Cover Story
Faded Beauty Syndrome Have you ever noticed a woman who looks all of 55, but is trying to look and act as if she is 25? A faded beauty is a woman who feels and projects in her behaviour that her best years are behind her, and that her self-esteem and self-worth are based on her physical appearance and how she compares to other women. A faded beauty desperately holds on to her youthful beauty fearing that without it she is invisible. Here are the signs that you are a faded beauty:
· In high school, college or during your general youth you were considered
· You haven’t changed your hairstyle, make-up, or style of clothes since you
to be the most beautiful and hottest girl around. Te guys adored you and you could have any man you wanted. Now that you have married and/or had children you feel frumpy, old and unattractive. Without your looks, you have no idea of who you are and where you belong in life. You spend most of your time thinking about how you used to look back in your heyday.
· You wear heavy make-up to hide the bags under your eyes, the wrinkles
· Your focus is completely on how you can improve or how you hate your
and age spots on your face. You feel that without your make-up you are unattractive, even when going for a walk or quick run to the grocery shop or petrol station.
· You haven’t learned anything new in the last 10 years. You don’t
appearance.
· If you talked to someone who had not spoken to you in 10 years, what new
read books, you haven’t taken any classes, and you don’t volunteer your time. You are bored with your own life.
· You don’t like to leave the house be- cause you don’t look the way you did
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things would you tell them about your life? If you have nothing new to talk about you are a faded beauty; not be- cause of the natural changes in your physical body but because of the lack of changes in your contribution to this existence, even if it’s trying a new recipe or taking a dance class.
were 17 years old. You psychologi- cally compare yourself to younger women, thinking to yourself how you could take their man if you were 10 years younger.
· You don’t bother to buy new clothes or wear make-up, because you feel
prior to giving birth to your children or simply due to gaining weight. Faded beauties think that their self- worth is nothing more than their physical appearance.
that you need to lose the weight first or have cosmetic surgery before you can love and accept yourself.
Timeless Beauty Oprah Winfrey, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Barbara Streisand, Queen Latifah and Sophia Loren are a few of the women whom I consider to be ageless beauties. An ageless beauty is like wine, each passing year she becomes more beautiful than the previous year, not because of what she looks like on the outside – no mat- ter how physically attractive she is – but because who she is on the inside exudes class, charisma, compassion and personal integrity that is authentic and alluring. Tere is something special about her that is irreplaceable. Who she is… is so pow- erful and wonderful that she is beyond comparison to other women and methods of physical improvement.
Characteristics of Timeless Beauties • Tey wear clothes that express their individual personality, soul and body.
· Tey mesmerise and captivate people with their wisdom, ideas, empathy
and compassion for others. · Tey are physically and
psychologically irre- placeable. You cannot put another body,
face, or person in their place. Teir person- alities are dynamic and alluring and
“The timeless look healthy and enjoy being in their own skin and exude an unexplainable beauty.”
· Tey are not “drama queens” or “divas”, they are easy to get along
when they are gone they will be sorely missed.
· Tey are not involved in intimate relationships where they are not
with and are team players. Tey have a humbleness and humility about them that is breathtaking.
· Tey do not try to act or wear attire for a woman who is half their biologi-
· As they age, their make-up becomes more subtle, not as a fashion state-
cal age. Tey look healthy and enjoy being in their own skin and exude an unexplainable beauty. Tey have in- terests, talents and abilities that they display in a positive light. Tey enjoy volunteering and sharing their wis- dom and life experiences with others.
· Tey are not afraid to say no. Tey have learned to honour their time on
ment but simply because they have learned over time that their true beauty cannot be hidden underneath their make-up.
· Tey are confident in expressing their own opinions, ideas, and beliefs
earth. Tey are not people pleasers and do not allow others to impose requests on their time.
without worrying about offending others. Tey are confident and wise enough to accept and re- spect opinions that are different from their own without feeling threatened.
Tey just are.
Dr Cassandra George Sturges is author of A
Woman’s Soul on Paper (ISBN: 0595171435). She is also the publisher of
Authentik Beauty Magazine. Tis article appeared on EzineArticles. com
Iman's beauty is to many, timeless
honoured and respected by their partners. Tey are either happy alone or in a committed relationship with a man who loves them unconditionally.
· You can’t figure out why they are beautiful.
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