Self Esteem Experiment

Self made picture from my mini-Palace

"The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else’s highlight reel"

-- Steve Furtick

I don't remember if I have already shared this quote on the blog, but I find it so true to most self-esteem issues, I thought I was an appropriate introduction to this post. I would like to share with you today, a little experiment that I did several years ago, very simple but marking the beginning of my self-esteem's improvement.

Half Victim, Half Accomplice

Found on tumblr

While I was reading about society's beauty standards and the role of women themselves, I stumbled upon a quote from Jean-Paul Sartre, who said about women that they are "moitié victimes, moitié complices comme tout le monde" (half victims, half accomplices, like everybody). And this quote made me think a lot.

Shopping Fast Results

Source: tumblr

Two months ago, I started a shopping fast experiment to see if I was able to stop purchasing clothing items for two months and what impact it may or may not have on my wardrobe editing process and purchase habits. Now that we are in May, it is time for an analysis of what happened these past two months...

New Guests #4

April purchases: Clinique Superdefense cream ; Dior Nude powder blush ; Urban Decay Lip junkie gloss ; Eau de Mer hair texturizing paste

I didn't purchase much at all in April, and everything was very themed, as you can see. I shop most of my beauty supplies at Sephora, and their membership card offers bi-annual 20% off all the store contents, which I religiously wait for to resupply my most expensive daily products.

"Real Beauty"

Source: Dove

Jess's Classics 2.0 post made me want to explore the subject of body image a little further. Is society subconsciously imposing a standard on us via media channels surrounding us, or even peer remarks on our bodies, as I explored in my last post on the subject? Gathering material on the subject to form the most accurate opinion possible, I stumbled upon Dove's marketing campaign, "Real Beauty".

Here and Now

Source: We heart it

One of the central themes of simplicity and minimalism is the present moment, the here and now. We can't win against the past or the future because we aren't there anymore/yet, and the only moment we have control over is here and now. Let me explain a bit how understanding this changed my life.

Spring Cleaning

Source: Flickr

With the weather suddenly warming up in the Northen hemisphere, I thought it was a good opportunity to discuss a bit about seasonal wardrobe editing, small and regular maintenance to do once the big culling & initial style searching parts are achieved.