I am Brave and Beautiful - a beauty movement that is sweeping the globe. Colbie Caillat started it with her recent song and video called TRY. My blogging friend Megan of Brassy Apple wanted to push this movement along and invited women from all over to share what they looked like without makeup and I joined in!! Colbie's song says, "Take your makeup off. Let your hair down... Look into the mirror at yourself, Do you like you? Cause I like you... "
Megan and her friend Cobi of Peacefrom6pieces have been the team behind this whole project. Their worldwide vision included creating their own video inspired by the song TRY. The talent of Robbins Creative made it possible for them to pull it off. You have to click play and see the beauty and bravery displayed and you might even recognize a few faces in there.
Me along with 101+ other blogging women from different backgrounds, religions, ethnicities, ages, shapes and sizes have decided to be Brave and Beautiful!
You can join in this movement too by sharing what you look like without makeup on. You don't need a blog either! Just tag your photo with #IamBraveAndBeautiful on Instgram and search the hashtag to see who else has joined in. ALSO, if you tag it with a second hashtag - #ColbieTRY we just might be able to get Colbie Caillat's attention since she was the inspiration behind it all!
Are you brave and beautiful? I am, here I go!
MY BEAUTY SECRET:
I once went five weeks without a shower, only bathing in the river, during a mountain hiking trip. It was so freeing to not worry about looking in a mirror or wearing any makeup. Mother Nature helped me learn to appreciate my natural beauty.
Because of that hiking trip, I still don’t wear much makeup. When I do, I normally try to cover my freckles and hide my Harry Potter-style scar (look at the right of my forehead in the photo above if enlarged). I used to wear colored contacts but have realized I love the natural color of my eyes that change from silver to gray, to teal green depending on what I’m wearing.
I love the song Freckles, by Natasha Beddingfield, (hear it on YouTube). The lyrics are amazing:
“Cause a face without freckles is like a sky without the stars
Why waste a second not loving who you are?
Those little imperfections make you beautiful, lovable, valuable, They show your personality inside your heart, Reflecting who you are."
BODY and SPIRIT
I've realized my makeup and physical body do not change my spirit inside. I've had Ankylosing Spondylitis for 19 years. It is a type of arthritis that fuses my joints together. There have been many painful days where I couldn't get out of bed, lift my legs into the tub, walk up my stairs or lift my baby out of his crib. Needless to say, I have not been able to exercise as much as I want to because exercising causes extreme, debilitating pain- so I choose to be over weight. I've accepted that it is more important for me to be able to take care of my family and physically move every day instead of being thin and having horrible flare-up pain from exercising. It makes me appreciate the better days and it has made me realize having good health and keeping a good attitude is much more important than looking good to the world.
I also believe strongly in these words by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
TEACHING CHILDREN TO HAVE GOOD SELF-ESTEEM
I also want my children to grow up with good self-esteem and recognize their natural beauty and REAL self. I found a copy of My Book about Me by Dr. Seuss and Roy McKie. I can’t wait to give one to each of my children to fill out so they can start to recognize their strength and beauty. A blank journal would be great too.
Click the book for more info. (Affiliate link)
Don't stop here. Get clicking around - its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.
I've realized my makeup and physical body do not change my spirit inside. I've had Ankylosing Spondylitis for 19 years. It is a type of arthritis that fuses my joints together. There have been many painful days where I couldn't get out of bed, lift my legs into the tub, walk up my stairs or lift my baby out of his crib. Needless to say, I have not been able to exercise as much as I want to because exercising causes extreme, debilitating pain- so I choose to be over weight. I've accepted that it is more important for me to be able to take care of my family and physically move every day instead of being thin and having horrible flare-up pain from exercising. It makes me appreciate the better days and it has made me realize having good health and keeping a good attitude is much more important than looking good to the world.
I also believe strongly in these words by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
You can copy or save this image to print. It isn't showing up well on my phone but should print fine.
TEACHING CHILDREN TO HAVE GOOD SELF-ESTEEM
I also want my children to grow up with good self-esteem and recognize their natural beauty and REAL self. I found a copy of My Book about Me by Dr. Seuss and Roy McKie. I can’t wait to give one to each of my children to fill out so they can start to recognize their strength and beauty. A blank journal would be great too.
Click the book for more info. (Affiliate link)
EVERYONE IS INVITED TO:
Don't stop here. Get clicking around - its a blog hop! Below are more brave and beautiful women bearing more than their natural beauty. They each have a little bit of their heart to share with you. Some get very personal. Some share stories. For some this was very hard to do yet they gathered their courage and did it anyway. We hope as you click around (and YES pin these different posts!) you will feel the importance of it, the empowering effect it has and that it encourages you in some way.
Important info! Blog Hops often have glitches the first day. If the link has an ERROR, simply click on the HOME button for each site, or google the blog name next to the link, and you should see their brave and beautiful post there. Links will be updated as soon as possible.
1. BrassyApple 2. Peace from 6 Pieces 3. Is this Really My Life 4. Among the Young 5. Love Me Dani Marie 6. Sweet Charli 7. Kim Orlandini 8. XO, Ashton Tilton 9. She Calls Me Mama Leisha 10. Raising Memories - Canada 11. A Little Tipsy 12. Amy Cornwell 13. A girl and a glue gun 14. My Craftily Ever After 15. Maybe I Will 16. WhipperBerry 17. Paging SuperMom 18. All Things Thrifty 19. Ashlee Marie 20. The Project Girl
21. One Little Momma 22. Entirely Eventful Day 23. Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl 24. Tips from a Typical Mom 25. Utah Sweet Savings 26. Flats to Flip Flops 27. One Krieger Chick 28. What Meegan Makes 29. Simply Kierste 30. Live to be Inspired 31. HoneyBear Lane 32. Pretty Providence 33. Ma Nouvelle Mode - in FRANCE 34. MomEntity 35. Serger Pepper - in ITALY 36. Kiki and Company 37. Girl Loves Glam 38. Thrive
39. The Potters Place 40. Crafting in the Rain 41. Cooking With Ruthie 42. Delineate Your Dwelling 43. The Pennington Point 44. Bakerette 45. The Happy Scraps 46. Shannon Baird Photography 47. Tried and Tasty 48. Lionesses at the Gate 49. Fry Sauce and Grits 50. Lolly Jane 51. That's What Che Said 52. Sugar Bee Crafts 53. Your HomeBased Mom 54. Happiness is Homemade 55. The Crafted Sparrow 56. R&R Workshop 57. I Should Be Mopping the Floor 58. Sassy Steals
59. Let's Eat Grandpa 60. Being Spiffy 61. Sumo's Sweet Stuff 62. Ginger Snap Crafts 63. Bless This Mess 64. Apronista 65. Dreaming About Someday 66. Frenchie 67. Tastefully Frugal 68. Four Marrs and One Venus 69. Your Sister Circle 70. Over the Big Moon 71. See Vanessa Craft 72. Infarrantly Creative 73. Family StoryTelling
74. Albion Gould 75. Life as Mrs. Larson 76. Tried and True 77. Play.Party.Pin. 78. Bite of Delight 79. Ink Happi 80. ObSEUSSed 81. U Create 82. My Mommy Style 83. Find it Make it Love it 84. The Contractor Chronicles 85. Novae Clothing 86. Mommy Makes Things 87. At Home with Sweet T 88. We Like to Learn As We Go 89. House for Five 90. Organize and Decorate Everything 91. Sassy Southern Gurl 92. The Creative Mom 93. Keep Moving Forward with Me
94. The Benson Street 95. Mom 4 Real 96. Sowdering About 97. illistyle 98. The Crafty Blog Stalker 99. A Fiery Red Life 100. Cupcakes & Crowbars 101. One Sweet Appetite 102. My DayLights 103. Restless Risa
104. Sypsie Designs 105. Vintage Mother 106. Like Mother Like Daughter 107. 30 Handmade Days 108. Queen B and Me 109. Apples by Ashley 110. Boutique Cafe - in CANADA 111. Just My Little Mess 112. Bombshell Bling 113. Sarah Tyau 114. Taradara Make it 115. Capturing Joy 116. Ivory Lime Photography 117. Jenkins Kid Farm 118. Free Time Frolics 119. Bella Storia 120. Dana Ohlsen Photography
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