[All Things Bare And Beautiful
Laurice Whack
This is such a beautiful reflection, your words had me considering the things I allow myself to let go of in the fall, and those things that are still green and refuse to leave me! I absolutely love trees and feel such peace and calm in their presence. Thanks for the inspiring thoughts!
I used to dislike the season right before it snowed. It always seemed so dreary. But once I learned some of the reasons why the leaves fall off, it changed my mindset. Now I look and think how great our God is, he thought of everything.
The title comes from a sonnet by Edna St. Vincent Millay: "Euclid alone has looked on Beauty bare." It's not the greatest line of poetry, and if you visualize its image with a hint of malice, you have to smirk. Still, it's suggestive of some really good questions.
The pleasure and profit of a roundtable on "Mathematics and Beauty" is that the most naive and the most sophisticated questions can be entertained together by experienced practitioners and engaged amateurs. Amateurs experience perplexities that professionals may have leaped over too quickly; professionals offer approaches, insights, and illustrations that a non-mathematician could never summon. In such a conversation, problems may not be solved definitively, but possibilities are stirred up endlessly.
To return to Euclid, are those objects he deals with, the simplest and most elementary structures, more or less beautiful because we can easily imagine them and often see them embodied in the world around us, especially the man-made world of four-square structures and wheeled traffic?
Finally, are there mathematical figures that take the crown of beauty? It used to be thought that the circle was the perfection of beauty. That is why Ptolemy put up with the complexities of epicycles that produced absurd-looking real orbits, and why Kepler was reluctant to accept his own greatest discovery, the elliptical orbits of the planets. What makes a circle beautiful? Circles of all sizes look exactly the same, yet they have very different curvatures, in that they are like the tones that compose the rising scales on a keyboard. Each tone has just the same quality as the one an octave above, but the pitch is totally different. Yet no one thinks that the consonance of the octave is particularly beautiful; it's too much of a unity for that.
This paper was commissioned by the Philoctetes Center as part of a grant from The John Templeton Foundation. This and three other commissioned pieces are featured in a special issue of Dialog, the newsletter of the Philoctetes Center.
Although I am confident in myself as a person and proud of my achievements, I have insecurities like everyone, one being my skin and pigmentation. It mainly stems from having had clear skin, then reacting to hormonal contraception and developing melasma (a type of skin pigmentation).
Eek. I have a small stash of concealer/mascara and lip tint in the car for work days. Bit addicted to mascara and tan in a can. Value my happiness more so I dress up and makeup when I feel like it. Less rules, more JOY.
I wear makeup purely to cover up acne. I am starting to feel more comfortable without it or at least less of it. I always wear a fair bit to work though. I think I am worried people will see me as more of a 'child' than they already do if I have visible acne.
I love makeup. Makeup to me is a form of expression and celebration of the women I am. It also allows a moment in the day where I can just sit and be with me, which is a sacred time. Especially when you have a toddler, a business and studying. A moment to sit, be with me and express is a moment with makeup. Even if it is for just five minutes.
I mainly wear make up to "go out" however that definition has changed quite a bit in the last few years. It used to include to go to work or the shops but now I more often than not wear no make up to work. This is mainly due to my daughter making comments like "I need make up mummy, so I look pretty like you!" So I've been consciously trying to show her that you can look beautiful with or without make up. I also like to give my skin a break or sometimes I will just throw on some mascara and brows... full make up is mainly now only worn to go to an event like weddings, birthday, concert etc.
I don't often wear make-up and if I do, it's lipstick. But I'd rather spend my time getting dirt on my face and stronger muscle tone on my body than trying to figure out how to contour and highlight. I've also noticed that taking care of my skin more so than covering it helps me feel prettier.
There is no set rhyme or reason for me wearing makeup. You might find me at work with or without, at dinner with or without. I am comfortable with myself and I see makeup as something fun and experimental for when I have time and feel like it.
My mum never has or never will wear makeup but I was introduced to make up and fake tan from age five due to wearing it on stage for calisthenics. I then began experimenting throughout primary and high school. I am now a regular user of both make up and fake tan. I have recently stopped wearing foundation on work days but still wear tinted moisturiser, concealer, bronzer, highlight, brows and mascara depending on how fresh my eye lash tint is. I never go to a social event without a full face and it makes me feel extremely happy and confident.
I am 40 and wear makeup most days but hardly any and never foundation mostly mascara, tidy up my bushy brows and sometimes eyeshadow, I wish I could remember to apply lip gloss or lip stick. I am happy to leave my house with no make up. Some days I look worse than others but that's normal right? My pet peeve is when I have actually made an effort and then someone says "you look tired/sick".
I am 33 this year and my relationship with makeup has been up and down. I enjoy buying it, I am terrible at applying it, I like how it makes me look, I hate how long it takes to get off! It just all got too hard so I thought instead of investing my time and money and self-confidence in makeup, I strip it back and I now invest my time in a good skincare routine (and feather touch brows).
I almost never wear make up. I never wore much before, but my relationship with it changed after having my now 4 year old son. I think he is so naturally beautiful and I want him to see that reflected in what I think of myself and how I behave.
In high school I was the one who wore it everyday and put makeup on all my friends. I even got arrested at 16 for attempting to steal makeup from Sephora! (Which cured me of my sticky fingers!) However, since meeting my partner and getting married I have become much more comfortable with myself and my style has changed.
I am about to move back home to NYC from Melbourne and it will be interesting to see if, at my new job, the implicit pressure to conform to beauty norms returns or if I will remain comfortable in my own skin.
My mum hardly ever wore make up and I didn't attend 'normal' school until Year 9 so was never exposed to the pressures of peers. Day to day I use an SPF moisturiser and that's it. I have a BB cream that I water down with moisturiser, a mascara thing, and a lipstick that I'll use on nights out or fancy occasions. Just spent four months travelling South America and all my toiletries fit in a zip lock bag
I have two boys under five, hence the circles haha. I work four days a week at the front desk of a real estate so need to put something on at least. I've never been massively into makeup so actually had to buy some extra things - foundation in particular. I have streamlined it now and can be done in five minutes. Using IT CC Cream on Mia's recommendation has been the best change! I've always liked my eyes so do enjoy mascara and eyeliner.
I have had issues with acne since teenage years and pregnancy made my cystic acne flare up again but I use Benzac wash in the shower and just their moisturising cream. I don't think I have aged too much when I look back on photos but I can tell this photo has been taken after I got some sun - my freckles have come out to play! All in all I'm happy with my face.... it looks decent all made up! But even like this I have no complaints.
I wear make up day to day. Just some concealer under the eyes, blush and mascara. It's crept up on me, and people tell me I look tired if I don't. (Thanks CC cream, it really is my face but better, AKA my face on holidays.) on holidays, I don't wear makeup. Just sunscreen. And sleep. And long walks and green veges and having fun and looking after myself and here I am.
I work as a commercial lawyer. I grew up wearing make up every day (including to school) and always felt like I wasn't "pretty" without it, and felt "naked" without wearing it. I always felt self-conscious that people would notice. Growing up, all of my friends and family wore and enjoyed make up. Six months ago I decided that I wanted to feel comfortable in my own skin, so I stopped wearing it all together. The first few days were strange but I got used to it pretty quickly! Now I feel confident in my own skin every day.
I love makeup and the way it makes me feel, but in the the last few years my focus has definitely shifted more to good skincare. I have to wear it for work so often I do tend to get a little tired of makeup, and now relish the days off I have when I get to be bare-faced.
Having said that, I also know that using makeup for some women is a creative endeavour - and I can appreciate that. I use clothes and have used hairstyles/colours for my own creative expression. So that makes sense too.
Amanda is the Founder of MamaBare Sugaring Studios. She has been sugaring for over 16 years. She has trained dozens of women in the art of sugaring. Her mission is to empower others to feel confident by removing unwanted hair and insecurities.
Paula started out as a receptionist at our Lake Mary studio. After about a year with the company she was promoted to Studio Director where she leads the Lake Mary team. She is ambitious, organized, kind and everything you look for in a leader.
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