AFFIRMATION: Smart Girls Know Pictures of Models In Ads Aren’t Real

Have you ever seen a green-striped cow? How about a purple spotted giraffe? No? Huh…imagine that. I guess that’s because some things don’t exist in nature. But what does this have to do with beautiful models? Everything.

Try this experiment. Flip open a magazine and find a makeup or fashion ad featuring a model. What do you see?

• Is the model’s hair greasy? Any dry, flyaway frizzies?
• Look closely at her skin. Do you see any wrinkles? Blemishes? Pimples?
• How about her lips…are they impossibly full? Glossy? Any cold sores?
• What do her eyes look like? Are the whites perfectly white? The blues brilliantly blue? The browns wonderfully warm?
• Scan down her body. Can she pinch an inch? Any flabby skin? Cellulite? Uneven tan lines?
• How about her breasts? Are they perky? Perfectly round?

Maybe a part of you wishes that you could look like the model in the ad. But, would it surprise you to know that even the model herself doesn’t look like the girl in the picture? That’s right. The picture you’re looking at ISN’T REAL. Here are just some of the ways the image in front of you might not reflect reality:

• The model’s clothes may have been tied back with pins and clamps so they hang perfectly
• The model might be keeping her body parts in place with a girdle, a push-up bra, or masking tape
• The model’s breasts may have been made larger and hips narrower through digital enhancement
• The model’s skin has probably been touched up on a computer to remove any traces of wrinkles, blemishes, acne or discoloration
• The model may have had cosmetic surgery such as silicon injections to make her lips fuller, Botox to remove wrinkles, and breast implants

If you haven’t seen this yet, take a minute and watch the short film Evolution from Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, where you can see the lines of reality being blurred before your very eyes:

Okay. Now, try this experiment.

• Stand in front of a mirrow at home.
• Touch your hair. What does it feel like? What does it smell like?
• Feel your skin. Do you sense any bumps? Any oily patches? Dry spots?
• Take a close look at your nose. Are there any hairs sticking out of your nostrils?
• Stare at your eyes. Have you ever noticed how many little flecks of color are in the iris? How your eyes sparkle when you smile?
• Look at your stomach. Have you ever seen a belly button that looks quite like yours? Have you ever noticed the fuzzy hair on your tummy?
• Examine your hands. Do you have dry cuticles? Ridges on your fingernails? Or have you bitten them down to the skin?
• Check out your knees. Have you ever noticed how wrinkly they are? Don’t they remind you of an elephant’s skin?
• Do you see any scars? Any birthmarks?

Now smile.

The image you are looking at in the mirror is REAL. Yes, that’s right. You are REAL! And we’re all individual, exceptional and beautiful, right down to that scar on our elbow and the ingrown wart on our little toe. So why bother aspiring to look like a purple-spotted giraffe when we are the most unique just by being who we are?