President’s Day is not the most exciting holiday unless you’re a pretty big fan of George Washington or Abraham Lincoln. (No judgments.) What you can do on the holiday, other than sleep in, is go shopping—online, of course. Because there are deals to be had across the spectrum. One of our favorites is ColourPop’s President’s Day sale for 2021, which is also a bit of a Valentine’s Day sale as well as a big launch day. Because you know ColourPop does nothing small.

If you have your eyes on something specific from ColourPop or its sister brands SOL and Fourth Ray Beauty, there’s a good chance you can get it for 25 percent off. That’s the sitewide discount, though exclusions include the new Melrose collection, curated palettes and build-your-own palettes, as well as brand collabs Hocus Pocus, Hello Kitty, Raw Beauty Kristi, Sailor Moon and Make It Black.

In addition to the sitewide sale, you can score up to 75 percent off palettes, lip kits and so much more, including some best-sellers. There’s so much to choose from but we’re getting you started with some of our favorites, below.

Our mission at STYLECASTER is to bring style to the people, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Bare Necessities Shadow Palette

This huge neutral palette comes out to be less than $1 a shade.

Amor Shadow Palette

Metallic plum and rich mauves are perfect for V-day looks.

Must-Have Stash Lippie Pencil Cup Lippie Pencil Vault

This massive, colorful vault includes 36 perfect lipsticks with a $226 value.

SOL Body Wash

This hydrating coconut cleanser will make you feel like you’re on vacation.

Freckle Pen

Choose from dark brown or soft brown.

Are you imperfect? Good. That means you are human. But are you coming to terms with your imperfections? Ah, there lies the challenge.

Culture and society lauds the perfect marriage, perfect children, perfect body, perfect house. It’s nauseating! I have never been and will never be perfect, though there was a time when I tried to be.

My Perfection Journey

I wanted to be the perfect mom. My kids would be well-behaved, highly educated, saints, and scholars. My house would be warm and inviting. My marriage would be enviable.

But the truth is, trying to be perfect nearly killed me. It negatively impacted those around me as well.

I am learning to embrace my imperfections, forgive myself for my mistakes and make peace with the tragedies that have befallen my life. It’s still a wonderful life no matter how much crap happens.

The Illusion of Perfection

Perfection is really an illusion. Many Mamas I know made “the perfect family” an idol.

But when you can embrace your imperfections, you become positively empowered by the mistakes that you make. Here are some ideas that will allow you to embrace your humanity.

Look for the Hidden Gift of Imperfection

Do you feel like imperfections are weaknesses? If you do, then you probably view weaknesses as flaws that can do nothing but harm us.

Humans are prone to error, not perfection. Therefore, when a perfection-seeker makes the inevitable mistake, they are so ashamed of it that they try and cover the mistake up. They refuse to honestly talk about the behavior that led to the mistake.

I’ve met so many Mamas at conventions and speaking engagements who would vigorously nod in agreement that the life of a wholehearted mom is wonderful and superior. In private, they would share their sorrow over wayward children and dead marriages.

The desire to present a positive public face caused them to deny their private pain, which led only to stagnation and feeling stuck.

Chasing Perfection Is a Fool’s Errand

When you embrace your imperfections, you understand that chasing perfection is a fool’s errand. You realize that the human heritage is made up of behaviors that cause error.

However, you don’t stop there. You also realize that the human heritage is a history of learning from those errors and correcting the behaviors that caused them.

The process of growth is contingent on falling down and getting back up. The result is that we learn from our mistakes. It is how we grow – and how we have always grown – as human beings. This is how our species has grown and it is how we have, so far, survived and thrived.

Learning is the hidden gift of imperfection. It is the reason why embracing imperfection is so essential for personal growth.

What Did We Learn?

When my kids were teens and one of them committed some error, the others would tease and say, “What did we learn?”

Mamas, can we ask ourselves the same question? Can you be honest enough with yourself to look at your past behaviors to examine how they might have contributed to your current difficulty?

In my own journey of learning and moving forward, it has been my endeavor to own what I need to own, call it what it is, learn from it, and do better in the future.

I have had to humbly admit, numerous times, to being impatient, unloving, harsh, judgmental and more. I have called out my imperfections and sought to do what I could to make things right.

At some point in their lives, I have asked each of my kids for forgiveness for how my own screwed-up-ness has harmed them.

By embracing my own imperfections, I have learned from them. After that embrace, I have been committed to being more loving and accepting – of myself and others. Almost everything is better. Not solved or perfect, but better.

Wabi Sabi Says Imperfections Are Beautiful

In dealing with my many issues and numerous imperfections, my therapist introduced me to the idea of Wabi Sabi. Based on Buddhist teachings, Wabi Sabi represents the esthetic theory that everything is perfect not despite imperfections, but because of them.

What Is Wabi Sabi?

Wabi Sabi is very loosely translated as “wisdom in natural simplicity.” The Wabi Sabi concept has its roots in the traditional Japanese tea ceremony. Do you have a well-loved tea or coffee cup? When someone else looks at it, they may see a vessel cracked or chipped by use. To you, it’s beautiful!

Most of us don’t like our imperfections. We develop these perceptions from the moment we are born, by looking at how others react to us. But we are rarely taught to look inside ourselves to form our own opinions.

Of course, it is easy to be critical of ourselves. But what is really important to you, personally? Introspection and self-awareness keep us rooted in what is truly real.

Inner Contemplation Is Important

The Wabi Sabi philosophy seeks to give innate value to all those scars we have, both physical and emotional. It is the experiences that created these scars that make up who we are today and every day. Those experiences are to be celebrated, even if they hurt at the time.

In viewing ourselves more kindly, we can see where we have experienced pain or challenge and how they have built us up. They have made us stronger and more resilient, and through them, we have learned to persevere. In Wabi Sabi, the ‘broken’ person is stronger, more beautiful and more perfect.

Flaws to Benefits

Pinpoint something that you view as a flaw, and begin to think of ways you can try to view that flaw as a benefit.

If you are critical of your large feet, view them as being able to carry you solidly wherever you go. The residual paralysis I have in my face from Bell’s palsy has been a reminder to me of the surface nature of beauty and how fleeting it is.

When an object is created in the Wabi Sabi esthetic, it is not created to be symmetrical or free of imperfections. It is the same with us as human beings! We are beautiful just as we are.

One author, Richard Powell, describes it simply: “Nothing lasts, nothing is finished, and nothing is perfect.” That includes us. Can you embrace imperfection instead of fighting it?

What are some imperfections you have stopped fighting and have started to see their beauty? Have you examined where your need for perfection began? What can you do to fight the urge to be perfect? Please share your thoughts below.

Kameron Westcott’s Pink Peplum Top With the Dog Trainer

Real Housewives of Dallas Season 5 Episode 6 Fashion

While Kameron Westcott may not have exactly completed the homework she was given by dog trainer Brad, we of course completed our homework in finding the pretty pink peplum top she wore in this scene on last night’s episode. A feat which I think it’s safe to say definitely earns us a solid A+ and the #1 spot as teacher’s pet although Fanci provides no real competition.

Fashionably,

Faryn

Click Here to See Her Sold Out MSGM Top

Click Here to Shop Her Chanel Sneakers on eBay

Originally posted at: Kameron Westcott’s Pink Peplum Top

Jen Shah’s Season 1 Reunion Dress

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 1 Reunion Fashion

Jen Shah made a statement throughout her first season of the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City whether it was with her actions or her fashion. So it’s no surprise that the founding member of the “Shah Squad” designed her very own gown for the reunion. And it’s very Jen, complete with a puff shoulder, feathers and plenty of bling. Now we’ll just have to see if her accessories include her famous microphone, that just happens to match…

The Realest Housewife,

Big Blonde Hair

Koa Johnson for JXA Fashion

Photo + Info: BravoTV

Originally posted at: Jen Shah’s Season 1 Reunion Dress

February is a month that denotes many things. One that has stood the test of time is Valentine’s Day, which began in 500 A.D. What it fervently symbolizes is the virtue of love in the romantic form.

As we know, however, love comes in many forms, including maternal love. Many believe maternal is the most potent form of love. I would argue that is correct.

My Mother

On February 4th of 2015, my mother died peacefully in our home with the assistance of hospice care. My greatest wish for her at that time was to keep her pain free ushering her into the next world. With the help of the incredible hospice workers, we succeeded.

Like all of us, my mother was imperfect, but her love for me had no bounds. If I had to choose an animal that represented her, a lion would immediately come to mind. In her desire to protect or state her at times unfiltered position, she would do so with fierce determination. Yes, her roar could be loud and clear. Simultaneously, she was lion-hearted, kind, and most generous.

Mothering Comes in Many Forms

Being a therapist, I am well aware of the fact there is much unfairness in the world. Not everyone experiences love of this intensity from a biological or an adoptive mother. Many, however, can acquire other forms of mothering. What is most important is the ability to attain nurturance and strength from some form of mothering.

Many of us were unable to have children of our own, and not always inadvertently, found our way into healing professions. Those who chose not to have children often received the calling to serve in these same vocations.

Many people would say it is not the same as being a mother. Fair enough, but what about the individuals who did not receive healthy mothering? Isn’t it fortuitous they find someone who can provide them with a corrective experience and help them heal from such a painful experience?

How about having a role model, mentor, or therapist who can assist them in drawing out unknown strengths and unique gifts that remain submerged?

For those of you who have children and grandchildren, think about the power of your ability to love. As your precious ones grow, most of you want the best for them, better than what you have.

Although you hope and try, sadly, there are never guarantees, but your powerful love provides them with the strength, resilience, and tenacity to navigate a very topsy-turvy world. And you might not know, until years later, how your loving words and actions helped your children to emerge stronger.

An Example of the Potency of Maternal Love

Many years ago, I saw a lovely woman, Ms. S, for supportive psychotherapy. I have written and spoken about this remarkable woman in the past. Her story is always worth revisiting.

Ms. S and her husband could not have children of their own. They decided to adopt a distant relative’s child after being legally surrendered by the birth parents. By the time Ms. S adopted her, the little girl was about five or six and severely compromised.

Under her parents’ house, she had been physically, sexually, and emotionally abused. The damage was so profound that psychological testing revealed cognition fell in the range of mild mental retardation, as it was known back in the 80s.

Physicality fell under normal development, placing the little girl in the category of dwarfism. This grave prognosis did not deter Ms. S. She pursued every resource possible to assist her child. When meeting with me, Ms. S. expressed nothing but love during the most challenging times with her daughter.

Ms. S’s determination to provide her little girl with as much normalcy as possible was not in vain. At her request, the psychologists administered testing again several months later. Cognition revealed low average intelligence, and physicality showed the child would be petite but within normal limits.

This mother’s love overcame the predictions of the professional experts. Her strength and belief in her daughter are what contributed to her remarkable gains. The power of maternal love truly has no bounds.

Our Own Personal Cheerleader

All of us deal with conflicts and challenges during our lifetime – some far more than others. What helps many people is the love, support, and encouragement of their mothers or mother-like figures. Even as Sexagenarians plus, we can revisit those moments that provide us strength and hope.

Last year, I left my psychotherapy group practice after 27 years. Covid accelerated the physical move to my solo practice.

One of my colleagues texted me to say goodbye, and that many would miss me. In this text, she also stated that I was a powerful and fierce woman. I saw it as a compliment, and as I type this, I believe my mother is nodding her head in agreement as she smiles from afar.

What are your thoughts about the power of maternal love? Have you derived strength from it during these troubled times? How do you share maternal love among your children or others?