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Writer's pictureCiara Halsted

Defining Beauty: What Empowering Women Looks Like

Updated: Jan 31, 2023

| Permanent Makeup | Brows by Ciara | Calgary Microblading | Beauty | Calgary Lip Blush |


So! To begin, the entire premise of this campaign was to showcase that permanent makeup is not subject to one specific type. It is to show that women from all walks of life benefit from that which makes them feel lighter and brighter. It makes life a little bit easier and maybe makes people feel a little bit cuter on the days they just don’t have time to do it all, the hair, the makeup, the whole Shebang. It is to show that you don’t have to fit a specific mold to benefit from having permanent makeup, that people all have very different lives, goals, visions, but one thing remains the same, they (we) all want to feel beautiful in the skin we are in.



We had Holistic Healers, medical professionals, Educators, women rocking the corporate world, master marketers, social media gurus, human raisers and care providers, Health and Wellness Coaches, Interior Designers, tv regulars, boutique spa owners, Reiki Masters, but those are all just titles we use to define us. What I actually saw when all these woman got together was beyond the outside appearance of what we define beauty as; it was beyond the titles we happily hide behind. It was love, it was light, it was strangers quite literally walking into the arms of other strangers and hugging. It was the definition of beautiful.


When I originally had my first meeting about this post with my marketing team, they asked what beauty was to me. I immediately, without hesitation started responding with names. These names didn’t belong to celebrities, or the models off of magazine covers, they belonged to real life everyday people that I have crossed paths with who radiate love. The kind of people who buy coffee for the stranger behind them, who let the person with less groceries skip the line, the kind of people who inspire, encourage and support, who always choose kindness first.


The names of the people that came to mind were of course beautiful to me, after all beauty is in the eye of the beholder but it wasn’t the physical appearance that made them that way. It was moments, it was feelings, it was connection, it was real, and it was raw.




I was gifted the most wonderful experience when we all came together to shoot for this post. I was excited and energetically vibing high! I couldn’t wait to have all these woman come together and see our vision come to life! With any big group event, especially all filled with women, you can’t help but wonder “ Will they all get along? Will everyone be open and welcoming”. It’s something as women, we were taught at a young age “ challenge the women that threaten you, don’t join them” but this is not a belief I share, this is not the life I live.


So, I trusted myself and the people who come my way knowing and believing we are all likeminded and it would be beautiful; And that it was. I wish you guys could have joined us because the air was filled with love, there was so much laughter, women were yelling across the room at strangers how perfect they were for the shot, or how beautiful they were standing there. In what should have been an uncomfortable moment there was complete peace. Compliments were flying left, right and center and my heart, oh my heart; It was so full. It was in this moment, as I stood back observing that I realized beauty has nothing to do with what people see when they look at us, It’s what they feel.

Beauty is defined as the ascription of a property or characteristic to an animal, idea, object, person or place that provides a perceptual experience of pleasure or satisfaction. Beauty is studied as part of aesthetics, culture, social psychology, philosophy and sociology. An "ideal beauty" is an entity which is admired, or possesses features widely attributed to beauty in a particular culture, for perfection.


We live in a society that is trying to make everyone look the same, to achieve “perfection”, it has put out an image that’s defining “ beautiful ” and it is stealing our uniqueness. My goal as an artist is to help define what’s beautiful to YOU; having one option would limit my clientele and I would miss out on the opportunities to meet so many amazing people who teach me what beauty is in different ways, every single day.



These people I talk about gave me the biggest gift of all by choosing me to work on them. This gift has allowed me to grow into a person I would have never imagined existed when I started in this industry over 10 years ago. My focus then was primarily what was on the surface, I was so young and truly had no idea the beautiful lessons that were in store for me. I look back and I am so grateful for all the pivotal moments; what I perceived as beautiful then is not what I see as beautiful now. Now it’s so much deeper than appearance, it comes from within.



Everybody is so beautifully unique as to what they require to feel like their best selves. It’s only when we truly feel like ourselves that we radiate our best selves, and sometimes all we need is a little self-care to truly give us that extra boost of confidence to help us shine a little brighter. If having water proof brows in the pool allows you to swim care free, do it! If having smudge proof lipstick makes you feel sexy when you wake up, do it! If you want a little lash enhancement to give you the freedom to toss the mascara out, you get it girl! If you are like the women listed above, and I am sure you are, the key is you don’t need it, you want it. And that’s different. We have all earned a little treat here and there, and whatever that is for you, I hope you splurge girl; you deserve it!



Thank you to all my clients for choosing me to do your permanent makeup, so you can feel like the best version of yourself, but I promise you; with or without it, you were already beautiful my friends.


XO

Ciara <3



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