Monday, July 28, 2014

don't try so hard.

Excuse the blur. An iPhone 5c is currently the only camera I have.
Oh makeup. And hairstyles. I love you. But in the past I relied on you way to heavily. I couldn't leave the house without "putting on my face." Being seen with my hair a mess? Forget it.

However, this year I made a decision. For lent, I only allowed myself to put four things on my face and spend no more than 15 minutes on my hair, including drying time. The first week, I felt so odd and uncomfortable. The second week, I felt so much less stress in the morning that I started to wonder if this might be a permanent change.

And then, before I knew it, lent was over, and my makeup fast continued. Now, my face feels strange all done up. I wear heavier makeup for weddings and special occasions with lots of photographs. But daily, I use a very light concealer, mascara, blush, and something on my lips. Just a little bit so that at work I look a little more polished.

But today, I'm linking up with Kate at The Florkens for something special. Today, we aren't trying. Today, polished doesn't matter.
Today, we're baring it all. Acne? Who cares, everyone has some! Your eyes swollen up from allergies so you can't wear contacts? Yeah, me too!

This is my face. As is. This is my face with nothing on but a big fat smile because it was Saturday and I was spending it working on an exciting project for a friend, getting ready to go watch Drew's best friend propose to the love of his life, and see my friend Sarah and her husband. Saturday was great. And I didn't have room in all my happy to think about brushing my hair or touching my face.

This is my face happy because my husband was finally coming home after a super long work day and I was finally going to get to eat the amazing stew that was in the Crockpot smelling so tempting all day long but I was waiting for Drew to come home so we could eat together. And I think that stew tasted better at 9 with him than it would have at 6 alone.

I like my face. My eyes are blue and green, plus have what looks like sunflowers right around my pupil. I've never seen eyes exactly like mine, and I love them. I love my smile. My dimples are my favorite.

I even like what my hair does when I haven't even brushed it yet, like in the second picture. Wavy, not too curly, and somehow has this swoop going I can never perfect with a single hot tool.
Song of Solomon 4:7
You are beautiful, my love, there is no flaw in you.

1 Peter 3:3-4
Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious.
John 6:63
It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
God designed this face. And we know from the Bible that He doesn't make anything bad. He is love and beauty in its purest state, and what comes from Him is never less than perfect. He designed my face, and I don't want to waste any more time telling him what he made isn't good enough. I'm not going to spend my whole life applying pounds of makeup to change what I look like. I'm going to trust what he says about me and my face, and I'm going to love it.

What do you love about your face without makeup? What is your very favorite feature?



post signature

36 comments:

  1. Wow! You are STUNNING! No wonder you decided to skip the makeup after lent! I really love your eyebrows and your smile! Both are soooo pretty!

    Thank you so much for linking up!

    -Kate
    www.theflorkens.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Why thank you so much, dear! I've never been complimented on my eyebrows before! I always just thought of them as eyebrows haha. Thank you for hosting the linkup!

      Delete
  2. I AM WITH KATE AGAIN! THE EYEBROWS!!!! And I love your lips, I would seriously die for full lips haha

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hahaha again, my eyebrows are something I've never thought about! I like my full lips too :) Thank you, sweet friend!

      Delete
  3. Wonderful, wonderful post sweet friend! I also decided to stop caring so much about what the mirror shows and to embrace what Christ has given. We are all beautiful women and the impact society has on our looks can be a dangerous thing. You look GORGEOUS!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And YOU are also gorgeous! I'm glad you're embracing your perfectly designed self too!

      Delete
  4. Ughh, I feel your pain- I have acne, swollen allergy eyes, and much more, but it's all good, We can bare it all! I don't think that you have anything to be ashamed of, you're beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Allergies for me are year round and especially bad this summer because I'm in a new environment! Acne pops up randomly for me, so right now I've got a big spot on my chin. But I don't care, that spot is just my body trying to push something bad out of it to stay healthy! Thank you!

      Delete
  5. You are totally gorgeous just as you are! You look so happy and fresh-faced, and THAT is beautiful. Love your hair!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Your natural beauty shows through, no matter what you're wearing (or not wearing)!
    #crockpotsftw

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. #crockpotlifeforme Thank you! As does yours :)

      Delete
  7. I love this post! I don't have a hard time with trying too hard when it comes to hair and makeup - but when it comes to my wardrobe, I'm a chronic over-thinker and it definitely turns into an idol for me! I'm going to stop trying so hard in that area this week! Thanks for the encouragement, lovely!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Same here girl! Clothes are a huge weakness for me. I'm working on getting a capsule wardrobe put together so that I can stop idolizing outfits and spending so much time anxious about what I'm wearing. I'm glad this encouraged you!

      Delete
  8. Such a beautiful post by such a beautiful lady! Love this sweet friend!

    ReplyDelete
  9. For me, I definitely went through a phase where I wore a lot of make up and took a lot of time to get ready but then I would avoid doing stuff because I felt "lazy" to get ready. So now I limit myself...kind of similarly to how you did at lent. So no excuses. On top of that, this was a beautiful post by a beautiful girl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well you certainly don't need lots of time, you're so beautiful! Thank you very much. I'm happy it was an encouragement!

      Delete
  10. That is so cool that you made that promise for lent and you know what? You are gorgeous! Your hair looks awesome the way it was! Keep it up!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! Lent was such a transformative time--exactly what it's meant to be! I think a lot of people think of lent as an excuse to finally start getting healthy or do something that's ultimately only about them, but it's about leaning into Jesus and drawing nearer to Him to meet your needs, and fasting from things is meant to remind you that He will sustain you, and that is what it did for me! You are gorgeous too!

      Delete
  11. you're so pretty! your glasses look adorable on you. i've been battling allergy eyes this year too, and had to switch to dailies because i can't handle wearing regular contacts anymore. boo.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love my glasses. I wear them basically every day and contacts only on special days. My allergies are worse this year because of the new climate I live in and my sinuses and eyes are very unhappy with me!

      Delete
  12. what a beautifully written post! :) you have a stunning smile, friend!

    ReplyDelete
  13. oh you look so beautiful and happy in both of these photos! Thank you for linking up and sharing your natural beauty with us!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you very much! And I am happy you all had the linkup--a great way to embrace our individual beauty.

      Delete
  14. You're beautiful, and more importantly in my opinion, you look so happy. Audrey Hepburn was right - the happiest girls are the prettiest girls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! So glad you stopped by! I strive to choose happy every day and I'm glad it shows.

      Delete
  15. Sunflower eyes... even the description of them is beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
  16. thanks for linking up - you look fabulous and happy. and i love your hair - looks so casual and pretty :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I work to choose happiness every day and I'm glad it is showing!

      Delete
  17. Kaitlin, your skin is so pretty and 'glowy' and I love the honey blonde color of your hair. I hope #nomakeup selfies become a real trend to balance out the unrealistic expectations the media has created.

    Thank you for being a part of this link-up, you're so brave =)

    I've joined in too!

    http://bit.ly/1pXMAOS

    (a video of me shaving my head, intimate & vulnerable)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I am so so sad I missed this comment until today! This was simply inspiring!!

      Delete

Thanks for stopping by! I love to hear what you think...leave me a note and I promise I'll do my best to reply!

*Opinions are more than welcome on this blog, same as or different than mine. However, hateful words are not allowed and I reserve the right to remove comments that are clearly malicious in nature towards myself or others.