Love is Blind so Why Don’t We Just Make-Up

We all have our moments of weakness; one of my favorite’s was Valentine’s Day of 2014. As per usual,
my heart had been shattered by someone’s son. I was at Arcadia University, surrounded by campus love
and was trying to decide between crawling into the dark hole that was my bed or crying over a bowl of ice
cream at the meal hall. Either way, I figured I should at least brush my teeth. I locked my bathroom door,
turned on the water and turned on my favorites playlist. The first 5 minutes were fine and then “That Girl”
by Justin Timberlake popped on… And I almost lost it.

You see, he didn’t know it but, in my mind, it was our song. And with every note, Justin was tearing me
apart. But I just couldn’t turn it off. It was a bop. So as much as I hated it, I couldn’t stop myself from
singing it. So here I am, standing in my piggy slippers, in the mirror with toothpaste and tears on my face,
singing “That Girl” and it surprisingly made me feel so much better. It was like I was singing it to myself. I
was in love with That Girl in the mirror and she was in love with me. Narcissistic? Maybe, but it made me
feel so much better. So I played another song… and another… and another. Before I knew it, I was smiling
and tired from dancing, singing and getting my entire life in the mirror.

I had always been told how important self-love was and I never really thought much about it. I figured it
was just something people said to singles to help them feel better. But it’s so much more than that. It’s
about practicing love with yourself. Being patient with yourself. Being kind to yourself. Holding yourself
accountable for your responsibilities. Urging yourself to make the best decisions for yourself. Enjoying your
own company. Even romancing yourself.

So I make it a habit to remember this every year for Valentine’s Day. Regardless of my relationship status, I
reserve time and energy to show myself love. I don’t wait for someone else to validate me receiving love
and luxury. Like Lizzo says, I buy myself flowers. I make myself breakfast. And my favorite part, I sing
MYSELF love songs in the mirror. Thankfully, I’ve graduated from doing it while I brush my teeth. (All the
running water is bad for the environment.) I serenade myself while I do my make-up.

The best part of serenading myself as I do my make-up is that it changes how I look at myself. I don’t see
the dark circles under my eyes from way too many moments crying over my ex who didn’t know the
difference between a liquid lip and lip gloss. I see how my eyes sparkle in my vanity lights. I’m not focused
on the wrinkles between my eyebrows from being angry in pointless arguments. I notice all of the smile
lines from laughing at happy moments and grinning at how cute my beat is. I get to hear myself singing
how beautiful I am, instead of hearing myself complain about everything I was taught to hate, while
making myself even better.

This year, I took it old-school with some Boyz II Men, while also taking it new-school with the new
Valentine’s Day collection from MUAH Cosmetics: Let’s Make Love and Makeup. The collection has a
bunch of lipglosses and eyeshadows in classic flirty pinks and reds, while also including those iconic
inclusive nude shades, like Creme de la Creme. I’m a sucker for a glossy red lip, especially if glitter is
involved so the shade Sex was right up my alley. The eyeshadow “Girlie” made me feel like living