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May 15, 2017 · By Amy Swift Crosby

The bare face goes far beyond #NoMakeup
Alicia Keys Image Courtesy: Fault Magazine
Christy Turlington Burns Image Courtesy: Valentino 2017 Spring Campaign

When Alicia Keys started her #NoMakeup movement, like many of you, I said finally, a famous woman standing up to false ideals of feminine beauty standards and the quest for eternal youth – someone in the limelight, unapologetically showing her un-made up face. Her message was unequivocal:  “I’m not going to cover myself up anymore; not my face, not my feelings, not my dreams, not my pain. No more.”

YES. Could you high-five that woman any harder?

Lipstick, mascara, concealer –  these are the enhancements that we think make us more valuable or wanted. It’s totally fun (I love make-up), but it’s also a crutch, something that let’s us obscure reality, or create an unhealthy hiding place. We’ve created lots of them:

Apologizing for no reason.
Deflecting compliments.
Being ashamed of our emotions.
Questioning our gut instincts.
Asking for less.
Botox.

When we get real with ourselves and others, by speaking or being the truth, drawing boundaries, trusting ourselves – confidence, and with it freedom – become real.

I love seeing advertisers like Valentino (Christy, above) celebrate a naked female face, because it’s really expressing much more than a fashionable aesthetic; it’s no handcuffs. No industry. No veil. No apologies.

Crutches aren’t the enemy.
It’s the false pretense that they determine our value, that is.

When we’re free, from whatever has us captive, it feels different. We can breathe, because we’re more fully expressed. We stand in our talents / scopes of work / leadership – not with indignation or self-righteousness, but with a quieter, more truthful strength that doesn’t need to be radicalized, to be real.

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About Me

photo of Amy Swift Crosby

Amy Swift Crosby is a brand strategist and copywriter who has positioned or voiced messaging across the commercial spectrum, from icons like Ford, BVLGARI, Pottery Barn, Pantene and Virgin, to boutique brands like The Wild Unknown, fitness franchise Barre3 and the rebrand of legendary metaphysical bookstore, Bodhi Tree. She has leveraged this expertise to help entrepreneurial women and small businesses owners hone their skills, mission and message, while uncovering their own “voice.” This blog explores “the human side of business,” and universal themes like uncertainty, anxiety, the tension between engagement and disconnection, personal value and most importantly, of finding - and hearing - our own voices in our everyday life.

Photo - Andrew Stiles

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SMARTY began as a thriving community in Los Angeles and Boston with weekly panel discussions and events designed to better understand the mindset and growth strategies behind successful entrepreneurs. Today, SMARTY is a weekly blog written by Amy Swift Crosby who chronicles her life as a creative, parent, entrepreneur and spiritual seeker. As an urban refugee living in a New England seaside village, she unpacks topics ranging from uncertainty and doubt to the built environment and advertising. More on Amy.

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