How to take Back Your Beauty

By Project Eve

Our Appearance Should Appeal to Ourselves

Many women make body and beauty choices because of the way men will perceive them, or the way their friends or competitors will regard and treat them.

Often, especially in the workplace, women are either pressured to look a certain way to keep their job and impress their coworkers, or they feel squelched in their self-expression for fear of looking too sexy or standing out among their already higher-paid male counterparts.

In 2014, it’s okay to be a beautiful woman and feel empowered … not because the boss favors you or because the cute guy you have your eye will notice you, but because you deserve to feel confident in yourself.

How to reclaim your beauty

Don’t let your fear and lack of self-confidence hold you back from being the woman you were meant to be. You can start to appeal to your own vision of beauty, rather than someone else’s, by following these tips:

Pamper yourself. Don’t be afraid to relax and treat yourself well. Many professional women seem to feel that self-pampering is a sign of laziness or weakness, but it’s actually the opposite. When you get pampered, it’s a sign that you have worked hard and understand the value of rejuvenation. Examples of pampering include manicures and pedicures, massages, and salon sessions. In addition to helping you relax, a pampering session has enormous benefits for your physical appearance.

Wear your favorite colors. Everyone has her favorite colors, but many people avoid wearing them for fear of appearing too “vivacious” or “happy.” If you really want to reclaim your beauty, you need to get over those irrational fears and start strutting what you like. Wearing your favorite colors allows you to feel more confident and poised.

Choose fabrics that feel good. Much like wearing your favorite colors, it’s important to wear fabrics that you find comfortable. It’s incredible how much difference comfortable clothing can have on your workplace confidence. Instead of wearing uncomfortable fabrics that are supposedly “in style,” opt for what you prefer.

Ignore trends and social pressures. As a rule of thumb, go ahead and ignore trends you don’t like. Often, people follow trends for the sake of doing what’s popular. If you ever find yourself feeling pressured into wearing something you don’t want to wear, stick with your personal preferences. You’ll have much more respect for yourself and won’t feel as if you gave in to pressure.

Love your body. While it’s important to maintain a healthy body, you should also learn to love the body you’re given. Once you learn to love the way you look, you can begin to accept yourself as worthy. You shouldn’t have to live up to anyone else’s expectations of what you should look like. On the other hand, if you aren’t entirely satisfied with your weight or shape, maybe you should consider working out and altering your diet. But remember, the important thing is for you to be happy, not everyone else.

Take care of your hair and skin. One simple way to improve your own vision of beauty is to take care of your hair and skin in a healthy way. There are a number of ways to do this; you may consult hair-care and skin-care professionals, purchase in-home products, and change things up from time to time. Skin-care products are among the easiest fixes.

Confident women

Women often get a bad rap for lacking self-confidence and strong self-esteem. There’s no reason that should be the case for you.

While you may not lack confidence, society can often make you feel guilty for feeling good about yourself. Everywhere you look, articles and advertisements are telling you that women lack self-esteem.

Don’t go down that road! This mischaracterization has many negative side effects.

It’s important to reclaim your beauty and confidence by ignoring what everyone else has to say. You are as beautiful as you want to be, and shouldn’t let anyone else hold you back. By following some of these tips, you can start to regain your image and devalue the importance of other people’s opinion.

Your mission is about productivity and efficiency, not about how you do or don’t look. Start a trend in your workplace that says “no” to judgmental glances and “yes” to self-esteem and beauty.

This article was originally published here