Sometimes wisdom can come from the most unlikely of places.
I've been in the beauty industry for my entire career, on the brand marketing side. Although I've worked in the space across almost every category, each new brand is a unique challenge; it's why I love the beauty business so much. I've recently been working on a brand new product, having great fun meeting new people in the process. This one is so different than any other I've worked on; such a great experience!
The beauty industry is a tough one, though, I must say. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and there's no fountain of youth that's for sure. What one product will do for one person might not do anything for another. It's all in how you look at it, and your own perceptions of beauty.
In the course of what might have otherwise been idle chit-chat the other day, a fashion stylist I know made a very profound statement. At the time, I silently said "whoa," putting it on backburner to process later. It was that profound, at least in the context of beauty and fashion products.
Since it was directed to me, I wasn't quite sure if this was a compliment, a novel way of thinking, or an unintentional dig. As I've thought about it more, though, I'm realizing it is just a different take on reality ... coming from someone who's job it is to make people look (what some might say) unrealistically beautiful.
"Beauty is a gift for the young, but as you get older you have to earn your beauty."
Did I just get called "old?" Do I have to try that hard to look good now that I'm older? Are my days in the sun over already?
As I've reflected back on it, none of that was intended at all. It was a snap of reality that as we age, beauty gets harder and harder to obtain and maintain.
We have to watch what we eat and drink more intensely, if we are still going to fit into those same pair of jeans. We need to be more conscious of our hairstyles to keep our faces framed in the best possible light. For some of us we need to do a little more waxing than we used to! Makeup needs to be more consciously and discretely applied to accentuate the positives. And those lines on our face can in fact add character, if we embrace them.
We have to earn our beauty, but it's not just about superficial looks. As we age, our experiences and our outlook make us more and more attractive, but not in a youthful way any more. We become more interesting and more fascinating with more texture as we age ... which makes us more beautiful in the process.
We have to earn our beauty. I'll take it as a compliment, and a way of life.