Most of us have felt stressed (at least) and unlovable (at worst) at some time in our lives because of our imperfections.  

I don't personally suffer with acne, but I did inherit facial redness from my Dad.  On him I always found it endearing and cute.  It made him look jolly and joyful - as he was. (Oh, what I would give to kiss that rosy cheek again....)  

On me - coupled with my pale skin - all I see is "tomato face."  I feel self conscious and embarrassed when people comment on it or ask me if I "got too much sun."  

I've tried everything to cover it up and hide it. In fact, my facial redness was a huge motivating factor for starting my minimalist mineral makeup company - Sheer Miracle Mineral Makeup - and formulating our Hide the Red Green Color Correcting Concealer and Primer.

I'm sharing the video below by Em (My Pale Skin on YouTube) to spread its amazingly simple and important message: 

What I found especially poignant about this video is that it sheds light on how damaging the false images of perfection found on social media, in magazines and on television can be.  The world is filled with pictures and videos that have been altered to morph perfectly lovely people into what society considers "flawless."

This sets such unrealistic (and unattainable) expectations for women (and men) - and especially young girls - and can be incredibly damaging to self esteem.

Grab a Kleenex and click to watch:

(Published on YouTube in July 2015)

"Three months ago, I began posting images of myself without makeup on social media. The film contains real comments that were left on images of my face.

Over the past few months, I've received thousands of messages from people all over the world who suffer or have suffered from acne, an insecurity or self confidence issues.

I wanted to create a film that showed how social media can set unrealistic expectations on both women and men. One challenge many face today, is that as a society, we're so used to seeing false images of perfection, and comparing ourselves to unrealistic beauty standards that It can be hard to remember the most important thing - You ARE beautiful.

You are beautiful - no matter how flawed you feel, no matter how upset you may about the way you look or how hard you find it to make friends, or be confident. Believe in yourself, and never let anyone tell you're not beautiful - not even yourself."  Em

TAKEAWAYS

A few takeaways from this video:

1. Nobody is perfect.  Not even supermodels, or those people who look perfect online or in magazines.
2. You are enough.  Love yourself the way you are and cherish and use the amazing qualities you have.
3. Be kind.  I don't consider myself naive but I was truly shocked (and brought to tears) by the cruel and heartless comments people left on Em's makeup-less photos. Treat other people the way you'd like to be treated.  Find something beautiful and make positive comments.

How much would the world change if every single person said something nice to just one other person once a day?

xo-Jane

About the Author: Jane Pitte

Jane founded Sheer Miracle Mineral Makeup in 2004 after a lifetime of searching for makeup and skincare that didn't irritate her ULTRA-sensitive skin. Sheer Miracle offers minimalist mineral makeup and organic skincare handmade weekly by real humans. When she's not playing with makeup, you'll find her sneaking off with her husband on weekend getaways, planting lots of flowers, making the hottest, tastiest pico de gallo with her kids or spoiling her two Japanese Chins - Rocco and Bailey - half to death.