Plain & Simple

Being from the South, there has always been a standard of grace, good manners and beauty. Southern women are known for the image of always being the bell of the ball. When I was younger, I can remember my grandmother standing in the bathroom fluffing her beehive that could have put Marge Simpson to shame and drawing on her eyebrows with precision. Women have been taught that image and how you look is almost insistent when it comes to the public eye. My mother’s generation and generations before that never leave the house without their face and hair perfect not knowing who they would see out and about. A secret society of sorts. You work all week but on the weekends you never know who you would see at the local grocery or drug store.

To this day my grandmother or my mother do not go out without some type of “war paint” as my grandfather called it on their faces to venture to Wal-mart. I mean seriously its Wal-mart, who cares! But they do because it means you might see Betty Jo who’s married to the only insurance agent in town and you might have to discuss what took place at the Friday night football game or who’s child is now divorced..oh, the shame.

Growing up especially high school and my twenties, I had the same mentality. My face was covered in “war paint” and my hair had enough Aqua Net on it that if a match was lit within 2 feet I probably would have burnt to a crisp. Image death by hairspray. It’s seriously a wonder the girls of my generation weren’t toxic with the sprtiz and chemicals on our hair we inhaled and I should honestly have stock in Agua Net extra firm hold in the white can with the pink label. Of course, now I realize I had to wash and style my hair everyday because after shellacking my hair with that stuff, you couldn’t get a comb through it the next day and the dried flakes it made in your hair was disgusting. We didn’t have dandruff it was “the spray.”

Today, I still "war paint" myself up when necessary but if I am not going out, this chick doesn’t put on a stitch of makeup. I could care less who I see in Target because I hate going to Wal-mart. I’d rather be hit in the head with a wet squirrel than go there. I don’t dress up to venture to the grocery. And most days on the weekends, you will find me in a hat and ponytail because really, I am flat ironed right out. I actually have crazy curly hair. No not Taylor Swift crazy just naturally wavy hair that if blown dry naturally, me and Buckwheat from the Little Rascals could compete. Don’t get me wrong. I am a sucker for makeup. I love it. Just bought a whole lot of it recently (sucka). I have at least 5 curling irons, one for each type of small, medium and large curls I can twirl for beachy waves. I have enough hair products to make my hair stand up on its ends and now have learned the art of dry shampoo. But I am now realizing that beauty does come with without all the brushes and strokes. A little powder on the nose, some mascara and lipgloss and out the door I go. Let’s not get any wires crossed here, I think I look like death eating a cracker without my war paint, but I also see all these beautiful women barefaced and think gosh I wished my skin looked like that. So sometimes you gotta just let it breath and if people don’t love you for the inside then the façade on the outside will eventually break down.

I took this picture with the new phone just messing around. I posted another one on Friday that had been edited with software. But this photo really made me think about my clean, plain skin. I had no makeup on, I think a little mascara. But still knowing that I don’t get all gussied up like my grandmother or my mom, as a southern women I still apologize for not looking like a million bucks every single day. It’s just a southern thing, its second nature and I don’t think that will ever change in my generation or the next.

“To bare your true self is to see yourself in the purest form”.  Happy Monday loves.

Dusty