Smart beauty starts with you
When the good folks at ASAPS asked me to consider what our new masthead, “Smart Beauty” meant to me, it got me thinking.
By definition, the word ‘beauty’ means: a combination of qualities, such as shape, color, or form that pleases the aesthetic senses, especially sight. But whose sight exactly? And who chooses what qualities contribute to someone being deemed beautiful?
The perception of beauty is such an individual one, and is so intrinsically tied to how we feel about ourselves — wouldn’t it be smart to talk about beauty in a way that pulls the emphasis from others view of what makes us physically attractive, and puts the emphasis back on what makes us, as individuals, feel beautiful?
I’ll be the first to admit that there are days when primping, coiffing, and mulling over those fine lines and wrinkles feels much more like a project than other days. But what makes you feel beautiful — whether you’re taking advantage of the advances being made in modern, cosmeceuticals, and plastic surgery, or simply washing your face twice a day with mild soap and water — are the informed choices you make in how you choose to take care of yourself. ‘Cause who knows what makes you feel beautiful better than you?
In our ever-changing, age-obsessed culture, allowing others to define who we are and how we look our best doesn’t seem smart at all. Smart Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and the beholder is oftentimes that stunningly individual flower looking back at you in the mirror (*insert fluttering lashes here) — that means that there is only one set of peepers to impress — yours. And with that simple change in your perception of beauty, you are beautiful — in the smartest possible way.
About the Author
Corrie Shenigo is obsessed. No seriously, she has a problem. Gleefully embracing all things even remotely related to being a modern woman, Ms. Shenigo dutifully reports her experiences and findings back to the fairer sexed masses – ‘cause gosh darn-it, they need to know.
Yes, yes… she’s qualified. A former Editor at luxe mega-publisher Modern Luxury Media, Corrie has been published in Vogue, In-Style, Cosmopolitan, LemonTree and a whole slew of other print magazines, websites and beauty, fashion and lifestyle blogs, as well as her own blog BelleAesthete.com A skilled copywriter, Corrie’s clients have included noted beauty brands like Smashbox, CrushCrush Couture and Market America. She’s been known to moonlight as a red-carpet reporter for various celebrity news sources and somewhere in her studio lives a shiny B.A. in Mass Media-Journalism and Public Relations.
Covering lifestyle, beauty and fashion isn’t just her job… it’s an adventure. So consider her the Christopher Columbus of women’s media – exploring, taking notes and reporting directly back to the Queen… ahem… that would be you.
