The Price of Beauty

Okay this subject is not of the utmost of importance in the things that matter in life. However, I do find that the subject seems to take a great part of my thought life as a woman. Our society insists that we are all supposed to meet the requirements of beauty. But the media's definition of beauty. There have recently been campaigns for women to except and embrace their beauty, but yet some of those campaigns have women in their undergarments. Hmm. Not quite the beauty message I am looking for to embrace. The aspects that take up the most time in my thoughts are: fashion, hair and makeup. Are my clothes stylish enough and fitting my body well? Does my hair match the latest trends? Is it okay for me to wear a full face of makeup or is that vain? My thoughts tend toward the nature of dissatisfaction and failure.

While I have never been trendy and prefer classic with clothing, I don't want to be seen as momish. Yet momish is practical with toddlers. It isn't practical for me to wear stylish dresses and shirts and pants when dealing with constant messes around the house and that may be wiped on me. I would be very upset for ruining the stylish clothes that probably no one would see me wear anyway. So jeans and T-shirts with sweaters are my staples right now.  Why aren't I satisfied with seeing things in a practical and logical manner? Why do I see myself as less for being practical?

Recently, I watched a segment of a talk show that was about getting an celebrity "head to toe" look for less. My idea of less definitely didn't agree with the stylists' idea of a good deal. I was also shocked to find that the very outfits that we are told we should emulate on celebrity can cost thousands of dollars. Thousands. The head to toe look for less only costing $300 does seem like a deal, in comparison. This segment woke me up. Would I feel okay spending thousands of dollars on one outfit? Of course not. Would I feel okay spending hundreds of dollars on one everyday outfit? Nope. Even on a special occasion outfit, I would feel ashamed of spending that much on a look.
It also mentioned how these people have teams to take care of their beauty and life needs. And with the number of media pictures and events they attend for their job, it is definitely necessary to have a team.

So I ask myself what the price of beauty is? Is it worth the negative thoughts and worry of falling short taking over my day? Could I look myself in the eye spending that kind of money on beauty? Is it worth it? For me the answer is no. And now I can combat the lie I've been believing for too  many years. I've taken the philosophy of investing in quality pieces that fit my lifestyle and simple hair and makeup. For me it's just Team Kate and there are far more worthwhile people and things to focus on in my life than measuring up to media's standard for beauty.