I remember the first time I went to the store without makeup — just to buy bread. My heart was beating like it was before an exam. I thought, “Everyone will stare! They'll ask me if I'm sick or just lazy.” No one asked. No one looked. The world didn't even notice. And I breathed. Freely.
Now I go out “natural” more and more often. Sometimes it's still fun to put on makeup. But it's no longer a duty. I don't have to “improve” myself to be beautiful. My face is mine. And it reflects my truth, my life, my age, my sleepless nights, and my happy mornings.
I look at myself in the mirror and no longer look for “what to hide.” I look for what to accept. Because femininity is not in eyeliner or sculpted features. It is in confidence, in softness, in how you look at yourself.
Today I woke up, washed my face, looked at myself, and for the first time said:
“Hello. You are beautiful. Simply because you are you.”