Nearly two months ago, one of my favorite influencers, Marianna Hewitt, posted this: “My outer glow matches my inner confidence ✨ What makes you look and feel your best inside and out? I’m wearing @beccacosmetics new Be a Light Palette, it’s coming out next week! I think you’ll be obsessed!”
I was headed home after an early grocery shopping trip post church services when I saw Marianna’s post. To me, her question was so good that I actually sat there and thought about it. What does make me feel my best inside and out? And if we’re being honest, I hadn’t thought about her question before.
To get my wheels spinning, I turned and asked my bestie. And if I remember correctly, she said sleep as a joke, haha! And since we ended up getting stuck in traffic, I really took some time to think about Marianna‘s question.
Not to sidetrack a bit, but I firmly believe that bloggers, vloggers, influencers (whatever you want to call us) work hard to put time and effort into our content. To me, it’s more important to engage than to just like a post and continue scrolling. I want to read that person’s thoughts/questions in their caption. Why? I want to show that I do care more than just the image they created. After all, my way to show support and love is by engaging with my favorite influencers even if it’s a paid campaign/partnership they’re sharing.
So, after much thought, I answered her question.
“I love @beccacosmetics highlighters! Hmmm…that’s a great question! I look and feel best on the inside when I’m able to help people find their identity and walk confidently in who they are. Too many people are walking around trying to be someone else and are miserable because of it so I feel great inside when I know I’ve helped someone understand and walk in their identity, like it’s okay to “be me”. I hope that makes sense. The outer is when I get a haircut! Makes me feel like a new woman!”
That’s just it. To me, I feel best when I’m able to help people be confident in themselves. That and for vanity purposes, a haircut really does the trick for me, ha!
On a more serious note, it saddens me so much when I see someone lack confidence in themselves because they care too much about what other people think.
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[/one_half] [one_half_last padding=”0 0 0 15px”]I’ve seen what lack of self-confidence does to oneself. It’s hard to network. The level of difficulty to making new friends is even higher. And to me, the worst part is seeing someone not pursue their passions because they care too much about what others think of their career choice/work.
When I saw the inscription on these beautiful palettes the BECCA team sent me, I thought about what it means to be a light in this dark world. With social media being the dominant way we communicate and connect with others today, it’s not hard to find negativity. Someone is always complaining somewhere. Online bullying and being outright rude for no reason at all is so common these days. Age has no limits when it comes to being negative. I’ve seen kids bully kids, kids disrespecting adults, adults making fun of kids and adults dissing other adults.
After the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain this past month, I think the world has really realized that we don’t know what’s going on in someone’s life.[/one_half_last]
So today, to spread more love and joy this world desperately needs, I wanted to share a few ways you can #BECCABeALight to someone you love or even a complete stranger.
- Smile at a stranger.
- Buy coffee for the person behind you.
- Send flowers to your mom’s house as a just-because for her.
- Write a positive comment on someone else’s photo of themselves on social media.
- Repost someone’s health journey on your stories and tag them to encourage and cheer them on.
- Surprise your bestie(s) with a just-because gift.
- Give some of your time away and volunteer at your favorite charity.
- Leave a positive note on someone’s car.
- Send a funny note to a co-worker via interoffice mail.
- If you’re an influencer, host a giveaway with no strings attached for your followers.
- If finances are available, pay for someone’s groceries or a tank of gas.
- Treat a girlfriend to a trip to Sephora and get some makeup together.
- Prep a meal and take it over to a family so all they do is pop it in the oven and can take a night off from cooking.
- Mail a card to someone you’re thinking of to let them know you appreciate their friendship.
- If YOU ever feel blue, go to a shelter and play with some puppies. I guarantee that you and the pup will feel 100% better afterwards.
- Look in the mirror and tell yourself you’re amazing…and believe it….because you are!
- Walk up to a complete stranger and genuinely compliment them.
- Show up unannounced and mow your (grand)parents’ lawns and let them think garden gnomes did it.
- Leave a cooler of ice and water and some snacks with a sign on your front porch for your mail carriers to enjoy on hot summer days.
- Bake a few batches of cookies and take them to a fire station, police station or a hospital as a “thank you for your service” for staff to enjoy.
As someone whose nature is to be positive and encourage others, it’s getting harder to be and stay positive in such a negative world.
However, I find that my days are more positive and brighter when I try to brighten someone else’s day.
My bestie, Rachie, is a great example of this. She almost always give compliments to random people when we’re out together. She’ll tell me, “Huong, doesn’t that person have a beautiful smile? I think they have a beautiful smile. I’m going to tell them.”
And she walks over and she’ll genuinely tell people she thinks they have a beautiful smile! I think it’s such a sweet gesture to witness and even sweeter to watch someone light up after she gives them a compliment!
“Each day is full of endless possibilities. Start it with a smile. You are in charge of your attitude every morning, keep it glowing!”
BECCA’s note of positivity and encouragement they sent to me is true.
Your attitude sets the tone for your day and more importantly, how you treat others. Click To TweetLet’s be real. We all have bad days. However, next time, before saying something negative or treating someone with disrespect while you’re “in the heat of the moment”, think about this: “Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.”
If you’re having a bad day, redirect your energy and focus on the positive by doing something for others. I promise, you’ll see how quickly your day turns around!
Tell me, how do you spread love and LIGHT where negativity can easily be found and spread in a technology-obsessed world?
I know this is deep for highlighter palettes, but I went deep about inner strength with a dress, ha! I haven’t had the chance to try out the BECCA Be a Light palettes yet, but my Sabrina over on The Beauty Lookbook just published a review (with swatches) over on her blog!
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Disclosure: This post was NOT sponsored by BECCA cosmetics. All opinions are solely my own. I personally wanted to write a thoughtful post about what it means to be a light as I’m already a huge fan of their brand and products. As you can see, I’ve written about their highlighters in posts about my favorite beauty products and my regular makeup routine.
A big thank you to the BECCA team for their kindness in sending me this beautiful necklace, these gorgeous palettes and your positive words and encouragement! Thank you! Thank you! Your sweet gesture meant a lot to me and has really made my summer! Xo
Rachel
July 10, 2018I love that BECCA brings this kind of discussion to the forfront. I love your outlook on life and how this company inspired you to share what lights up your life. Thank you so much for the shout out today! I love making people’s days with genuine commitments! It makes me light up so bright to see them smile and feel good about themselves! You are a true blessing in my life!! Keep on shining bright like a diamond!
Huong Vo
July 10, 2018Thanks, Rach! I love them as a brand and love this campaign so I thought I’d write about it! I appreciate your example and our friendship! Thanks for reading and supporting me! xo