Confidence means “a feeling of self-assurance arising from one’s appreciation of one’s own abilities or qualities.” Some people seem to be born with it. Some develop it very quickly. I think for most everyone, confidence is directly related to life events–whether past or present. Good things happen, confidence rises. Bad things happen, it plummets straight into a deep dark abyss.
People sometimes confuse the ability to adapt to different situations and insert oneself into random conversations as confidence. That’s not necessarily true. I do this, but for the most part I just like people and I like to talk. I’ve never been all that confident in myself and the events of the last couple of years have really made me question just what it is I have to offer the world. Now my daughter…she’s a different story.
She has lots of confidence and a pretty good idea of her own self-worth. As a general rule, she doesn’t let other opinions and actions dictate whether she has the ability to do something. I think that’s a great way to be myself.
But one day…just one little day…someone stole some of that confidence. Someone made her feel as if she wasn’t good enough and she was hurt enough to want to stop trying.
My daughter loves to sing. She loves theater. She’s insisted for years that she was going to perform on a Broadway stage someday. Then that dream had a temporary derailment.
I won’t go into ugly details. We’ll just say that we know life isn’t fair and as a mom I know that my kids have to fail sometimes. That knowledge doesn’t make me feel any better. And to see my confident child be so doubtful of her abilities, well, it broke my heart.
I’ve never truly been all that confident and the events of the last couple of years have drained me mentally and physically. Then, my daughter had her dreams flattened. What a pair of sad sacks we made!
So I set off to find a way for both of us to gain confidence. I brainstormed, I prayed, and then I started thinking of these videos that a friend was doing with her adorable little girls. She would use makeup from a company she belongs to and show the steps to create fairy tale creatures or characters for dress-up. And I thought that was something my daughter and I could do, but with a slightly different twist.
I put out the suggestion that we could do some videos and we agreed that it was a good idea, but we weren’t sure how to go about it. The idea had merit, but it was still stewing on the back burner.
Then we went to see The Greatest Showman. If you haven’t seen it, go now. (And buy the soundtrack. I’m not getting paid for suggesting it, it’s just that amazing!) Inspirational is probably the best description I can give you. In the middle of that movie, my daughter–who had been filled with so much self-doubt and disappointment–said, “I’m going to Broadway. I’m doing it.” I still don’t know if she was talking to me or the movie or if she didn’t realize she was talking out loud. The important thing is that she said it in her voice–that confident one she has when she knows what she wants and nobody needs to tell her she can’t have it. I’d been missing that voice. And if that movie hadn’t already made me want to cry for sheer joy, those words would have been more than enough! (Seriously, watch the movie. You’ll believe anything is possible when it’s over.)
After that inspiration, we were definitely ready to make a change. Enter LimeLife by Alcone. Have you heard of them? I really didn’t know much about the company before. Alcone has been around for decades and decades. They sold makeup to the showgirls on Broadway back in the day. I mean, waaaay back in the day! And they’re still providing makeup for film and theatre to this day.
LimeLife is a part of the company, but much newer. They provide a way to access the makeup that Alcone is known for and provide a great natural skincare line as well.
Kenna and I tried the products and she was so excited about them that I came home and signed up to be a LimeLife Independent Beauty Guide that night! Because I have a vision…
- I love the skincare. Since my surgery, I am super sensitive to smells. LimeLife is the one I’ve tried that hasn’t bothered me. It smells like essential oils and I love that! Plus, my skin feels softer and looks smoother. I don’t feel quite as old and haggard and it won’t break the bank.
- I stink at applying makeup and I don’t wear a lot, but LimeLife is big on education. If I want to know how to do just about anything face related, they probably have a video. And if they don’t have one and you ask, they will probably find it! One of my goals this year is to learn how to apply eyeshadow to make my eyes stand out. With LimeLife by Alcone, I’ll have groups of people ready to help me out.
- My daughter doesn’t wear makeup often, but she is better at it than me. However, she is more interested in character makeup than just looking cute for school. Because Alcone started for stage and screen, it’s a perfect brand to use for creating those characters.
- My daughter wants to perform. She can use LimeLife to set the stage and become anyone she wants for a few minutes. How much fun is that?!?
- I want to have people to talk to and get discounts on (and sometimes free) makeup/skincare and share things I like on social media. I can do all of that with this one company.
Our objective is variety. Not all of the videos we do will be about makeup or skincare. Not all will be my daughter attempting to entertain the world. They will be shared on the Facebook page, here on the blog, and on other forms of social media.
I feel as if this is a very special journey we’re embarking on. We don’t expect to be propelled to stardom or to make millionaire status but we do like having the opportunity to shine!
Will you join us on this journey?!?
