‘Cause a face without freckles is like a sky without the stars…
Last night I was listening to this song by Natasha Bedingfield called Freckles, and it got me thinking about all of the little imperfections that make each of us unique.
Some of mine actually bothered me growing up, but I’ve grown to love them now, like the little dent in the middle of my forehead (a chickenpox scar), and how my left leg is about half an inch shorter than my right.
Hey, don’t laugh! It’s a great conversation starter. 🙂
What are your favorite imperfections?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
I’m afraid i haven’t learnt to love my imperfections except one: i actually like that i’m short (5’2)
I think it makes me more feminine. There’s something special about a petite woman, isn’t there? 🙂
I’m with you in petite sisterhood, Marina!
Im short (5’1) but that just makes my personality more noticeable.
I also have monolids – but that means its easier for me to do eyemakeup.
Ive come to terms with how I look a while back and im just happy to be me. 😉
That’s a fab attitude, Nina. 🙂 It feels good to be comfortable in your skin, doesn’t it?
it took a while, but yes! it is awesome to like me for who i am.
I’m tall (about 5’11), and have learned to love it. Sure, there are still times that I feel like a freakish giant, but being tall really makes me stand out in a crowd.
I think your height is so rad, Lucia! I would love to spend just one day being that tall… I’d never have to ask people to grab cereal off the top shelf at the grocery store, for starters.
Hmm, perhaps my squishy tummy? I’ve learned to love having a softer body. 🙂
I’m with you on the squishy tummy. 🙂
The stretch marks on my stomach from my pregnancy. I had a huge belly, and I’m prone to stretch marks, so let me tell you, they are large and in charge. But they remind me of being pregnant, and how much I went through, and how joyous it was to have carried my son for nine months then given birth to him. They are my battle scars, and I’m proud of them.
This was sweet, Katrina. I like the idea of having “battle scars” born from joy and love.
Awwwwww that is really sweet!! <3
I’m on the taller side of life (5’9″), and now instead of being insecure about it, I think it makes me elegant and statuesque, and I get get away with some fashions that smaller women can’t. I also used to not like my nose, it’s not giagantic, but it is on the stronger side. However, I’ve gotten several compliments on my profile, so that really helped 🙂
Hi Liz,
I bet you never have to worry about hemming your jeans! That’s what us petite gals have to deal with constantly…
Ugh, all those clothes designed for model-like girls! How about equal rights, eh?
I too have one leg shorter than the other and I’m short (5’2) also have asnaggle tooth just like the singer Jewel. I used to hate those things, but at 46 I think it just adds character!
Totally! The whole shorter leg thing gives me a distinct gait when I run (and rollerskate, LOL!).
How’s your day going? Good, I hope!
I have freckles and they have never been a problem, I used to be very self-concious (particularly on the beach on holiday) about my super-pale, never-tans just-burns skin. But now I just accept it and think of others that are beautiful and have to shun the sun like Nicole Kidman, Christina Hendricks and Marcia Cross.
Hi Alison,
Kinda random, but I saw Marcia Cross once in the flesh in a hotel lobby in Hawaii and her skin was beautiful! She was also covered with clothing from head to toe…
Yeah thats me on my Hols too! Completely covered, wide brimmed hat, huge Audrey sunnies underneath a parasol! It’s no wonder no-one pesters me on my hols, I must look like a crazy person!
I’m really short (5’0 and three quarters) and have an ‘hourglass’ figure, AKA clothes just don’t fit right when you need to accommodate for all the crazy different sizes while being really short. And I have quite large, almond-shaped eyes. And no eyelashes. And my smile is weird due to bruxism and my teeth aren’t pearly white. And my hair is really thick and reeeeeally straight.
But guys like short, soft girls and bugeyes are kind of cute and mascara is my best friend and my teeth are cool, and it’s better to have too much hair than have really thin hair like my sisters. =P
Kit, you just made me smile. 🙂
I’ve always liked being small and short. It’s gives me a little of the underdog feeling in everything I do that suits my personality just fine. 🙂
Hi Sarahc,
That’s a good way of looking at it!
I love when someone’s left and right eyes are slightly different in size.
That way, they look different to you when you see them in a mirror compared to how you normally see them. That’s really special.
Hi Kim,
My eyes are different sizes! I never thought of it that way…
Hope you’re having a fabulous Wednesday!
I’m a shortie too…..5 foot …….with heels 😉 Not sure I love being tiny -clothes dont fit perfectly, trouseurs are always too long, it makes me feel insecure and self conscious, but ive learnt to appreciate my size and play to it, rather than against it…..cant change anything about it can we !!!
I have a single strand of grey hair in the front center of my head. It’s extremely noticeable – even looks silver – amidst my black hair. I plucked it out when I first noticed it but it grew back straight away. Now I just leave her alone – she kind of gives my side part character.
I am also more comfortable and accepting of my less-than-stellar post-pregnancy body.
I have a gray hair in my eyebrow that I’m trying to become one with… it’s gonna take some time, LOL!
I like the following imperfections about myself:
– I’m short.
– I have big hair (sometimes imperfection, sometimes a bonus).
– I have a mole on my knee and a mole on my ribcage… I love both.
– My teeth are straight, white… but not Hollywood-esque in their uniformity.
– I wear huge glasses that make me smile.
Thanks for the opportunity to reflect on these, Karen! I, too, wish people would embrace the things that make them striking and unique more than the ones that make them blend in…
Thanks for always being just so cool, Christina. 🙂
dimples! they are actually a deformity but a beautiful one i’d say 😀
Dimples are adorable! I wish I had some. 🙂
i’d like to join the short/petite girls club, please! :p
i’m between 5’0″ and 5’1″. i’ve been struggling with weight for the last year but i’ve grown to appreciate my hips/thighs. they will never be thin, but because i’m so short (and not petite), i feel like they make me look less like a child and more like a woman.
i also have big calves and i normally don’t like them, but when wearing heels, they’re pretty fierce looking :p
I think calves are HOT! Do you watch Entourage? There’s an episode where one of the characters, Johnny Drama, gets all obsessed with calves…
I used to hate my long, straight, pointy nose. I always thought it looked too masculine, and wanted a cute little up-pointed pixie nose. It was mostly my best friend who told me now intruguing and unique, yet still flatering my nose is for my face, and now it’s basically my favorite feature.
Your best friend sounds like a gem. 🙂
I have dimples; not necessarily an imperfection, but kind of an abnormality, I guess. One in each cheek and one in my chin (oh man – btw, I just about died from embarressment the day someone used the term “butt chin” to describe that. Not cool, buddy!!). I didn’t like them at all when I was little, because they apparently gave old people the right to come up to me and tell me how adorable they were. gah.
But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve started liking them more and more. I feel like they add a little bit of “unique” to me, and I kind of really like that.
I also have this awesome mole on my right side that i LOVE. 🙂
I think dimples are super cute. My BFF as a killer pair and I’ve always been envious.
My freckles!! I remember some kid calling me “freckle face” on the school bus once, & being SO EMBARRASSED!! But now I absolutely love them!! I think they are definitely one of my best features. They are adorable, & my way of standing out from the crowd 🙂 I still haven’t completely come to terms with my lack of tan… but it snows half the year here anyway, so most of the time it’s not a problem 😉 lol!
When I was kid I actually wanted freckles! I have one (beneath my right eye), and I cherish it, LOL!
I’m short (almost 5’1) and I have a little mole on the right side of my nose at the base! Neither of them has ever bothered me! 😀 I actually love my little mole! 😀
I think moles are cute!
I used to hate my curly hair. It’s taking a long time to love being a curly girl!
That’s one I have to add to my list. It took me FOREVER to get down with the curls, but now I love ’em.
I have a lot of freckles. When I was younger, all I wanted was the classic clear, tanned face.
But now? Hell no. Freckles are me. So my favorite imperfections that I have: The freckles. A small chicken pox scar under my eye, a indent on my outer thigh, and my pale pale skin.
I’m sending you a virtual chickenpox scar high five…
I love the two perfectly aligned moles under my eye and on the side of my lip! Gotta embrace what you have! 🙂
Aw, your moles sound cute. 🙂
I used to have one leg shorter than the other by like 1 inche and never knew. I always had a lot of pain due to it, so I went to see a Chinese Ditda doctor for a pinched nerve in my rib and he found this out. It had caused so much crap (including the pinched nerve) but he fixed it all in 3 sessions. My legs are even now, but I still go back to him once a year for a “tune-up” for my back and such.
I have freckles and a few scars I’ve come to like. As a kid, I HATED my freckles. I thought they made me look dirty (my grandpa didn’t help…he said I stood behind a rusty screen door in the rain). Now I like them because not everyone has them and I feel I would look weird without 🙂
Stretchmarks are the one imperfection I don’t like. I can’t wear low-cut tops or EVER show a bit of cleavage. OH well!
That’s interesting! I’ve never heard of that type of alternative medicine before. Is it like a chiropractor?
Kind of! I used to go to the chiropractor, but it never did anything for me. A few people told me abotu this guy and how much he had helped them. I decided to go and it was the best thing I ever did for myself. I don’t think it’s very widely practiced around North America…you can barely find any accurate info on it on the internet!
This is something I found that founds closest to it..
http://yeeshealthcenter.com/ditda.html
He kinda pokes abound and takes out all of your knots. It’s scary how I can tell him where it hurts and he’ll poke a random part of my body and say “this hurts too right?” It’s scary, but cool. My doc does firecupping, which actually works. It leaves a suction mark on your skin for a day or two, and I understand why so many people are scared of it, but I’ve never had a problem! It’s worth a shot….it may be weird at first, but I find it way less scary than the chiropractor snapping my neck.
my legs were my worst imperfections growing up. I hated them. I’m very bowlegged. Now I just embrace them.
I’m glad you’re at a place where you embrace them. It took me a while to get there with so many things… but I got there!
I have a scar on the tip of my nose that has been there since birth, no idea what it is… it’s a purpley red colour though, kinda splotchey looking. I used to conceal it but now I just leave it. It adds character 😀
I also have a freckle underneath my eye, right along my lash line so if I’m wearing brown eyeliner under, it looks like I smudged it lol!
I have a freckle underneath my eye, too! 🙂
I’ve had freckles on my face ever since I can remember and have always loved them, gives my face some added character.
What took me longer to come to terms with is being so flat chested. As a teenager I absolutely hated it and hoped I’d grow eventually but now I am happy with who I am. It allows me to wear a much wider range of clothes, something my bigger busted friends are quite envious of. I do sometimes wish I looked slightly more feminie, the rest of my figure is hourglass so it doesn’t really fit. I would never change it though.
Stretch marks are the one thing I really could do without!
I have a big Italian nose that I’ve hated for years, but I’m learning to accept it. It sounds weird, but it helped when I started noticing other people’s large noses, and realizied it didn’t detract from their looks or make me like them less. So maybe people think the same when they look at my nose!
I have many moles and I like some of them.
I also like that it looks like I dyed my hair blond, because it becomes a lot lighter in the summer. The root it dark blond, the ends are really light!
nice post, it really made me think about my positive sides!
Eva mendes has a lot of moles!
Really? I never noticed before.
I love freckles and smiling dimples, those are cute. That might or might not have anything to do with the fact that the boy I’m kinda liking these days has both… hahaha
I have a 2 centimeter long scar on my left cheek and pointy vampire fangs that I have learned to like!
I have a dark, medium sized mole up half an inch from the corner of my mouth, but I’m still not sure if I want to get it removed or not. I’m not crazy about it, but maybe I’ll come to love it!
my pores and skin in general! i’m only 15, but ever since 5th grade (I’m in 10th now) i’ve been struggling with acne. its pretty minor (two or three pimples) now, but im left with some pigmentation. i was also born with a harry potter-isque scar on my forehead. i cant seem to love my pores though 🙁
I used to have a mole on my chest that I was self conscious about as a kid. I had to have it removed a few years ago because it started to look suspicious (changed color). Turned out to be nothing and I kinda miss the mole, but the scar is good reminder of getting through that scary episode. And a reminder to put sunscreen on.
It used to bug me that my eyebrows were different shapes. Now I choose to believe that it makes you notice my eyes and I really like my eye color.
I’m going to have to go with my curly hair and softer body.
Just recently I’ve learned to love my super curly, super dark hair. It makes me stand out in a sea of straightened brown haired girls at school. It frizzes a bit in the summer and I used to hate how it always looked messy, but I’ve learned to love it. Its part of what makes me, well, me.
As for my body, I have boobs and hips and some squish in between, a far cry from the toned athletes and cheerleaders in my classes. I’m kind of squishy (especially during marching season) but I’ve learned to go with it. It doesn’t hurt that my boyfriend doesn’t mind it either. When I figured out that someone else likes me the way I am, that really helped me learn to appreciate myself and stop judging every time I looked in the mirror.
Its awesome how all the ladies in the above comments have become more comfortable with themselves. Being confident with our own bodies is definitely something everyone can benefit from!
One of my favorite imperfections is a scar on my knee. It looks pretty intense, but it was just a silly scrape that didn’t heal well. I didn’t like it until I realized it could be a fun joke! I like to tell people I got it while I was camping and a bobcat attacked me! And I had to fight it off with a swiss army knife! It’s especially funny because I hate camping. 😛
Beautiful line from the song. I like the scar that’s at the corner of my right eye. My rather prominent beauty mark is an imperfection that I’m yet to come to terms with
the tip of my nose bends down a little. when i smile widely, it looks like a beak! people are always making fun of it at school, but i know all their faces are more screwed up than mine xP
i also have a noticeable bruise on the bridge of my nose that’s probably not going to go away from wearing glasses, my legs are covered with scars and bug bites, my hair bends in funny ways, and my ribs jut out.
but i could care less 🙂
Hm, it’s hard to decide. I love all of my really visible scars (the two on my face, the one on my hip, and one on each leg. I think I’m getting two on my arms), but I love the trio of large freckles on my neck just below my left ear. They’re NOT skin cancer nor are they freckles caused by the sun; they developed a few days after I was born. People tend to assume they’re moles caused by the sun, but they aren’t.
Freckles rule! I have one beneath my eye and I love it.
Ha ha, it took me a while to love them. When I first found them in 8th grade (I know, I know, but it’s hard to see behind your left ear), I freaked out because I thought it was skin cancer until my mom said I always had them. I had a birthmark that went away as I grew but those have always stayed. I do check them to make sure they don’t change.
I have monkey feet! (My feet are flat, wide and short, and my second toe is longer than my big toe.) I’ve never felt self-conscious about them, though; in fact, I really like them. 🙂
Hi Kelsey,
My second toe is longer too! And my toes are *extra* long and skinny. I can actually pinch people with ’em, LOL!
My defined nose. I used to be self-conscious but now I embrace it 🙂
I was self-conscious about my nose for a while too, but now I love it. Yay for embracing our features, right?
Hmmm I had to think for a minute. For me, it would be my feet but I’ve grown in to them so I guess they are ok now.
I also have a gap in my teeth. It’s not huge and I always hated but I now its a part of me. Sort of my signature look.
Michelle
I think gaps are cute. 🙂
I also have a dent in the middle of my forehead from a chicken pox scar. =)
I wore thick, straight-cut bangs through most of my childhood to cover it up. When I reached high school, I realized I looked better with thin side-swept bangs or no bangs at all and started wearing my hair back. When no one commented on my scar, I realized it was much more noticeable to me than anyone else.
My other signature feature is my dent in my chin. As a child, people would tease me about having a butt-chin, and it did bother me then. But people started to compliment me as I got older. Then on one trip to visit family, my mother realized the only other person who had one in my family was my paternal grandmother, who I was named after. Now I consider it an honor and a blessing to be carrying on the family chin. =)
It’s funny how things that seemed so “big” as a child are now just a part of me and I barely notice them anymore.
How about we stop calling them imperfections? With so many people having so many kinds of body variations so-called imperfections should be considered the norm. Maybe we should call them variations and relax on our need to be physically perfect.
But wouldn’t that reveal just as much about how comfortable we are about our imperfections as just comfortably calling them imperfections would be?
Uh… okay, that sounded a little confusing, but seriously, I am perfectly comfortable being imperfect. 🙂
I guess I like my scars (knee surgery, nearly severed pinkie finger and cut pointer finger). They all have a story, so that’s kind of neat. Of course, I also have lots of imperfections that I’ll never embrace, but that’s just me. 🙂
Late to the party but had to chime in: I used to be ashamed of very hourglass figure – big round butt included – combined with my 6 foot height, well, I’m a lot of woman. Both larger and more womanly physiques aren’t popular in the pacific northwest where I grew up, and I got made fun of a lot.
But then I moved to Oakland, and that town may have its shortcomings but it is FULL of smokin hot, glamorous women of all shapes, sizes, and colors, not to mention the very vocal men who appreciate them. One day on the way to the gym a cute little old man in a wheelchair whistled under his breath and kindly asked me to do him a favor and walk by again, best compliment ever! Since then I’ve embraced my Sir Mix-A-Lot approved physique, haters be damned. 🙂
Hi Saffron,
Can I just say this story made my day? 🙂
I’m 15 years old, 5’0- and not getting any taller. I don’t mind it though, really, as I’ve always been shorter than my classmates.
Also, I have lots of “beauty spots”, which stand out against my ridiculously pale skin. I think the only redemption for this is that they’re flat and dark, they’re NOT 3d XD
I have one on the opposite side that Marilyn Monroe had hers on, in the same place, though, and I like that. I’ve come to terms with that one, the triangle under my collarbone, and the one just under the outer v of my eye (which gets in the way of concealer!)
The whites of my eyes are also light blue, (very very light blue) due to a bone disease I inherited from my mom. Luckily, we both only got the eye color side effect, not the bone problems! They’re kind of weird against my navy-grey eyes, but whatever. I’m still working towards accepting myself. But I’m trying, Karen! 😀