Tag Archives: Women

Words of Affirmation

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I’ve decided to post a weekly blog about a book I’ve recently finished since it has a list attached to it that is easily broken up – the information contained in it is also useful. It is called “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman. As the title states, there are five primary languages and each of us feels love more by one of them. When we communicate to others in the way that he/she hears or feels loved most we can be more effective at showing how much we love him/her. I highly recommend reading the book as it can be applied to not only our marital or committed relationships but is also useful for every relationship we care about, like the ones with our friends and the one would should care most about but is usually the most neglected – ourselves. We need to nurture and care for ourselves in order to take care of those we love. The posts here will not go into detail of what each love language contains in its entirety, but it will be more about how it relates to beauty and how we can give more love to ourselves.

So, the first on the list is

Words of Affirmation

If you are reading this and have already had a makeover with Leta you will be quite familiar with what it means. Sending yourself positive thoughts, saying positive things to yourself and even writing the positive words down will eventually help you feel more love for yourself. Words of affirmation can be as simple as pointing our that you really like the shoes you are wearing today. Yeah, maybe they are your favorites an you wear them a lot, but sometimes when we haven’t been nice to ourselves in a long time starting with something so simple can be a break through to more powerful affirmations. Dr. Chapman would call these verbal compliments.

Another way to express words of affirmation is through encouraging words. Especially useful when building up confidence to do something new or something that may be challenging or frightening to us. For example, say you’ve always had the desire to learn to play the piano but were never given the opportunity to take lessons growing up. Encouraging yourself to venture out and try this new possible hidden talent can build your confidence to actually do it and hopefully build  your love for yourself in the process as well. “Most of us have more potential than we will ever develop. What holds us back is often courage.”

Kind words are spoken by us to those we love, but not often enough to ourselves. By speaking kindly to ourselves we are demonstrating that we care about ourselves. In turn, we can give more loving care to others.

Finally, humble words are a demonstration of affirming words. “Love make requests, not demands,” Dr. Chapman states in the first line of this section in the book. As women we are often so demanding on ourselves it can wear us down and start to feed the negativity residing within. However, by letting go of some of the demands we put on ourselves and just request that we do the best we can, again we are giving ourselves love.

Why Women Wear Lipstick

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As our month long blogging on lipstick comes to a close (no this won’t be the last time you hear us talk about lipstick,) the question “why do women wear lipstick?” is forefront. Makeup, specifically lipstick, is seen by some as uneccessary and put on simply to attract and hold the interest of men. While this is not true, well not entirely true, there must be a reason behind the lipstick and other makeup we put on. In fact, there is. We like it. It makes us feel pretty and fun, mysterious and sexy. Maybe the truth really is that as girls we loved messing around our mothers makeup drawers and begged her to put even just a small dab of her lipstick on us for the day or at least until we had to leave the house. Many of us have this experience with our daughters. From very young ages – even as early as 15 months – children are fascinated by our makeup. Wearing lipstick as adults channels us back to those simpler days when all that mattered was having the stuff on our lips no matter how well it was applied, if it matched perfectly with what we were wearing or what would the other girls would think of it.

We continually look for new products, colors and application techniques to improve our look. As unique as each of us are, lipstick can be just as unique for us. It lets us say what we want about ourselves – be it confidence, sexiness, security, or even that maybe that’s all we had time to do and it makes us feel more put-together. For all you women reading this who don’t wear lipstick, we lipstick wearers might understand your perspective as well-you’re just not into it. To which we say – good, more for us. Not really. Honestly, to each his own. Women should just do what makes them feel beautiful and not follow along because that’s what society tells us we should do.

Finally, I’d like to answer the question with a question. Why not wear lipstick?

Beauty's Ancestors

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By Leta Greene

Science says that when we were Neanderthals, we females selected one from the sweaty, grungy males, to share our cozy cave, by who brought home the most meat.  Cavemen picked the slightly less hairy, softer-sex version and  liked  wider hips for birthing little ones to fill the cave. They, and men through the ages, have liked  fat lips.  Lips! Wait! What? Why?

Fuller lips are a sign of youth. So today, a whole school of thought says, “Fuller lips equate sexy, and thinner lips are a sign of intelligence.”  I agree completely. As we age, we loose some of our lip’s natural collagen. Not only do our lips get smaller, but our pigment line also recedes.  So, at 36,  I am almost in the middle, a little sexy but also more intelligent. In my youth, I had a flatter tummy, I spent much more time on my hair and I wondered how what I was wearing would appeal to my friends or a boy? Now I see myself in a much kinder light,even though the perfection of youth is fading.

As the years pass, I feel that I am more beautiful. Additionally, I think my husband, when looking at the total package of who I am now,  would agree, I am more attractive and beautiful, despite my physical weaknesses. My lips may be a little thinner and as I draw on my lips, I don’t worry about how my outfit will be received but rather, I think about my son. As I send him off to school,  I hope he will do his best and be well received.

As I put on my makeup, I cover scars and I am aware of others that are not seen. All of them represent an experience –alife lesson. Although I am not perfect, I wouldn’t take away the things that age me, that have given me wisdom. The ideal beauty of our predecessors has altered and changed as well as what was thought to be stylish. I may not be the ideal, and that is good!

Yet, I can be my best. The scar on my face, from the bike accident of my youth, I get to cover up. The lips are  a combination of colors  to accentuate the shape. And concealer, after some necessary tears, is a good thing to have. We can bring out our best, minimize our imperfections and embrace the adventure of living. For all I do with makeup,  it is my job. But the biggest effort at the start of the day is not on my appearance, but rather on my heart and soul so as to be able to embrace those with whom I share my life.

Lip Shape

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Lips are often the first thing noticed about a person. Women have an edge to create a desired lip look with lipstick, as it gives her the opportunity to accentuate what she’s got. While lipstick colors can give a woman options as far as what she does with what she’s got, to discover the meaning of lip shape you either need to be a psychic (please tell us if you are,) or become familiar with what is known as physiognomy. Physiognomy is the art of judging character by outward features. For instance, while big lips represent beauty and sexual desire, thin lips represent high intelligence and a possible trickster. Combine the different attributes of your girlfriends lips and you may just learn more about her than you thought you already knew. So when it comes to lip shape, fullness, symmetry, etc. each individual lip set is unique. As unique as, say, eye color and shape, as personality and as who the individual woman is. Not only do lips say as much about a woman as her eyes, but they actually say something about the woman behind the lips. In addition, the way we communicate through the use of  our lips (yes, tongue and jaw too) says a lot about who we are. What a woman is all about as a person.

So, what do your lips say about you?