My beauty rituals have always made me feel magical. I remember being a little kid feeling completely mystified by the world of the boudoir, dreaming of the day I could have my own vanity table full of magic potions and elixirs. My child-age self would be thrilled to know I grew up to become a holistic esthetician with a fully loaded beauty sanctuary where clients come for self care and pampering. There have always been tales of notable, great women throughout history, religion, art and folklore who, among other things, became known for their beauty rituals.

Today I've noticed an anti-beauty renegade where the collective tone belittles self care, shames your bathroom product display, and gilts vanity (because you MUST be vain if you wash your face before bed and want your skin to glow in the morning, right)? Criticisms like these can come from specific feminist perspectives that see any beautification as a form of patriarchal oppression. Pointing out the social expectation for women to wear makeup, partake in hair removal and look a certain way while they quietly decorate a man’s space. Other people will point out the chemical toxicity, and environmental wastefulness of the beauty products themselves or simply feel offended by the act of beauty itself, scoffing at other women’s “obsession” with beauty, even calling it a sin. I understand the cruel intentions of the marketing industry and the consequences of unconscious consumerism. But it is the patriarchy that saw an opportunity to take advantage of women’s insecurities for profit. It rebranded and packaged beauty to us, for them. It erased the roots of our ancestral feminine power in our beauty rituals and replaced it with superficial corporate emptiness complete with instructions and steps to rush through after brushing your teeth 2x a day on autopilot. Modern day beauty has led us to become detached from our hearts, intuition and authentic selves. But rejecting it all together won’t bring us back to balance because there is harmony in beauty.

The act of beautification can help women better connect with themselves and their sisterhood.
It is a soothing sensory experience of one's own bodily existence, to care for it, adorn it, and love it. Self love and compassion are a vibration so pure it heals you and then you vibrate that healing energy. Take pride and comfort in your beauty rituals, feel your divine feminine power. Cradle your tender heart in a tainted world. Embrace moments of slow softness amongst the chaos. Your body is home to your soul. And just like we enjoy assembling our food beautifully on our plates before nourishing ourselves, arranging our gardens, admiring nature and ancient temples and buildings designed with art, colours and sound. Or the way we tidy, decorate and care for our homes to reflect our essence and make them a place we want to be - why wouldn't we express this same ritualistic care for our physical being? Our true home. Admire your art, decorate your home, you are magic.