The REAL me. Can you handle this?

So, dating sites are hilarious and frustrating. A bunch of people, hoping to attract other people with a handful of photos, some stats, and brief "about me" description. It is torturous, but there is the hope that you will run across another poor soul like yourself. Someone normal, somewhat attractive, who is just trying to find their soulmate.

On these sites I tend to get a lot of compliments. "Ur sexy, coffee?" (that is a direct quote, by the way), "Nice pics", "You're beautiful!". This is all very flattering. However, beyond the fact that these people probably didn't take time to actually read my profile (seriously? what's the point of that?), I have to laugh to myself when I think of what I REALLY look like. Take away the makeup, the flat iron, the cute hair styles, the stylish clothes, and the results are somewhat disturbing.

These guys think this is what they're getting:

When this is what they're really getting (brace yourself...are you ready? I don't think you are...oh well, too late to turn back now!)

And this (by the way, this is a good hair day. You think I'm kidding, ask my roommate):

Shocked? Probably not too much, at least if you're a woman. Us women know the amount of work and deception that goes into trying to look attractive. If I have to shower, style my hair and put on makeup, it can easily take me two hours to get ready. Excessive, possibly. However, I try to cut down on the getting ready time by showering at night and letting my hair dry naturally. My hair, oh my hair...My hair which is neither naturally straight or naturally curly, and could really only be described as naturally frizzy.

I also hear often what great skin I have. I am not complaining about my skin, as it is in pretty good shape for pushing 30. However, like most, I have dark circles, I'm as pale as Edward Cullen, I have age spots, discolorations, and even some fine lines (yikes!). On a basic makeup day, I am probably still wearing upward of 11 cosmetic products on my face. Really, I'm not exaggerating. And that is not including my moisturizer and eye cream.

It's incredible the things we do to look and feel attractive. There's nothing wrong with it, as long as we remember that our beauty is not defined by our makeup, our hair or our clothes. As a makeup artist, I adore helping people feel beautiful and glamorous. However, I know that beauty is defined by our character, the way we treat others, and us being ourselves. Remember to be gracious to one another, including celebrities, whom we forget are real people too. The next time you point out what a train wreck someone is in their tabloid pictures, remember the face that looks back at you in the mirror in the morning and cut those poor people some slack! It can't be easy living in the spotlight, and sometimes you just want to run to the store in your sweats and hat.