Haven’t you heard? Nice is the new black. As timeless as voluminous lashes, as welcomed as Sunday and as affordable as a home-packed lunch, it’s a sublime example of the adage, ‘the best things in life are free’. In a society that’s fast becoming a little tired with superficial beauty and its many downfalls, the tide is turning in favour of a beauty that’s harder to spot – and possibly even harder to master.
Being beautiful on the inside is not a new concept. We’ve heard our mothers espouse its value a thousand times, mostly throughout our teenage years as they fought to make us see through the adolescent-inducing, socially-encouraged fog of physical comparison and accepted standards of beauty. As we grew up, it’s what we strived to obtain despite the fact that we never really knew how. And today, in most minds, it’s still playing second fiddle to the powerhouse of physical aesthetics.
Emme – the first plus-size model to appear on an Australian magazine cover
For too long, we’ve been reminded of the importance of inner beauty only as an alternative to external beauty. It’s the way the topic turns when we feel as though we fail to match up to the exacting standards of physical aesthetics. It’s in the way we question the friendliness of an attractive female, even before we get the chance to know her. For too long, we’ve believed that these two very different sides of beauty couldn’t be mastered by the one individual. You’re pretty, or you’re nice.
But this is an antiquated philosophy, and one that’s probably not only been to the detriment of our personal development, but to the detriment of female relationships. Being attractive doesn’t give us an out when it comes to treating others with respect. Nor can we let our insecurities drive us to believe that another attractive female is presumably unkind or stand-offish. We should never believe that a girl can’t have beauty in the inside and out.
So, in an attempt to practice this mindfulness, it’s probably a good idea to draw some similarities between inner and outer beauty. Those voluminous lashes are all about drawing attention to your eyes. The next time you apply your mascara, remember that voluminous laughter also brings out the best of your smile. And while we’re on the subject of lips, let’s talk lip liner. We love lip liner for its sharpness and the way it clearly defines our lips from our skin. Perhaps a little bit of metaphorical lip liner could help us to draw a line between kind words and bitter ones, and highlight our inner beauty by filtering our words before they tumble out. The next time you’re straightening your hair, use the flat iron to straighten out your intentions. Being purposeful in the way you act and the things you say can save you and those around you a lot of heartache in the long run. And the next time you put on your favourite push up to boost your confidence, remember to pay the good vibes forward and boost someone else’s confidence with a compliment or two.
Let’s celebrate both inner and outer beauty!
