Beauty Defined

I got this link from a tweet by VueSociety regarding singing sensation Susan Boyle.

I remember watching her performance on Britain’s Got Talent and my eyes welled up as this woman, who looked like someone’s mom or one of my old piano teachers, belted out with this gorgeous voice.  As the article from MSNBC noted: Boyle’s fame also proves that beauty can be defined in many ways.

Here is a woman who didn’t glam up for a couture Harper’s Bazaar shoot.  She’s beautiful untouched, un-cut, and un-made.  She’s beautiful in this shoot with her minimal, natural-looking makeup; while I can guess that she was probably photoshopped here or there, she’s retained a lot of her OWN look.

Image: Harper's Bazaar

And while Harper’s calls this set the “Susan Boyle Makeover Photos”, Boyle’s retained who she is while becoming polished and refined.  She seems unlikely to worry about botox, she could care less about couture – though apparently she knows how to Moonwalk in a pair of Giuseppe Zanotti heels.

The article states:

“Despite her newfound fame, there are a lot of things Susan Boyle doesn’t do. She doesn’t go on holiday or go out much. She isn’t into fashion or gourmet food. She isn’t married, doesn’t have children, and hasn’t seen the world. When I ask her if she’s been shopping, for example, she shakes her head. Not even to Selfridges? “Where?” she asks, half joking. But feeling financially secure must surely be a bonus. “Hey, you don’t just do it for the money. I don’t do it for the money, babe! Who do you think I am?“”

This is a woman, fine with being herself – wrinkles, lumps, bumps, and all.

Image: Harper's Bazaar

In her own radiant persona she admits to singing “… to entertain people … I sing to make people happy.”  She gives herself fully to a beautiful passion, and in that, she is a beautiful and talented lady (no matter how convention defines beauty).  She doesn’t see herself as the frumpy older lady that many thought she was when she walked onto the stage at Britain’s Got Talent.  She’s maintained the ability to laugh at herself and be who she is, without trying to change that person because of a sense of elevated awareness (Ms Palin, are you reading this?).  She seems like any other non-celebrity, regular, every-day person.  She’s risen the ranks without worrying about her looks, becoming materialistic, or going overboard on being made to look like someone else’s ideal of beauty.

Boyle’s story teaches us that simply embracing our passions is beautiful.  We have the opportunity to see beauty in ourselves, though we may not be conventionally beautiful.

To you, Miss Boyle, I tip my hat.