning treatments and highly heating therapies like facial or whole body steams. Avoid hot, spicy foods and favor astringent, bitter and sweet foods which balance pitta. (Again, naturally sweet, not chocolate and refined sugar!) Sweet juicy fruits (especially melons and pears), cooked greens and rose petal preserves are especially good. Drinking plenty of water helps wash impurities from sensitive pitta skin. Reduce external or internal contact with synthetic chemicals, to which your skin is especially prone to react, even in a delayed fashion after years of seemingly uneventful use. Avoid skin products that are abrasive, heating or contain artificial colors or preservatives. Most commercial make-up brands should be avoided in favor of strictly 100% natural ingredient cosmetics. And be sure to get your emotional stress under control through plenty of outdoor exercise, yoga and meditation.

Kapha Skin.

* Description: Kapha dosha is composed of the elements of earth and water. If you have a kapha skin type your skin is thick, oily, soft and cool to the touch. Your complexion is a glowing porcelain whitish color, like the moon, and hair characteristically thick, wavy, oily and dark. Kapha skin types, with their more generous collagen and connective tissue, are fortunate to develop wrinkles much later in life than vata or pitta types.

*Potential problems If your skin becomes imbalanced, it can show up as enlarged pores, excessively oily skin, moist types of eczema, blackheads, acne or pimples, and water retention. Kapha skin is also more prone to fungal infections.

* Recommendations for care

Kapha skin is more prone to clogging and needs more cleansing than other skin types. Be careful to avoid greasy, clogging creams. Likewise, avoid heavy, hard to digest foods like fried foods, fatty meats, cheeses and rich desserts. Eat more light, easy to digest, astringent, bitter and pungent (well-spiced) foods as they balance kapha. Olive oil is the best cooking oil and a little ginger and lime juice can be taken before meals to increase your characteristically sluggish digestive fire. Take warm baths often and use gentle cleansers to open the skin pores. Avoid getting constipated and try to get some exercise every day to increase circulation and help purify the skin through the sweating process.

Inner Beauty: Gunam.

Happy, positive, loving, caring individuals have a special beauty that is far more than skin deep. Conversely we all experience the quick and deleterious effect on our skin from fatigue and stress.

Inner beauty is authentic beauty, not the kind that shows on a made-up face, but the kind that shines through from your soul, your consciousness or inner state of being. Inner beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony, not at odds with each other, causing emotional confusion, loss of confidence, stress and worry. Inner peace is the foundation of outer beauty.

Maintain your self-confidence and a warm, loving personality by paying attention to your lifestyle and daily routine and effective management of stress (I highly recommend the TM technique for its scientifically-verified benefits on mental and physical health and reduced aging.) You will also be healthier and feel better through the day if you eat your main meal at midday and make a habit of going to bed early (by 10 PM is ideal.)

Remember, kindness, friendliness and sincerity naturally attract people to you. On the other hand, being uptight or tense makes people want to walk the other way, regardless of your facial structure, body weight, or other outer signs we associate with attractiveness.

Lasting Beauty: Yayastyag

In order to slow the aging process and gain lasting beauty there are two additional key considerations beyond those already discussed,

1. Eliminate toxins and free radicals in the body: The main deteriorating effects of aging come as toxins and impurities (called ama in Ayurveda) accumulate throughout the body. These toxins may begin as free radicals in the body, or over time may become oxidized into free radicals, all of which contribute to premature aging in the body. For lasting health and beauty it is essential to avoid and neutralize free radicals, to prevent impurities of all kinds from accumulating and to remove those that have already become lodged in the body.

The most powerful cleansing therapy in Maharishi Ayurveda is "panchakarma" therapy, a series of natural treatments ideally performed twice yearly, that involves 5-7 days in a row of massage, heat treatments and mild herbal enemas. Ayurveda emphasizes the importance of undergoing this cleansing program once or twice a year to prevent impurities from accumulating, localizing and hardening in the tissues. Just as we change the oil in our cars regularly for optimal performance and lifespan, Ayurveda recommends that we cleanse the "sludge" from our tissues on a regular basis through panchakarma treatments.

Best of all, panchakarma treatments are luxurious, blissful, and make you feel (and look) completely rejuvenated in just a few days time. I have had many a patient who told me that friends asked them afterwards if they had gotten a facelift, they looked so fresh and youthful!

Other free radical busters include: reducing mental stress, eating antioxidant foods like leafy green vegetables, sweet, juicy fruits and cooking on a daily basis with antioxidant, detoxifying spices like turmeric and coriander.

2. Add rejuvenative techniques to daily living:

The daily activities of life in the modern world systematically wear us down and speed up the aging process. Ayurveda maintains it is crucial to practice daily rejuvenative regimens to counteract the stressful wear and tear of everyday life. According to Ayurveda the most important rejuvenative routines for your life are:

1. Going to bed by 10:00 PM. This simple habit is one of the most powerful techniques for health and longevity, according to MAV.


2. Meditate daily. Any meditation that does not involve concentration (which has been shown to increase anxiety) can be very helpful. I highly recommend the twice-daily deep rest and enlivenment of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique, whose benefits have been verified by over 700 published research studies.


3. Eat organic, whole fresh food that is freshly prepared. There is an Ayurvedic saying: "Without proper diet. medicine is of no use. With proper diet, medicine is of no need." Be sure to avoid those leftovers, processed and microwaved foods for better nutrition and vitality.


4. Perform Ayurvedic oil massage in the morning (abhyanga). Morning oil massage purifies the entire body, reduces anxiety and stress, helps prevent and heal injuries and supports circulation. It is especially helpful in creating a radiant complexion and keeping your skin youthful. Research shows it may also help prevent skin cancers.


5. Practice yoga asanas. Maintaining flexibility and circulation is key to health.


6. Practice pranayama (yoga breathing) techniques. Pranayama enlivens the mind and body. Ideally practice the following sequence twice a day. Asanas, pranayama and meditation.

Summary

Everyone's unique beauty shines forth when they have radiant health and personal happiness. Beauty is a side effect of a balanced, fulfilled life. Supreme personal beauty is accessible to everyone who is willing to take more control of their health in their day-to-day life through time-tested principles of natural living.

For most of us, beauty is not a gift but a choice. Every woman can be radiantly beautiful simply by beginning to lead a healthier life. You will be rewarded by the glowing effects you will see in your mirror each day and the powerful, bliss-producing effect your special beauty has on everyone in your life.

Black Beauty Standards

The black is beautiful movement has gone a long way towards reminding us that black beauty standards are as worthy of being respected and loved as any other skin color. And here's a deep Truth (and by deep Truth I mean a truth that holds true for all cultures, for all people through all periods of time, in other words it doesn't change according to some or other societal whim) - we are all beautiful Sacred Beings regardless of our body size or shape or it's exterior color. Now those beauty standards are ones I can buy into!

Black beauty standards in rural Africa

I grew up, a White small country girl, in apartheid South Africa - a place where by far the majority of the population is Black. One vacation I came home from boarding school to be greated by Violet who wrapped me in her big black arms, and chortled with delight, "Utyebile kakulu ngoku!" In English she was telling me that I was very fat now. I was devastated - after all, I had gained weight but I desperately wanted to be thin. It would take me years to realize that Violet was complimenting me - her black beauty standards were very different to mine.

Part of the beauty standards in Violet's rural Xhosa culture of the 1970's when she passed this comment, is that 'fat is beautiful.' To be large in her culture was considered desirable and beautiful. It meant: you were healthy, you didn't have AIDS. It meant you were fertile, sexy and womanly enough to attract a good husband - one who is wealthy enough to provide well. It meant you were wealthy enough to eat well.

The media and black beauty standards

What I remember most about Violet (and the other Black women who I came into daily contact with) was that they never questioned that black is beautiful - they weren't immersed in a mainstream Western media that seems to rank skin colors and body sizes as supposedly more valued and worthy the whiter and skinnier you are.

How can any one skin color, or one body size or shape determine a person's worth? Why would our great Creator create any one race or culture to be more Sacred than another? That's all just nonsensical beauty standards made up by misguided humans.

Violet was my black beauty standard

I can still clearly see Violet's ebony skin - it had a glow to it that was almost iridescent. And when she smiled (which was often) she had this row of startling white teeth all without the latest teeth whiteners. They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder - I loved Violet's blackness. White wouldn't have suited her. I loved the way she walked, tall and proud. She could balance a bucket of water on her head and walk as gracefully as a dancer.

And she made me laugh - like the one time she came across me sun-tanning and teased me about how I liked black so much that I was trying to get the sun to help me. And when I started perming my hair and she asked me why I wanted curly hair like hers.

Here's what I think is so sensible about rural Black African women. Firstly, they don't have scales they hop on and off of and that determine their mood for the day. They don't swarm to shops bursting at the seams with the latest one-0-size-fits-all fashions. They don't have mirrors that lie telling they are fat and ugly. They don't spend hours on magazines and tv that continually bombards them with the message that only a certain shape of thin is beautiful. Their beauty standards are far more realistic.

Beauty standards can determine our stress levels

Instead they live in tune with the rhythms of the seasons and their bodies. Violet didn't have the ongoing emotional stress of living in a large body which was continually insulted, stigmatized, hated or rejected either by themselves or others. This means her parasympathetic nervous system wasn't constantly releasing stress chemicals (like noradrenaline, adrenaline and cortisol) into their bloodstream which would raise their health risks.

And interestingly enough, the Royal College of Physicians official medical report of 1983 found that rural Black South African women might well have a high prevalence of obesity but that it comes without the apparently inevitable poor morbidity and mortality. Makes you think about the value of living in sync with natural rhythms, rather than stressing about being skinny - doesn't it?

Because they are immersed in their big is beautiful black beauty standards, they feel good living in their bodies. They're thus continually flooding their biolological system with life-supporting molecules of emotion (like endorphics) that enhance their immune systems, and enhance their health.

Do you want to get off that treadmill of creating stress hormones about your body? You'll find much more about this by following some of the links below.

Where Do Beauty Marks Come From? Some Common Facts Related To Beauty Marks

A beauty mark is a dark mole on the face, neck or shoulder which is considered attractive. If we look at them from a medical point of view, we can find the answer to the question - "where do beauty marks come from"? Beauty spots are usually a melanocytic nevus which is underdeveloped.

You should know that not all moles are considered as "beauty marks". A beauty spot should not measure more than a centimeter and should not protrude out, that is, it should not be a polypoid. The second significant point is that the mark should be symmetrical in nature. Symmetry has a natural appeal to human eyes and looks beautiful. A disproportioned mole is usually not referred to as beauty spot.

A beauty spot is usually located on the face, somewhere on the cheek, or around the lips. They should not be too many in number.

Usually the marks appear on the face within 20 years of age. If someone develops them afterwards they may or may not be favourable. If a beauty mark protrudes out then it is referred to as a mole.

A lot of people prefer to create a beauty spot on their skin, if they do not have one. During the 18th century, creating a false beauty spot on your face became a common fashion statement. False beauty marks can be applied as a form of make-up or can be tattooed.

A common, interesting Greek myth is associated with beauty spots. They say Gods were jealous of those who looked too perfect and hence created a small dark mark on their faces, just to disturb their perfection.

Some celebrities known for their beauty marks are Marilyn Monroe, one of the most sensuous women, who created a vogue for beauty marks during the 19th century. Other celebrities who sport a beauty mark on their face include Madonna, Eva Mendes, Mandy Moore, Demi Moore, Mariah Carey, Molly Sims, Natalie Portman, and Robert DeNiro and how can we miss out Cindy Crawford?

However, beauty of a person does not depend on whether they possess a beauty spot or not. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. A lot of women who have beauty marks are found trying to remove them from their faces, while a lot others who do not have one, artificially get them on their faces. It is one's style statement which matters.

The Most Beautiful Woman Beauty Tips For All of Us

Here's a little free beauty advice: You are the most beautiful woman that has ever walked this earth. You are a veritable goddess who reigns over her domain with a luster and shine that other woman have only dreamed about. You are a princess. You are a queen. You are an empress. Your beauty warms your domain like the sun warms the land. Your beauty illuminates the sky far brighter than any star. Beauty tip experts will tell you the single most important aspect to your beauty is your own knowledge that you are beautiful.

Three completely free beauty tips. Look in the mirror and notice what a beautiful eye color you have. Stand in front of a full length mirror and admire three things about your figure. Take pictures of yourself with your digital camera or web cam, and create that portfolio of you - and a little more beauty advice here: admire that portfolio often, add to it whenever you can.

No you are not conceited. You are the reason you are beautiful . . . or you are the reason you are not beautiful.

The natural beauty tips we all need to start with our own self esteem and self-image. Beauty starts right at home - in your heart and soul. If you look in the mirror and see only your faults, or see nothing but faults, you will portray them, knowingly or unknowingly. Reverse that bad habit - start seeing all the things that are right with your own natural beauty.

Now onto some more beauty advice. Walk across a room in your heels and favorite skirt or dress: your shoulders are thrown back, your head is held high, your hair and skin are glowing. You feel good. You look good. Your smile radiates out to all that gaze upon you. (even if it is only the sofa and chair - shine for them). You are a Super Model. And you look it every step of the way.

Now that you feel like a million bucks - you look like a million bucks.

You are ready for some more free beauty tips. Make putting on your face creams, lotions, perfumes and make up a luxurious experience. Set your bathroom or bedroom up so that you feel pretty when you go in it. Make sure you have good lighting - not too harsh, not too different from the lighting that you are normally in. Have your favorite beverage. Experience the moment of beautifying yourself.

One final Beauty tip: Enjoy yourself when you are putting on all the things that you have found that work especially well for you. Smile at yourself as you do your creams and foundations. Remember, you are the empress of your own domain. You are the most Beautiful Woman. It all begins with your attitude.

You Can't Be Beautiful Unless You're Healthy

So you want to be beautiful. But how does one achieve true inner and outer beauty? The first step to achieving true beauty is really quite simple. To be beautiful on the outside, you must make sure you're beautiful and healthy on the inside. This is why it's of utmost importance to take care of your body's physical health, your inner health, along with your mind and inner self.

Outer beauty truly is directly related to inner health and wellness. You can't have one without the other, so it's best to take a pro-active approach to your physical, mental and emotional health to be able to achieve that outer "glow" of beauty that has become so desired in today's society. But make sure you're realistic. You aren't achieving outer beauty if your objective is simply to LOOK more beautiful.

True outer beauty comes with a sense of acceptance of self, a true peaceful spirit and a lack of obsession over physical appearance. One can't be beautiful if they are obsessed with being beautiful. If you try to use and follow every beauty tip you've ever come across or are told, then you won't succeed in becoming beautiful- you'll only drive yourself crazy in the attempt to achieve beauty.

Society's obsession with beauty is based on the superficial, and those who are beautiful and healthy tend to not be noticed as often. As unfair as it may be, it's even more unfair to worry yourself to death or obsess over it. Developing an obsessing or striving for perfection will damage your physical and mental health, sometimes to the point of no return.

While outer beauty is a good goal, something nice to strive for- it shouldn't be the entire basis of any health regimen you follow, nor should it become all you focus on. Embracing your own differences and those of others around you is key to being healthy, happy and beautiful. But you can't embrace your differences if you obsess and view those differences negatively.

If your nose is "too big" or "too small," recognize that it's a difference that makes you who you are. If you feel you're "too heavy" or "too thin," realize that you are who you are. Simply strive to live as healthily as possible, and don't fret about the rest. If you find yourself overweight- living healthy, eating properly, and getting enough rest will work wonders and eventually your body will find itself going towards the weight it needs to be.

And of course, you should always try to get enough sleep each night. Don't over-exert yourself physically or mentally, and make sure you're eating healthy meals and drinking plenty of water. Proper rest, physical activity and nutrition are of utmost importance for both your physical health and your outer beauty. Your mental health is also helped by maintaining proper nutrition and a good sleeping schedule.

Outer beauty is directly related to inner health, whether it is physical, mental or emotional. You can't be beautiful unless you are healthy. It's much more important to make sure you are healthy and well rested than worrying about the size of your nose or your body. Take care of your inner self first, and the outer self will glow because of your inner health and well-being. That's true beauty.

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Unattainable Beauty - Paying the Price For the Media's Portrayal!

The American people are fortunate enough to live in country and a society that is compiled and influenced by many different cultures. Like the colors of the seasons, each culture has an intense contribution to what our society deems to be appealing. The term beauty can be interpreted in so many different ways. In terms of physicality, anything from full lips to wide hips can gain attention and spark a trend. Our view of beauty can be appreciated from many different angles but the point of view most relied upon and considered to be acceptable comes to us from the vessels of the media. The media studies and observes the latest trends and definitions of beauty and delivers them to the nation with the hopes of enticing emotions and inducing action. Within the process of editing and delivering a fresh perspective or twist to the consideration of beauty, what often ends up on the cutting room floor is the emphasis on the importance of inner beauty. Our culture has put inner beauty in the same category as a foreign language, meaning, it's a valuable asset to have, but not necessarily possessed by everyone.

Studies suggest that the media's portrayal and deliverance of beauty trends are most damaging to young women, namely little girls who are spending every free moment that they have imitating and idolizing what's considered to be beauty according to what they see on television. Our young girls are under a tremendous amount of stress and anguish trying to survive in a world with standards of unattainable beauty. One of the most contributing factors holding up the trey of unattainable beauty is the popularity in music videos that easily suggests that the only way to be considered attractive and worthy of attention is to wear your clothing as tight and as bare as possible(among other things). The only defense of such portrayal is that "sex sells", but what is not included in the debate is what does it cost the buyer?

Lack of positive reflections:

There is an entire generation that has been heavily influenced by the term "sex sells" and what we are seeing when we turn on our the televisions and when we go to the movies is a direct result of this influential way of thinking. The pressures of having sex and being sexual are almost a prerequisite for the entrance into society. Life can be challenging to the development of a girl's self-esteem. The majority of its development will be spent by comparing that to which is unattainable rather than the exploration and appreciation of everything that makes her unique. Our society rarely embraces what is "different" unless there is a way to make money off of it. Our young girls are being reduced to a product in terms of where they fit in on the opinion pages of society. Instead of esteeming them, decision makers and marketers are in quiet discussion rooms figuring out ways to influence them into feeling that the way that God made them is not good enough, and they are experimenting with different ways to get them to invest in products that will make them believe that they can look like someone else. These same people are then shaking their heads at young single mothers and those who are paying the consequences for trusting in the media's influence more than they trusted in themselves. We live in a society that supports the enticement of emotions in order to make money and then punish the very people that they target by supporting laws that cutback the programs and the assistance that these young mothers and young people need after they find out that society doesn't have a return policy on the lies that they sell!

To attain societies statures of beauty would be just like trying to reach a star or a cloud in the sky and it makes it that much easier for people to give up and to believe that what they posses is not beauty. To believe that you are not beautiful and uniquely made is the source of where most low self esteem comes from and it is a proven fact that low self esteem leads to bad decision making, not just for women, but for men as well. With the influence of society and the media's power of portrayal so heavily upon us, our young people are finding it much easier to believe that the chances of appearing in a music video are much greater than the opportunities to go to college. There are some people that reverence the media so much that their only desire in life is to be featured on it in any way possible!

Race has even taken a hit in the debate on the media's influence of beauty. It is not often that you will see a "beautiful" African American woman splattered all over television or on magazine covers unless it is specifically catered for the African American culture. It is not often that you will see the appreciation in the many shades and sizes that she's created in being properly utilized. The over excessive portrayal of her being on drugs, on welfare, and "down in out", has deferred the faucet of exposure that would allow the world to see the many intricate parts of her. Studies show that it is more likely for a Caucasian woman to see herself portrayed in many different areas of beauty and success on a regular basis than that of her counterpart (meaning woman of other races), thus being another opportunity to keep the issues of race and inequality alive. Our young girls turn on the television looking to see a positive image of themselves. They hope to see someone doing something that they can aspire to achieve for themselves. They want to see an example of someone that looks just like them who has concurred the odds and is successful not simply because of the way that they look, but because of positive contributions that they have made to the world... So with that being said...Why aren't there enough positive images on Television to fight back the negative influences and one-sided portrayals? Why haven't the media executives recognized the market for such an audience that would appreciate a refreshing outlook of the world? Why would they believe that it wouldn't sell?

Let's shield our little girls:

The importance of inner beauty is being left out side of the lesson plans in most households and social settings. Lessons in inner beauty are like a shield against the threats of vanity. A young woman that knows who she is, is a force to be reckoned with, and in order for her to know who she is, she has to know what she is not! She is not defined by her race or her physical attributes but she is defined by her God given talents and her desire to use them. It is her passion that sets her apart and it is her uniqueness that makes her bold. It is her knowledge of God that builds her confidence in a world that wishes to belittle her. Teach her that it is what a person does and what they choose to believe in that sets the atmosphere for success, and that their looks play no significant part in the goal of an abundant life.

We need to teach our girls about the inconsistencies found within what's considered to be beauty, and how little value outer beauty really has. Outward beauty is nice to have but an ugly inward presence can seep through and ruin it all, therefore; we must take care of the inward so that it shines through the outside. 1 Samuel 16:7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance or on the height o his stature; because I have refused him, for the Lord seeth not as man seeth, for man looketh on the outward appearance but the Lord looketh on the heart. The outward appearance has little importance concerning the things of God. It is what's hidden on the inside that makes a person valuable. Teach them how to appreciate the way that God made them and how important their attributes are to their purpose (however unique or challenging they may be). Beautiful attributes are not always physical but it is in what we think of, our speech, the way that we treat people, and the way that we handle our situations that reflect true beauty. A solid foundation is what creates longevity and a person's foundation can only be solid if the proper things are invested in it. I encourage you to talk to your little girls and find out how they define beauty. Cultivate their self-esteem with the nutrients of love and God's words so that the world won't have the opportunity to do it.