Sorry you haven't heard from us much lately...I've been on vacation at the beach, and KameraWhore has been working furiously, formulating some new things and researching a future facet of the closet narcissist. (With all those f's, that was a bit like a tongue-twister!)
Being at the beach made me think about a couple of things. I tried to spend my vacation not thinking about much of ANYthing! But a TCN-related thought can't help but pop in every now and again. :)
As much of a makeup addict as I am, I just can't bring myself to wear it at the beach! I enjoyed 8 makeup-free days and thought nothing of it. After a while, I kinda miss it, though! Just because it's fun. But while I'm there, it's the last thing on my mind.
I remember the first time I went on vacation with my fiance and his (now our) family years ago. At the time, I was not comfortable with not wearing makeup except at home, really. I didn't know what I'd do! I also wasn't very comfortable in my body back then either, and I was thinking, "I have to appear in public in a swimsuit AND sans makeup?!" I didn't know what a good thing that would turn out to be! I think I wore makeup the first day and then gave it up because it suddenly seemed so ridiculous to wear it at the beach. By the end of the week, I was used to presenting myself without makeup. I was used to how my face looked without it, and it didn't look so strange and foreign anymore. I really do think it's all a matter of what you're used to. Since then, the only makeup I've worn at the beach was a bit of mascara if we had a big get-together dinner where we all put forth a little more effort than normal (though nothing formal). Sometimes not even then. If we ever went out to a nice dinner on vacation, I might put on some makeup and just go lighter than normal. But that first vacation broke me of the habit and enabled me to - gasp! - be seen in public without makeup anytime I wanted, not just on vacation. This trip, the most I did was quickly comb my brows, 'cuz they're pretty unruly on their own. We rarely leave the house and surrounding beach, so we spend most of the day outside with sunblock, sand, water, sweat, and wind, and makeup is pretty pointless.
Which brings me to another thing I was thinking about...sunblock. It kind of amazes me that anyone sets out to tan on purpose regularly anymore. In my eyes, going to a tanning bed or laying out and browning yourself frequently is kind of akin to smoking these days. It's not only passe, but it's unhealthy. I'm really not interested in inviting skin cancer or premature aging. I was pretty religious about sunblock this trip and have been since a couple years ago when I accidentally burned myself to a crisp...my whole self was lobster red, and it hurt to sleep because I couldn't even stand to touch the sheets. I still got a little bit of sun this trip...even sitting under umbrellas and reapplying your sunblock periodically still isn't going to safeguard you from all exposure...and if I'm being perfectly honest, I think I look less tired with a little extra color. But what I got was pretty minimal, and I'm fine with it. I don't take sun protection to a fanatical level day-to-day, though I do make sure to at least have some on my face. But you won't see me out on the beach without sunblock anymore. I used to worry over being too pale; it seemed like tanning was the thing to do, and people would criticize you if you didn't have enough color. Now I just don't really care. I saw a picture of some guy from "Jersey Shore" (which I have never watched, but I know enough about it to know they obsessively tan) leaning back and holding one of those shiny, folded reflector things to increase his tan. I wrinkled up my nose and wondered what he'll look like when he's 40. I used to go to a tanning bed for special occasions, I used to think I needed to burn before I tanned, and I even thought I needed a "base tan" from a tanning bed before going to the beach...good grief. I'm not saying you will never, ever see me laying out by a pool...but it probably won't be for long.
I'm happy to say that when I go on vacation now, I truly relax and have fun...I no longer obsess over how my body looks in a suit, I don't spend all my time tanning, and I don't worry over how I look without makeup. It makes for a much more relaxing time!! And that's what vacation is supposed to be about. I want to have a good time on the beach and not worry about trivial stuff. If I start to worry about my appearance, I tell myself I'm sure I look better than I think I do and distract myself with something fun. It's just not that important!!
So, beauties...what are your thoughts on makeup at the beach/tanning/body image in a swimsuit? Do you let it get to you, or can you let it go and just have fun?
6 comments:
Oh god, Lady. I think (know) that you are a true natural beauty who would never look worse for not slathering your face with powders and pigments and creams and blah blah. Even if you can't see it, anyone else who's ever laid eyes on you can. I'm glad you feel more comfortable now. Besides, a week without makeup on the beach is wonderful for your skin! The heat makes you sweat out all those impurities in your pores that cause breakouts! A vacation from makeup every once in a while is great for your skin. People with acne don't realize how much harm they are doing to their faces by wearing makeup--it only exacerbates the problem. Although I know I wouldn't go without it when I had bad skin in middle school, by the time I stopped caring and stopped wearing makeup in high school, my skin improved dramatically as far as non-hormonal acne was concerned. Not much you can do about the hormones though but birth control, and that can be even worse than acne for some people. Anyhow, you're gorgeous, makeup or none.
I totally agree on your thoughts on sunblock, about how important it is. I seem to have an aversion to how it feels though. It makes me feel greasy, I can't stand that greasy feeling on my face and always seem to sweat it off anyway and my face is always under water when I'm swimming. This aversion to sunblock got back at me last month at the beach when I over exposed my face. I looked a little lobsteresque! Visions of wrinkles were dancing in my head as I admired the sunny after glow a few days later. The one good thing about having some sun is for some reason makeup becomes obsolete and your features just seem to naturally pop! I've never worried about not wearing makeup at the beach because the draw of the water and sand make me feel so natural and at peace, like I belong and all is beautiful....
Agree 100%. Makeup at the beach is pointless, as it just ends up melting or washing off anyways. And then your pores get clogged and you get pimples. No thanks!
As for tanning, I used to be a tan-enthusiast... But since my Nanny passed away from lung cancer due to smoking last summer, I really started questioning my own behavior. I started asking myself, "If smoking is bad because it results in things like lung cancer, than isn't tanning bad because it invites skin cancer?" Since then I have given up tanning. I still like to lay outside in the sun occasionally, but if I do I use a sunscreen of at least SPF 30 and try to reapply as often as I can. There's no way I want skin cancer, or premature wrinkles! Yuck!
T, you are loverly. THANK YOU. :)
Alana, I love your last sentence! That's exactly how I feel. And I used to feel the same way about sunscreen, the greasy, icky thing...I think maybe it just depends on the kind you use, because now I don't get that way. Not sure?
Nicki, I posted once before that my mom died young, and I didn't wanna delve into that in my post, but she also died of lung cancer. It's a horrible, horrible disease. :( I'm really sorry for your loss. Change of subject before I get emotional...
Concerning acne and makeup, weirdly, my skin does better when I wear makeup more regularly. For some reason (maybe the sun and the elements), it does fine while on vacation. But for normal day-to-day, I will break out if I haven't worn makeup in a few days. I think it's because my skin gets oily later on in the day, and the powders I wear soak it up. For foundation and setting powder, I typically only use mineral makeup, with e.l.f's Complexion Perfection in between, and my skin seems to really love those.
I couldn't agree with you more!
Excessive tanning can be dangerous, and the comparison to smoking was very edgy. I like!
Did you know that "Kamera" is the Norwegian word for Camera? I am new here, but I just wanted to mention it!
Makeup at the beach is useless. A lot of effort with minimal output and too many touch-ups and too little sandcastling.
I wish I could just go goth and never see the sun! But at the same time I do love it's warmth on occasion, and - like you said, a little bronze makes us look so much more healthy!
That's very interesting! And here we thought we were just being really clever and punny on her name and the word "camera." But knowing that little tidbit makes it even cooler!
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