Many women rely on makeup to hide blemishes and other imperfections. Some women take it so far that they don’t feel like themselves unless they’re wearing makeup. One woman, Toshi, is an artist who took that idea to an extreme.
Toshi is a very gifted hair stylist, artist, and cosplayer who used her face to show off her many artistic talents. That would be fine, except it got to the point where she became afraid to show off her real face. Her makeup was a mask that she wore to appear confident to the rest of the world.
Inside, however, Toshi was dealing with many insecurities. Her outlandish makeup allowed her to keep some distance from those around her. When she was wearing makeup, she could essentially be someone else. It was freeing in many ways, but isolating in others. Because no one could see who she really was, no one could really get close to her.
She recently appeared on the TLC show “Love, Lust or Run” where the host gets women with outrageous styles see their own inner beauty. She encouraged Toshi to take out her piercings and wash off that makeup, allowing the world to see who she truly is. As she did this, Toshi began crying.
She realized that she relished being an inspiration for other young women to be their own selves, but also realized that she didn’t know how to do that herself. Without her makeup and her unique style, she honestly didn’t know who she was.
When the makeup finally comes off, it turns out there was a beautiful woman hiding behind that facade! The host comes right out and says as much, but Toshi says she doesn’t see it. She must be the only one, because she’s quite gorgeous.
As they talk about why Toshi feels the need to wear that makeup, she reveals that she wasn’t told she was pretty growing up. Because of this, she wanted to hide behind her makeup. She also wanted to be seen as an individual, not just another girl.
Wearing that makeup forced people to judge her based on her own merits, at least in Toshi’s mind. But what the host reveals is that people are judging her without really getting to know her. It’s only by revealing her true self, and her true beauty, that people will really begin to appreciate her as an individual.
This is an important message for women everywhere. Instead of relying on makeup to hide your flaws, you need to love yourself in order to be loved by others. Hiding behind makeup or some other crutch will only keep people at arm’s length. This isolation will only hinder your ability to love yourself.
We’re so happy that Toshi was able to see her inner (and outer) beauty. While we love women with a unique style, we don’t like to see it taken to extremes. Hopefully Toshi can continue being a unique women while showing her true self to the world.
