Beauty

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder they say. It is not something you can define or even describe. People often don’t agree on it. But for some reason when you see it, you know it and when you create it, you feel it.

As a woman I have often wondered who it is that I work so hard to make myself beautiful for. Is it for the man in my life? He is certainly the one who seems to appreciate it most. Perhaps I do it to compete in some sort of subconscious way with other woman. I’d like to think it is for myself. But it’s hard to justify given that I tend to look my worse when I am home alone hanging on the couch, a glass of wine in one hand and a box of chocolate in the other, wearing sweatpants, oversized T-shirts and not a stitch of makeup.

I wonder why we care if we are beautiful or not. We torment ourselves with ridiculous diets. We buy copious amounts of make up, most of which expire before the tube is emptied. We color the hair on our head and endure the painful routine of waxing the rest. We pluck, backtease, botox, crimp, pierce, scrub, paint and perm. And that is all before we succumb to the knife.

Why do we do it? What do we gain from it?

From the moment most baby girls are born they are attracted to all things beautiful. Pink and purple. Fluffy and soft. Bedazzled and bejeweled. We love sparkles, and skirts that spin. Flowers that smile and pretty ponies with long flowing manes. The more the better, The shiner the prettier.

The only excuse I can find is that it must be in our genes. Perhaps our DNA is wired to connect to all things beautiful. Perhaps we can’t live without beauty in our lives. So what happens when our beauty is not exposed, flaunted and shared. But instead protected, hidden and cherished.

Myself, Fran, Mary and Marianna are off to the Middle East today. Fran and Mary are heading to Egypt, Marianna and I, to Saudi Arabia. Our goal is to discover the truth about ‘Beauty Under The Veil’. We hope to understand what they care about. Share their secrets. Feel what they feel. And ultimately, we hope to bring you their beautiful stories.