My God-Driven Makeover

UPDATE: If you are looking at this post from my main blog site, it is probably appearing with a bunch of sentences underlined. I have no idea why. They do not show up on the individual post page, for some reason.




So after much mulling over and much discussion (mostly on Facebook) of the question of beauty that I wrote about before - where I think that God wants me to take some measures to make myself look more attractive - here is my own, personal "makeover". This is what I've decided to do.

1.Start wearing skirts at least some of the time.

I've been thinking about this one for a long time, actually. Some time ago, the idea of wearing skirts all the time captured my imagination. I haven't acted on it, but it was quick to come to mind when I started to think that God wanted me to put a little effort into looking more attractive. Right after that, I came across this post about wearing skirts, which seemed like a confirmation that that would be a good direction for me to go.

The reasons I haven't worn skirts much before this is (a) I only own one, and didn't want to spend money on more; and (b) it's hard to find ones that will hold up to use around small kids. I plan to deal with the cost by buying a few skirts over time, as I can afford them. I've bought this skirt off Etsy; it was Ken's favorite of the ones I looked at. (For a picture of me wearing it, scroll to the bottom of the post.) There's a black skirt at Lane Bryant that might satisfy (b), which I hope to buy in the future. And I will keep my eye out for other practical skirts. 

2. Wear other cuter clothes.

Some time ago Gabe, my two-year-old, was "helping" me sort laundry. He would grab each carefully-folded item out of the basket (thus un-folding it), hand it to me, and tell me whose it was so I could (after re-folding it), put it on the right person's pile. Whenever he pulled out one of my jeans, he insisted they were "dada"s. (It was actually quite cute; I would tell him, "no, that's mama's", and he would look at me, look back at the jeans, and say, "no, dada".)

So I've been thinking that maybe I would feel a lot girlier if, you know, I didn't have to look at the tag to tell the difference between my jeans and Ken's. I do own one pair of jeans with pretty decorations down the side, and they're my favorite jeans. When I buy jeans in the future, I will definitely try to find ones with distinctly feminine decorations on them.

Since I also needed some cute tops, Ken and I went shopping at Lane Bryant a couple weeks ago, and I came home with several cute tops. He has good taste in clothes.

This is the cutest top Ken picked out. I put this photo up on Facebook and asked if it was too low-cut. A couple people said to wear a cammy* if going to work or church, but most people said it was fine.

*I could not find a camisole at Kmart that both fit me and was more modest than the low-cut shirts. What's up with that? I did pick up some cute sandals, though.

3.Get my hair done.

Of all the responses that I got to my earlier post, doing something with my hair was the most common suggestion. And, frankly, it’s something I was leaning towards doing even before this all started. My sister got enthusiastic about this, picked out a salon for me (made possible by the internet, considering she lives half a continent away), and even transferred money into my account to help pay for it. Go Cathy! :)

Before:

Keep in mind that I never wore it down like this. It was *always* in a braid. And usually a frizzy, falling apart one at that.

The stylist figured she cut off about 8 inches of split ends, although she said the top was surprisingly healthy.

After:

Getting Kyrie to take a close-up and focused photo was difficult.

Ken wouldn't take a photo b/c he was sulking about how short it was. :)

I didn't know what I wanted, so the stylist suggested I have my hair blown out. I don't think I really care for how big that makes my hair look, but it was worth trying it to see. She showed me how wavy my hair was when wet, and said that I could try putting gel in it to keep it wavy, which idea I like. This is how it looks when I tried that. (I like it much better than the straight look).

Why does my laptop camera turn everything blue? I love the curls, though.

 And I do really like the length. (Ken doesn't). It came out a couple inches shorter than I was picturing it, but I don't mind that. It is SO much easier to brush and take care of. It's a lot lighter, too. And It's more flexible; I can leave it down for ordinary days, put it in a ponytail when I need it away from my face, and do a half-braid for special occasions. Instead of just braid, braid, braid all the time.

4. Try to clear up my skin.

A friend had previously recommended a 2% BHA Liquid that cleared up the tiny red bumps on her own face. Since I have the same thing, I went ahead and bought some. It seems to be helping a little, albeit slowly. 

Before:

See, this is what my hair usually looked like from the front.

After:

Can you even see any difference? My laptop camera isn't quite clear enough, and my digital camera doesn't focus when I'm holding it and pointing it at myself, so neither one really captured my complexion. This will take time to improve, anyhow.

5. Wear make-up (maybe).

I had actually decided not to do this, on account of the hassle, when I came across this post, a sort of beginner's guide to make-up. I will go ahead and try her suggestion for beginners - concealer, mascara, and lip gloss. (I don't have the concealer yet). Allergies make my eyes itch a lot, and there's a patch under my right eye that looks bruised from rubbing it so hard. Maybe if I wear concealer and mascara sometimes, it will help remind me not to touch my eyes, even when they itch really really bad. This is sort of a work in progress, so I'll have to try it out and see if I'm motivated to keep doing it or not.

I also am keeping some lip balm or chapstick with me at all times and using it often. I am blessed with fairly bright lips, as long as they aren't chapped and dry, so I think this will make a big difference all by itself. 




Putting it all together

Before:

It doesn't help that it's a crappy picture, but all the alternatives were muy fuzzy. Emphasizes the difference, though.

After:

All dressed up for the Easter Vigil. He is risen! Alleluia Alleluia!

The God Part


I will say, too, that I really believe that this is something God wanted me to do. I know it can seem superficial and wasteful to put time and effort and money into making myself look more attractive, but God has given me peace in my heart at every step. There was once or twice when I felt He was telling me to take a step back and not go too far with the whole thing, but for the most part, he has reassured me that, since this is what He told me to do, I will not be depriving anyone else of something they need by obeying Him. That is something that is harder for me to believe than it may sound. But, as I've allowed myself to look girlier and more attractive, it has been like a weight has lifted off my heart. (A weight I did not clearly realize was there.) I've found, as I have found every time I've obeyed God, a new sense of freedom and life.