By BR Kellie
Move over Body Positivity movement, Skin Positivity has landed and we are here for it! (JOKING... keep going, Body Positivity! You're amazing too!)
So what's skin positivity all about? Quite simple it's baring your skin, no matter how it looks, and being cool with it. Being confident in yourself. Loving yourself.
One of the people who really stands out in the skin positivity movement is beauty lover Em Ford, aka My Pale Skin. In 2015 she released the video 'You Look Disgusting'. The video struck a chord, with over twenty-seven MILLION people viewing the video where she showed the lows and the highs of putting bare-skinned photos of herself up on social media. Since then Em's championed the skin positivity movement.
Over the years she's posted photos of herself online without makeup, often with inspiring quotes about being proud of who you are. And often giving the proverbial fingers to those who would judge her based on her skin. We love her attitude, and one of the favourite quotes we've seen on her Instagram page is 'Confidence. Wear it like makeup.' Darn right!
Her #skinpositivity philosophy is gaining followers around the globe, with people posting their own make-up free pictures, and revelling in the freedom that loving yourself no matter what your skin might look like brings them.
Photographer Abby Smith has been so inspired that she's creating a social project aimed at rejecting social expectations about acne. The portraits on her Instagram page, such as the one above, are beautiful. I don't know about you, but I don't see 'bad' skin, I see rosebud lips, lovely lashes, a fabulous nose (I'm obsessed with noses, it's weird, I know...) and also an aura of serenity. Stunning.
After barely taking any pictures of himself in 2017 because he hated the way his looked, photographer PJ DeVito took control of those feelings and flipped them round. In his own words ' I still look better than most of y'all headass b+++++s'. You've got to love that kind of self confidence! The man is rocking #skinpositivity!
Oh look! Here's your Head Pixie. Completely free of makeup.
I've had to post pictures of my bare skin here on Beauty Review for before and afters and, well, Kellie Confession: I hate doing it. With a fiery passion. I love my job - but not that bit. I don't even like looking at my face in the mirror when I'm getting my hair done.
You see, the state of my skin had an impact on my confidence for a long time. I grew up a 'nervy child' as my mother puts it, picking at any little thing on my skin. Creating scabs that probably didn't need to be there. The teenage years hit, and brought with them acne and whiteheads and blackheads galore. Long story short, I've never felt all that pretty in my skin. I struggle to see my 'clear' skin, instead I see the scarred, uneven, imperfect skin.
I'd like to think learning and embracing the concept of skin positivity is changing that. In the picture above I could choose to look at the parts of my skin that make me unhappy, as well as the couple of pimples that popped up on my forehead this week due to stress, but instead I'm choosing to take the #skinpositivity approach and to be okay with my skin. Instead of criticising myself, I'm choosing to look at the smiley eyes, and the happy lines spraying from the corners of my eyes. It's taken a long time to get to this point (even in the last year I've had days I've not wanted to face the world with the state of my face flaring up in a zitty mess), but I'm getting there, slowly but surely. And I'm happier for it. (I even went to the school bus drop off this morning with NO makeup on - despite my nasty red forehead zits -and wasn't self concious about it!)
In a world of carefully curated social media feeds and perfectly filtered and photoshopped pictures, I think it's easy to forget that perfection is NOT the norm. So to those who embrace what's real. To those unafraid to show themselves as they are. Who show their skin, who bare their wounds - whether physical, mental or emotional -and be proud of it, I salute you. We salute you.
I fully support this movement! I used to be the same. I'm pale and have really dark racoon eyebags so I wasn't proud of my bare face. I've been using makeup (mostly concealer and lipstick) for many years now that when I'm forced to not have makeup on I feel uneasy and insecure. I just came to terms with myself after I grew older and learned to joke around about said 'flaws'. It was also thanks to my husband for convincing me that I didn't need makeup to feel happy about myself.
Now I believe that the best makeup you can ever put on is a big smile. :) It's underrated but true. Also, I love happy wrinkles! I wish I had them. I feel like people have those wrinkles because they smile a lot which makes them look approachable.