Photo Credit: Adam Bouska
“She’s so pretty… He’s so handsome… Look at his body with that six pack. Wow, her butt is big with a tiny waist. She’s bangin!" And people drool over them, secretly desiring an encounter with them, or even have them as a trophy piece.
"No fat people. She’s too skinny, and she needs a sandwich. That’s a shame…. Would you look at how big his stomach is? She knows she shouldn’t have that on, with that body type. Who hit her with an ugly stick?"
Unfortunately, people treat these people like they are not human-- rugs to walk over and dismissing their value as a living soul.
We heard all these statements before and with social media, we see it more and more each day. The world is judging who is beautiful and who is not. Why? Who has ever given an individual, organization, or group the authority to define what beauty is and what it is not?
Sadly, people have bought into the fallacy of what defines beauty that 10 new Instagram and photo filters are introduced everyday so people can hide behind them. A new make-up technique is created to disfigure the beautiful and natural face to what is believed to be attractive. A new organ damaging contraption is hurled through advertising that people are unnaturally manipulating their waist’s to look like the 1980’s Barbie Doll. Back-alley cosmetic surgery is performed routinely by non-certified pushers. People are literally poising themselves to dangerous disfigurement and an early grave, and all because someone said “this will make you beautiful.”
No matter how you were created, there is nothing but beauty in you. However, every person has a responsibility to maintain that beauty. The foundation to always being beautiful is keeping oneself presentable, hygienically clean, and with an attitude towards others that is positive. This is Beauty without lines.
It is my observation that when your priority is self-presentation over designer labels or other’s opinions, then you have discovered genuine beauty. As an Entertainment Professional, I style and consult others on their presentation. In the industry, this is what we call “part of their packaging.” I shop and make recommendations to others of what to buy from consignment stores, the Good Will, used clothing stores, clearance racks, slightly damaged clothing, off season sales, an in addition to re-purpose older clothing.
I recently styled one of my celebrity clients for a photo shoot with items I purchased from Goodwill and Wal-Mart and it only cost twenty-seven dollars. However, the public gave me feedback that he was stylish, and the outfit was dope. In fact, one person commented, “Wow, so this is what rich people look like”. No, this isn’t what rich people look like, this is what everybody looks like when they decide that excellent presentation is more important than a seven-hundred dollar Hermes belt or the latest fad.
How you present yourself is how you will be received and perceived. A mind-shift to what works for you, based on your budget, and how you want to be received and perceived all starts with your presentation.
This is Beauty without lines.
There is an old saying my grandmother always told me: cleanliness is next to Godliness. Therefore, good hygiene destroys the lines that created the box that people put together to try to define beauty!
Soap, water, clean clothes, clean shoes (they say you can tell a lot about a man based on the condition of his shoes), fresh breath, and self-investment are key factors in good hygiene. I remember growing up and I asked my grandfather, “Why do you wear the same clothes every day?” His response shaped my belief till this very day. He said “Grandson, as long as I am clean and my clothes are clean, I’m alright because there was a time we didn’t have running water. Also, Grandson, always remember that it’s the man that makes the clothes not the clothes that makes the man.”
Our hygiene is Beauty without lines.
Have you ever met a person who was aesthetically pleasing to the eyes but after having an encounter with him or her your opinion was, this is one of the ugliest persons you have ever met because of their nasty attitude? Yes, it is not what’s on the outside of an individual but it is really what is on the inside of the person that can define true beauty. Aesthetics are very superficial and it expresses nothing about a person’s character or personality. However, how you treat people regardless of their status, wealth, aesthetics, shape, size, culture, ethnicity, sexual orientation, language, age, neighborhood (you get the point) annihilates all lines of what is considered beautiful.
Your positive disposition, cleanliness and self-presentation are keys to Beauty without lines. Yes, you all are BEAUTIFUL!
Curtis Reynolds Co-Founder M.Q.D & C.E.O. Curtis Reynolds Entertainment Management cremgmnt@gmail.com 704.770.5359