Street & Rail

What makes you beautiful? Trust me it's not how you look...

Working. Living. Breathing. Fashion. Blogging. Life. ....has thought me many things. One of those being the importance of confidence, self-worth, and self-love. One of the hardest things about being a blogger for me is exposing every flaw and sharing photos of days I really didn't feel beautiful!

Beauty has morphed over time, through cultures and the vast different perceptions of the world. Beauty has been described and depicted through a multitude of mediums. Defined in so many ways. Designed to penetrate our minds.
It may take a little time to realise but its actually quite simple.

Beauty is happiness.

It is in the images and moments that inspire and represent the most distinct and remarkable attractiveness of our very souls. It's the moments we feel free and real. It's the moments we feel proud and influential. It's the moments we feel alive.

It seems like that element should be inherent.

Sadly it isn't.

Beauty is often distorted, misunderstood and shadowed by the endless conflicting pressures. It is something we endlessly strive for, rather than see in the true spirit of our happiest moments.

Beauty has become a modern day obsession. On reflection the times I have been happiest don't align with common beauty standards. It hasn't been the nights my hair stayed intact, wearing a killer outfit with flawlessly glowing skin. It's been the moments I felt beauty because of happiness, which was not a product of my appearance - at all.

I love the beauty that fills the air with the sound of laughter of people around me. I love the beauty of sand between my toes, salty sea water running through my hair and golden rays of sun kissing my skin. I love the beauty of my sweaty face after a long hard run. I love the beauty that runs through me in the arms of someone I love. I love photos that capture my beauty during unrehearsed moments. Most of all I love having a platform that allows me to share such beauty. These are the times when I feel most beautiful because I'm alive, not because of what I have been brainwashed me to believe.

It's those sensations that ignite the real flame of confidence and beauty in our souls. It's the little moments, like when someone looks at you with respect and admiration. It's the true ecstasy of falling in love with people and places in a magically easy way. It's the way it feels to achieve a goal you're worked tirelessly towards. It's the wrinkles from every effortless smile, and that furrowed brow of strength that make a face perfect. It's these moments that build the women we become and strive to be.

Beauty is in the heart, and the way it shines through.

We are all unique women, with experiences and memories that tie together seamlessly into a blanket of our own versions of beauty.
We are different shapes, sizes, colours, and backgrounds.
We are friends, mothers, daughters, and grandmothers.
We are activists, innovators, achievers, and inspirations.
We are the lives and change we create...

...and that is beauty!

Our bodies are simply a shell that allows us to radiate these experiences and accomplishments. They are a case that displays our happiest and most incredible experiences for the world to share with us. No culture, company or concept could ever define beauty. It is composed of the moments that draw upon our strength, and consume us with the remarkable and intoxicating experience of being alive.

How else other than to celebrate another beautiful year of blogging than some photos random moments that you wouldn't usually see (a.k.a the outtakes).

Thank- you for making me beautiful (Happy)!

I Love you.

Tan xx