Early Saturday morning, I drove out to an abandoned property rich with the colors and textures of old wood, tires, and metals.  In this very fitting setting of unfinished and imperfect surfaces, I posed without makeup for Ellie of http://www.lilacphotography.com/.

The “challenge” of this project was very real for me and believe me, I felt it.  As a woman who loves what makeup does for me, it was very hard to go without it and willingly be photographed.  As a stylist and someone who does makeup for other people’s photo shoots, I had to turn off the artist in me that wants to paint the canvas and add color, shape, and beauty.  I feel like I’ll be learning from this experience for a long time and I’m thankful for it.

I encourage anyone to go without something for a day that you think you need to “be okay” and learn to receive comfort or security from God, your family, or your friends instead.  It’s a good exercise on what really matters.  While I’m not ready to stop wearing makeup and don’t think that’s what I was expected to learn from this and change about myself, I did find balance that I was lacking.  I am humbled and I am thankful.

We are all beautiful the day we are born and every day beyond that.  It’s just so easy to let this world tell us otherwise!

-Jill