What is Beauty to YOU?

A week ago, I was chatting with my brother about random things, and the topic of makeup came up because well, hello, I'm obsessed with makeup.  It was kind of strange talking to him about makeup, because he's a very straight guy and he has absolutely no interest in such things.  In fact, I believe he has only had bad experiences with makeup in his life, since my sister and I used to torture him by forcing our makeovers on him when he was little.

But aside from this, when I asked him point blank what he thought about makeup, he gave me some very good advice, from the point of view of an artist (he is an excellent artist, in my opinion).  He reminded me that beauty should be something that is pleasing to YOUR eyes.  And it's true: at the end of the day, you're the one that matters to you the most.  It doesn't matter what anyone else thinks about the way you look, because your happiness depends on how YOU feel about yourself, not your family or your friends or even your boyfriend/spouse/life partner.  What is beauty to YOU? 

My brother doesn't care what other people think about his art work.  He does it because he really truly loves it, and if other people don't think highly of it, he shrugs it off because it only matters that the piece pleases HIM.  I think this is the way we should feel about the way we look.  If we do use makeup, we should do it so that we feel great about ourselves, and not try to constantly win the approval of others.  I am far from achieving this goal, but I see it as an awesome ideal, a wonderful and freeing way to live and think. 

It was a nice conversation with my brother.  He really made me feel great about myself and how I do my own makeup.  He gave me a lot of nuggets of wisdom, but below are a few quotes that I think really get his message across:

"You have to trust your own eye more than anyone else's." 

"If you only copy other people's styles, you lose your individuality, the thing you're trying to represent in the first place."

"If you don't think it looks pretty, then what's the point of doing it in the first place?"

Sigh, so proud of my brother, and I really trust his sense of beauty.  He does art work that really blows me away.  Below is an example, it's a piece that he did recently.  I think it is my favorite.  LOL, who knew that the little brother I used to torment would turn out so great?

Love,

Geneys  :o)