(Photo by Selma Komisky)

Imperfections = Beauty’s Greatest Disguise

By: Michelle Ochen

Perfection becomes boring. Beautiful woman are seen with every click of the remote, every scroll of the finger on the phone, but let me ask you, do you really remember what they looked like ten minutes later? Perfection becomes expected and we lie to ourselves that we are not that, we are imperfect and therefore somehow inferior. I want to propose a new idea, the idea that imperfections bring a uniqueness, and uniqueness creates memory, and memories give lifetime beauty.

Imperfections bring a realness that perfection lacks. Someone or something that is perfect is unapproachable and non-relatable. Imperfection brings a welcoming eye, something that causes you to look twice and on second glance find it attractive.

Someone who is imperfect holds character. The imperfect feature, the imperfect skin tone, the imperfect…you fill in the blank; the imperfection brings out a quality of the person, something that makes them different, makes them special. If we all looked like the world’s image of beauty, this perfect goal we labor for, then how boring life would become.

I once watched a video done to promote beauty. Different men were brought one by one into a room with a big screen. First displayed before them, beautiful models, the epitome of the perfect beauty women strive for. Comments from the men expressed their thoughts, “Wow, woah, yeah.” What would be expected of course, for this kind of beauty does draw the eye, but only for a moment.

Next something interesting happened, they began to pause the pictures of these beautiful models and ask the men to describe them and how they felt gazing into their eyes. Words such as, “Unfriendly, intimidating, unwelcoming,” were the vocabulary used. When the images took a drastic turn, imperfect but familiar faces brought a whole new definition to the screen. Images of women these men loved began to play–grandmothers, sisters, wives, mothers, daughters. Instead of words, deeper expressions came from their lips, “ahhhh, she’s beautiful, laughter, names whispered…” on and on the deeper comments surfaced. When the pictures were again paused, the men expressed that they saw things like, “Friendship, memories, love.” The most impactful thing in it all is that the men expressed that the images of those they knew, the imperfect but real people, were the ones they found most beautiful. The crooked smiles, the frizzy haired, the wrinkled faces—these were the ones that held value, that held authenticity, uniqueness…memory.

What if we decided that being imperfect is the perfect choice. What if we began to find a reason to be thankful for our imperfections and begin to see them as the very things that make us, us?

What is something you find imperfect about yourself? Ask yourself, how does this imperfection make me unique and stand out from all other women? Maybe that very imperfection will be what attracts the right man to you. Strive to be beautiful beyond the world’s definition. True beauty comes from someone who is okay with their imperfections and sees them as beauty’s greatest disguise.