On our journey towards complete acceptance of our bodies, does using makeup help us, hurt us, or is it totally neutral? In this episode, I share my take on makeup usage and how it’s played a role in my own story. I also share something I’m personally struggling with in the body positivity arena and what that struggle means for me as I continue to heal my relationship with my body.
I would love to hear from you on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasigalaboudoir
On our journey towards complete acceptance of our bodies, does using makeup help us, hurt us, or is it totally neutral? In this episode, I share my take on makeup usage and how it’s played a role in my own story. I also share something I’m personally struggling with in the body positivity arena and what that struggle means for me as I continue to heal my relationship with my body.
I would love to hear from you on Instagram!
https://www.instagram.com/rebeccasigalaboudoir
Hello everyone and welcome to the Body Image Revolution. Today I wanna talk about something that has kept a hold on me for a really long time, and now I feel so much more freedom around and I wanna talk about it because it's something that I know a lot of women struggle with, and it definitely has to do with the way we see ourselves and the way that we see our bodies and that is, makeup. ever since I was, I guess maybe 12, I started wearing makeup and it was just something that was a given. In society, women wear makeup, and obviously I was gonna wear makeup as well, and obviously I looked better with makeup than without. That was the whole kind of idea around this and. As time went on, I really enjoyed makeup more for creative purposes, and I really loved like going to get my makeup done at makeup counters and finding really cool colors and using it as a creative outlet as well. But there was always this underlying feeling that I needed it. Like I couldn't walk out of my house without it. As I became an adult, I couldn't even answer the door without a little bit of makeup on, and. I think that that is really where the problem lies. Like makeup in itself is not bad. There's nothing wrong with it. I mean, I'm a freaking boudoir photographer. I really love aesthetics. I love beauty, I love art, and all of those things are really important to me, not just on a physical level, but like really on a soul level. I really. Connect to beautiful things and things that I find to be beautiful. So there's really nothing wrong with makeup at all. The problem lies when we rely on it to make us feel good about ourselves instead of already feeling good about ourselves and using it to enhance things or using it to be a creative expression or whatever it may be. I just realized the other day I was like out with my husband and we ran into a bunch of people. I was at the grocery store and running a bunch of different errands and I was like totally myself and confident and at the end of the day, I, Just realized, I was like, oh my God. I wasn't even wearing mascara, like literally nothing. And it's been a while that I felt like I didn't need makeup, but it just really hit me in that moment that like, I really don't need makeup to be myself. I really don't feel held back by, being my natural self in any way. And it was just like, oh my gosh, this is freedom. This feels. So freaking good. And I would've never imagined that I could have done that in the past. And I think that's really, a testament to the work that I've done and continue to practice because it's not something that just. Ends where it's like, okay, now I feel good about myself, or now I don't need makeup because, you know, in a year from now, I could start feeling again like I need makeup or that I need Botox or that, I'm not feeling good about certain parts of myself. But the thing about the work that I do is, is that there's certain tools and there's certain practices that I use for myself and for my clients to continually work on these things. It's an ever-evolving journey and It's just amazing that we have these tools and that it's not objective. It's not like, oh, I just need makeup forever. I always look better with makeup. It really is a way that we see it. It really is a mindset, and we can cultivate that, and we can practice that, and that's just so fucking freeing. I don't want to be reliant on a beauty product to be able to be myself, I want to be able to walk out the door with confidence and run into someone and have an amazing conversation and not be thinking, oh my God, this blemish is showing on my face, or I look tired, or whatever it may be. And Yeah, I want that for other women as well. And I also wanna say that if you're not there yet, that's totally okay. It's totally okay to feel like you need makeup and that you are struggling with this, aspect of yourself. But I think the most important thing here is to just be aware of it. Just realize that. Every time you go out, you're putting makeup on or before you're answering the door, or before you're getting on a zoom call. And just be aware of it and look at it with compassion, because that is the society that we live in. That's what we've grown up with. it's so, so freaking normal to feel like we need those things. And I think that's really the first step to changing it. And I realized that for a long time I was doing that. Like one thing that I'm really struggling with right now is using filters on Instagram and nothing crazy like I don't know if you guys know the filters, but there's this one called Paris where it's just kind of like smooths out your skin and it brightens the picture even. And doesn't change eyes or lips or anything like that, like. Not for that. I'm not against people who use that cuz I know that it's also very, very common. But I think that it really does add to beauty standards and diet culture and people really not feeling good about the way that they naturally look. So I really avoid those filters at all costs. But the one filter. I do use is like to smooth out my skin, right? And it will come after, you know, not having a good night's sleep or just the lighting's not quite right, or I do have a few blemishes on my face or I am a little bit dehydrated. I'm starting to see the lines in my face a little bit more, and. That's where I'm struggling right now. And I just wanna be honest with you guys about that and normalize that. So it's like, okay, so now I feel so much freedom about like being able to be myself and not being able to wear makeup. But then there is still this other area where it's. Like, okay, I still can improve, there is still room to evolve and to embrace myself more and embrace my body more and love myself more. And that doesn't mean that I'm bad or that, I'm not far enough along, which I think a lot of people often feel in their healing journey. It just means that, There's this aspect of myself, which is completely normal and completely within societal norms. But it is something that I wanna work on because I've realized that. It doesn't necessarily serve me, and it doesn't necessarily help other people feel good about their bodies either because no matter how much we, know that people use filters and Photoshop and things like that, when our brains see someone and we see that they have smooth, bright skin, we think that's how they look. Even if we know that it's a filter, we see that photo and it somehow registers somewhat of reality in our mind and we still want to look like that. Like I hear about people taking their filters or taking like, you know, pictures from TikTok and Instagram and stuff like that and showing their plastic surgeon like, this is how I want to look. It's become, Other beauty standard, which is completely unattainable because it's actually not even real. It's literally a filter. It's literally computerized or whatever. Like it's just not even real. And that is just another. Area that I think that we just need to be aware of and think about more. And I hope that one day, I won't even think about using a filter when I'm doing my stories or reels or whatever. And I think that, looking at my journey so far, I know that it's possible that I can get there because. I really used to be that girl who could not walk out of her house without makeup on, and would literally freak out if someone saw me without a little bit of mascara or, you know, covering up my pimples or whatever it may be. And Now I'm free from that and it feels so good, and I've changed the way that, I see myself and I actually think that I look good without makeup and I still like makeup. Like it's still fun for me, but I don't feel like I need it anymore. And so, Perhaps at one point with, you know, filters on Instagram, I'll just feel like, oh, like I don't need it anymore. And the truth is, is that I don't always need the filter. I don't always use filters. But it is something that. I still do struggle with pretty frequently. And I give myself a lot of love and compassion for that. it's okay, you know, it's okay that I am where I am and I'm on this journey and I'm self-aware and I see the beauty in myself and I have confidence in myself, and that still doesn't mean that I'm perfect, quote unquote. I mean, I don't even know if I like that word. It's like, okay, we're all perfect in our imperfections. that's what it means to be human, right. I actually had a conversation with one of my clients recently, and she's like, I don't know if even wearing makeup is in line. Body positivity or is in line with radical self-acceptance, and I am the first one to say that it is totally in line if you want it to be. First of all, number one, women should have autonomy over their bodies. They should be able to make the choices they want, whether that is plastic surgery or Botox, or cosmetics or beauty products, whatever it is. we have the choice to make those decisions about our bodies and about how we wanna look and all of that. And I want that to be first of all, number one. And I think that fits very much in line with body positivity. The right that every single human being on this planet deserves to feel good about their body. Right? And number two, there is a discussion that does need to happen around does this contribute to beauty standards? Does. People, showing up in the world a certain way, make it that this is another standard that women have to live up to. And I think there is a lot of truth to that. So there is a certain amount of awareness that I think we need to have around that. But I think when it comes to an individual use of makeup, it's really about having that awareness in ourselves, which is what I was talking about in the beginning of this episode, Is this something that I need? Or is this something that I enjoy? And there is a huge difference because if it's something that you enjoy, then you're not necessarily gonna be wearing makeup all the time or using it to cover yourself up. You're gonna be using it to enhance things or use it as a way to express yourself creatively. And it's. Fun and it's beautiful and there's a certain energy that you bring to the world when you're using it for a creative expression. But when you're using it to cover yourself up, to hide, to look different, to be someone different, there's another energy that you bring to the world. And it's so unfortunate that women feel like that. it's not like I'm saying you are a bad person or you're contributing to diet culture because you're covering yourself up with makeup or beauty standards or whatever. it's more of what is taking a hold on you and what is serving you and. Take a moment to be aware of that for ourselves and when we work on our relationship with ourselves and understand what serves us in the highest way possible, so that we can be the most authentic people possible, the most real, alive, passionate versions of ourselves, then. Automatically affects the rest of the world in a positive way. So just the energy of, me being able to go out and be myself and not having to wear makeup. Allows other people to be themselves too. And when I am wearing makeup and I'm not feeling like, oh my God, I need this, or I'm hiding myself, or I'm judging other people for not wearing makeup or looking a certain way, that also brings the same kind of energy where other people feel free to be themselves. So it's not necessarily whether you're wearing the makeup or not. It's really like how you feel about yourself. And that will inform. How you treat other people, it informs how you talk. It informs how confident you are, how much you act like yourself. Like it really is the foundation of everything, right? So I think the point of all of this is really about having more self-awareness and having that desire to understand yourself on a deeper level, not just being like, Okay, so society tells me this, this body part is not good, or I am objectively not beautiful. Like that's just the way it is and I wanna change my body, or I wanna change my face because like, I'm just not beautiful. Instead of going to that place first, just taking a moment and being like, oh, that's really interesting. I'm really curious about this. this is how I feel about myself. why do I feel this way about myself and do I want it to be different? And I know that for myself, this whole makeup thing really freaking held me back. Like I didn't. Enjoy it. I didn't want to be feeling that way and it stopped me from going outside. It stopped me from going to the grocery store or to a social event when I started running out of makeup. it's, it's crazy. Like, not crazy, not like, you know, certified insane or whatever, but it's just crazy the pressure that society puts on us to look a certain way. And it's so obvious, I've said this so many times, but the diet industry is like 72 billion industry and that doesn't even touch the beauty industry, which I'm sure is way more, This is literally the society, the culture that we have bought into, the lies that we've bought into, and the reason why it works so well is because this industry is profiting off of us feeling like shit about our bodies, and it's so easy. To go to that place of dissatisfaction and comparison and hate, like actual hate for our bodies and for the way that we look. And these industries are literally profiting off of that. I mean, come on. Like if I'm not feeling good about my body, if I'm feeling like I need makeup all the time, think about. How much money I'm gonna pour into that. Like I will pay anything so that I can walk out of my house and feel secure. Right. it's so understandable. And at the same time, I don't wanna live that way. Like I personally don't wanna live that way. And I feel like if you're listening to this podcast, you probably don't wanna live that way either. So that's what I wanna share with you. I love makeup. I'm such a girly girl. I love getting my nails done. Like all of that is like a fun part of my life. But let's keep it fun. Let's keep it creative. Let's keep it a self-expression instead of something that we need and something that takes control over us. Okay, that's all guys. I hope you have an amazing day.