What is Beauty?

Is beauty subjective and in the eye of the beholder? Is it objective and definable?

I'll try not to get too caught up in semantics, but, in the most literal sense of the word, beauty is, indeed, objective.

Beauty is that reasoned harmony of all the parts within a body, so that nothing may be added, taken away, or altered, but for the worse.

Leon Battista Alberti, De re aedificatoria

In other words, beauty is, in a sense, a calculated formula, based on ratios and proportions commonly found in nature. Beauty can be applied to art and architecture as well as people. It is perfect harmony.

Take, for example, the Vitruvian Man:

As you can see, beauty here is defined by the use of a circle and a square - demonstrating that he is in harmony and correct proportion.

Now, before you get all up-in-arms about me saying this, please understand that just because someone isn't beautiful by this definition, does NOT mean she or he is UNattractive. Transversely, just because someone doesn't meet today's modern definition of attractive, doesn't mean she isn't beautiful. For example, if a woman, whom some would consider fat, is properly proportioned, she is, in fact, beautiful.

Personal taste or preference is something altogether different. No one should be crazy enough to try to define personal taste. Not to get too personal, but my husband is an appreciator of women's asses, but even he has trouble defining what exactly makes one ass more attractive to him than another. Let's just say, he knows it when he sees it. :-)

I find it incredibly sad that the media has tried to define personal taste for us. It tries to tells us what others will find attractive. This is impossible to do!

Recently, I've seen quite a few posts tackle this topic. Here are two of my favorites: Your Body Style Is Great and Do You Feel Sexy?

Go on. Pop over and read them. I'll wait.

Ally suggests we embrace our body types.
Hiker mom suggests we find our inner goddess.

I couldn't agree more with these ladies. Being attractive or sexy is more than what the media tells us. It is more than beauty. To me, it is about confidence and how you see yourself. If you feel you are attractive and sexy, others will, too.

I have never been one to tie myself to a number on the scale. I judge how sexy I am not only by what I see in the mirror but by how I feel inside. When I'm exercising regularly and eating properly, I naturally feel better about the way I look, which, in turn, makes me carry myself better and feel sexier.

As you can imagine, I don't often weigh myself. That being said, I did step on a scale a week or so ago for the first time in over 6 weeks.

I was quite pleased that the scale had barely budged despite the fact that I had pretty much been on an exercise hiatus between these weigh-ins.

That being said, we shouldn't allow the media or anyone else to define how we see ourselves, how we feel about ourselves. We need to embrace who we are and stop comparing ourselves to others. Beauty is a discerned judgment of the faculties of the mind and actually has nothing to do with attraction. Each year in state fairs across the U.S. the prize-winning pig would never be judged against the prize-winning cow.

So, the next time you look yourself in the mirror, compare yourself to YOU. You can define who you are and what makes you attractive. Don't let anyone else do that for you.
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Maybe she's born with it....

Maybe it's Maybelline.

Well, it's neither, actually.

For my birthday, my brother and his girlfriend gave me a gift certificate to Juut Salon and Spa to get my eyelashes tinted. I had never had this done before but was very excited to give it a try.

I made an appointment for after work one evening. I thought ahead and purposely didn't wear any mascara that day and chose to wear my glasses instead of my contacts - just in case that was necessary.

The overall experience was fantastic.

I lied down on a table (kind of like a massage table), and the aesthetician applied some kind of guard under my lashes. Then, I simply closed my eyes while she applied the dye.

It needed to set for about 15 minutes or so.

At first, I wasn't sure what to do. It seemed weird to lie there with my eyes closed. I had to fight the urge to open my eyes.

But then the best part started.

As I lied there with my eyes closed, she sprayed some aromatherapy in the room and began massaging my scalp. My face. My ears. I relaxed immediately and no longer had to fight the urge to open my eyes. The ear thing she did was especially amazing.

When it was time, she rinsed off the excess dye, and I opened my eyes.

She brought over a mirror, and wow, if I didn't have just the prettiest eyelashes ever!

Self-portrait taken a couple days after the tinting.
Perhaps not the best picture to highlight the lashes. Oh well.

I was very pleased with how they turned out and the experience as a whole.

I love not having to take the time remember to apply mascara in the mornings.
I love how my lashes are beautifully dark but not at all heavy or clumpy.

With all that being said, I was a little disappointed with Juut and this particular aesthetician.

**It would have been nice to have the person who scheduled the appointment tell me things like "don't wear make-up" and "it's recommended to not wear contacts." I did these things anyway, but it would have been nice to have been warned as well.

**There was no consultation. We didn't discuss the procedure. There was no mention of the massaging. She even picked out the color - automatically mixing up the most popular choice.

**There was no after care advice. Whenever I've gotten my hair dyed, the stylist generally gives tips on how to make the color last longer, etc. There was none of that. Do I wash my face and eyes like normal? Maybe that's a silly question.

**Not really related to the spa or the aesthetician, but when I first opened my eyes, it really burned. She said she's never had anyone complain about a burning sensation afterwards. Guess there's a first for everything.  *sigh* We rinsed my lashes again, and the second time I opened my eyes was much better.

Would I get my lashes tinted again? Absolutely.
Would I go to the same girl? Not so sure.

Have you ever gotten this done? How did you like it?
What other beauty treatments would you consider "must-trys"?