Women That Inspire- Part One

Aren’t women just amazing?  If you are like me, there are quite a few women both in your life and in magazine, television and the global stage that inspire me to do more, be more and strive to be the best version of myself.  Last week I started thinking about all the women who inspire me and have incredible stories.  I decided I wanted to share those stories, but I didn’t want to do it alone.

I am so excited to share my blog this week with some very lovely ladies.  All of the ladies that will be guest blogging for me this week are are friends of mine from college that I admire for various reasons.  These ladies have beauty,  grace, independence, integrity, tenacity, strength and ambition.  Let’s dive in!

My first guest is Jordan, (although her blog friends know her as Jane) one half of the dynamic duo at Jane and Lola Beauty Blog.  This is a fitting blog for her, because Jordan is one of the most beautiful women I know, both inside and out. 

Women Who Inspire Me: Beauty Edition

By: Jane

Aren’t women just spectacular? I’m not just saying that because I AM a woman – I’m saying that because although I’m a straight female – I always find myself admiring women. Their grace, their beauty, their attitude…it’s the whole package. Though I have many amazing individuals in my life who inspire me every day, I’ve found that most of these are women. I can’t really explain why – maybe because women have this amazing way of connecting with one another.
I’m a beauty blogger – my sister Lola and myself have a beauty blog where we contribute products and beauty methods we’ve found successful and have made us feel great throughout the years. Though I may not be a fashion critic or a makeup artist – I’m inspired by beautiful women. My favorite thing to do is flip through fashion magazines or watch stars walk the red carpet. Though I have many amazing women in my personal life, today, I’m going to focus on women who inspire me in beauty. In no particular order:

1) Elizabeth Taylor: “Classic Beauty”

Holy cow – what a knockout, right? Elizabeth Taylor was the true example of a glamorous and gracious woman. While some may have marveled at the notorious Grace Kelly for her light features, I have always been blown away by this dark-haired bombshell. To me, she defines old Hollywood glamour. The beauty characteristic I absolutely love about E. Taylor is her trademark eyebrows. I know as a woman, I don’t always LOVE the way I look – but I have some pretty good features. For example, I have great lips – therefore, I LOVE accentuating them with pretty pink lipstick and lip tints. I love how Taylor was blessed with thick, defined eyebrows and rather than plucking them away, she ran with it. She used them completely to her advantage – they embellish her beautiful violet eyes, and lets be honest, they make her memorable. WOWZA! I blame my eyebrow fetish on her, completely.

2) Katy Perry: “No Boundaries Beauty”

Yup – I’m a Katy Perry fanatic. I can say that, because I’ve been a huge fan of hers since her music was only on MySpace (remember in High School when MySpace was super cool?). Love her or hate her, you can’t deny that this woman has a look that is completely her own. She’s like Gwen Stefani to me – effortlessly cool. Katy was first known for her “Pin-up Girl Style”, but I love how she’s always experimenting with her look. Not only is she fearless when it comes to fashion and beauty, but her “I am WOMAN” attitude inspires me. Will I dye my hair blue anytime soon? Probably not. But damn, girl looked FIERCE. Katy challenges me to take a beauty risk once in a while and change up my boring make-up routine. My next beauty risk will be to switch to liquid eyeliner, perfect the “smoke eye” and diversify my eye shadow pallet. What will YOUR next beauty risk be?

3) Kate Middleton: “Fresh Beauty”

This woman completely stole my heart for multiple reasons. Not only do I feel that she is a great role model, but she is a class act. But what I really love is her look. Despite being a princess, she always looks so fresh and natural. I can only imagine the pressures Kate faces with being a Princess, but it’s so refreshing that she never feels the need to be completely “done-up” all the time. Her make-up is very simple and is a great reminder to women that less is more. Sure, nothing’s wrong with getting dolled up, but you shouldn’t wear makeup to HIDE yourself. Kate’s fresh look reminds me to always be proud of who I am and to be myself– she clearly has nothing to hide.

4) Kate Hudson: “Happy Beauty”

First of all, can we talk about how Almost Famous was one of the best movies EVER? This is when I fell in love with Kate Hudson as Penny Lane. Seems like it might be a “Kate thing” to have a fresh, natural look with beaming skin. She always looks drop dead gorgeous – but what I love, is it never looks like she took hours to get ready. BUT – what I really love about Kate Hudson is that she always looks so elated. Whether she’s in a fashion shoot, a movie or on the red carpet, her smile is captivating. Audrey Hepburn once said, “Happy girls are the prettiest girls”, and I couldn’t agree more! A smile is the best thing you can do for your look, so do it often! Makeup can make you look pretty, but happiness makes a true beauty. Kate’s carefree smile reminds me not to take life too seriously.
Is this blog meant to be superficial? Absolutely not. I think we can all agree that beauty is all around us, in many different forms. Today, I chose to focus on strong, independent women in the public eye that I feel are beautiful. But if you really read my post, you’ll notice that this blog is mostly about these women’s personalities, which reflects in their appearance. These women have characteristics that I not only want to include in my beauty routine, but also my daily life: be memorable, take risks, be yourself and be happy.

Follow Jane at Jane And Lola Beauty Blog