If you had asked me a month ago what my least favorite word was, I wouldn’t have hesitated and given my answer with certainty.
ACNE.
The occurrence of inflamed or infected sebaceous glands in the skin; in particular, a condition characterized by red pimples on the face, prevalent chiefly among teenagers.
I’ve struggled with acne for a really long time now. It started minimally around eighth grade and kept getting worse over the years, but never out of hand. All throughout high school I had no more and no less than the average teenage girl. Although, I do have to admit that I always envied those girls who had flawless cheeks and talked about going to bed with their makeup on. Personally, I am not one to judge but even if you do have a face as clear and soft as a baby’s butt, it should NEVER be okay to go to bed without a gentle face cleanse, at least. Love and take care of the skin you are in regardless of what it looks like.
Anyways, it wasn’t until my freshman year of college that my acne really started getting bad. And when I say bad, I mean BAD. Two words, CYSTIC ANCE, it was the death of me. I don’t know what was worse, the actual pimples on my face or the fact that no matter how hard you try, people will stare. Wincing while applying makeup, looking in the mirror and just bursting into tears, and the dreadful comments from your loved ones, “Are you washing your face at night?”… no, I just go to bed hoping I don’t wake up and look the same.
It’s funny how I used to want to grow out of my teens years so that I could enter my twenties, the years where I would look flawless. Yet now I am twenty years old and still struggling with acne. For the sake of getting to the point, I was on medication for an entire year only to see zero changes in my skin. Finally, I found the solution that worked best for me. Going vegetarian and giving up dairy. ALL OF IT! It works wonders and If you have struggled in the past like me you should give it a try, trust me on this one.
The purpose of this post isn’t to tell you about my sad acne journey and what I have done along the way. No, this is about a realization I had while studying abroad in Italy. While living in Europe I made a lot of observations from people’s behavior to clothes. Except I couldn’t help but notice that women in Milan exuded a fine characteristic.
SIMPLICITY.
The quality or condition of being plain or natural.
When I say these women are simple I mean it as a compliment. They keep their style to a minimum yet in a trendy way, and their makeup is almost non-existent. To be honest, I have no clue how makeup companies sell any products there.
I had been told in the past that European women are very effortless especially when it came to makeup. However, my biggest misconception of it all was that even though beauty is effortless there, it didn’t exactly mean they had perfect skin. Now, this is where my epiphany comes in. Whether one has acne, clear skin wears too much makeup or not at all, It’s up to the person to make it work. What I want to say is that just because one has red blemishes, it doesn’t mean you can’t rock a clean face in public. The same thing goes to girls with beautiful skin, it does not mean they can’t wear a face full of makeup.
Yes I know what you’re thinking.
Paola, you are just stating something we already know, that society has already figured out.
I’ll continue my personal revelation with a picture of myself.
I took this picture of myself on July 3rd of 2017 while studying abroad not very long ago. No, it’s definitely not the best picture I have of myself, but for the first time in a while, I felt great in my own skin. I had numerous pimples, under eye circles, acne scars and so on. When I saw Italian girls with acne and very natural makeup or no makeup at all, I understood. My acne is a part of who I am and it will keep being a part of who I become. My acne is beautiful because It has taught me that looks do not AND should not define who I am. But most importantly it should not keep me from trying new things.
Remember when I said that I gave up dairy in order to clear my skin?
PIZZA’S, PANINI’S, PASTA’S, GELATO’S, COFFEE’S, PASTRIES, etc. So, Yes, I am still a vegetarian. Yet I knew that if I strayed from trying all of the delicious foods in Italy containing dairy, I would regret it. Don’t get me wrong there are plenty of vegan options in different places, but it just wouldn’t have been the same. At least to me. Whether or not I decide to do it all over again if I’m ever to go back, I made a decision and I accepted that I might break out.
I have to admit that this story is sort of all over the place, but here are the many lessons I learned about myself and beauty:
– If you make a decision, stand by it every step of the way.
– Not only accept your flaws but realize they are a great part of you.
– Beauty isn’t defined by how we look, rather by how we take our looks and turn them into something divine through one’s confidence.
– If you can’t accept yourself in the skin you are in, then don’t expect others to do the same towards you. Teach THEM the lesson.
– The truth isn’t ugly, what is ugly is knowing the truth and shaping it into something negative.
– Feel great in your own skin because your body deserves it!
– Flaws are not a bad thing and never will be.
– “Less is More” BUT if more is what makes YOU feel good, then BREAK THE MANTRA!!
– Take pictures without any makeup, look at them and smile.
– Enjoy yourself and do what you know will make you happy.
I am not perfect and I probably never will be, but that’s okay because NO ONE is! There will be day’s when I won’t feel the prettiest, and day’s I’ll feel like a model. All I know for sure is that it’s up to me to decide how I look simply by changing the way I see myself. And so can you.
xoxo Paola Fog