The following post is sponsored by Clairol

“Mother: the most beautiful word on the lips of mankind.”  ~ Kahlil Gibran

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you beautiful Moms!

Becoming a mother means rediscovering yourself, and in some ways reinventing the person you are with the most important job on the planet. After having my first child, it took me quite a while to feel beautiful again. The sleep deprivation was more of a shock than I ever expected it to be. My body didn’t feel my own, and for a period of time it felt as though Motherhood swallowed me whole.

Looking back, I see that time period as one of the most important times in my life to discover who I truly am, and how exactly I could unleash the authentic beauty that lies within each one of us.

Motherhood gave me the opportunity to discover what beauty truly means, and what role I wanted it to play in my life. You see, we are all beautiful. We were born beautiful; it is not something time can take away from you. Once in a while we need a little motivation to unleash it from within. For me, motherhood was that motivation.

What I know is when I am feeling beautiful, I have embraced and accepted myself. In those moments, I’m not beating myself up, I am choosing love. Love for myself, love for my family, love for life and the world around me.

Feeling beautiful is the key to emanating your true innate beauty, and since becoming a mother I’ve learned a few ways that help make me feel beautiful:

First and foremost, taking care of my body with foods that nourish me.

It is the most important way to feel beautiful. There are foods that unleash your natural beauty and foods that hinder it. Find the ones that allow your beauty to shine through, embrace them and make them the most important part of your daily food routine. Hydrate yourself with greens and water. It’s like pouring sunshine straight into your veins and soul.

Taking care of my skin and hair.

Using products that nurture my skin and hair, as well as choosing makeup that allows your natural beauty out instead of blocking it. Taking time to do my hair is an act of self-love for me. When my hair is a giant mess, I feel like a mess. We are worth our time. One way to let your beauty shine through is with great hair color, which is easy with Clairol. When we feel beautiful our whole demeanor changes, which impacts how we treat others, and most importantly how we treat our loved ones and ourselves. (See how Clairol and great hair color helped one real life mom remain true to her gorgeous self! Please share Nora and Jim’s story with your beautiful friends!)

Being kind and patient makes me feel beautiful. Let me tell you, nothing zaps my inner beauty faster than turning into a Mommy monster. Recognizing that is not my true self helps keeps that sometimes sleep-deprived grumpy version of me at bay.

Giving more than I take makes me feel beautiful.

Opportunities to give present themselves all the time. You don’t necessarily have to go looking for them, although you can. When you have a chance to give, take that extra step. You’re putting love into the universe, which always comes back 2 fold. When I focus on giving I feel very beautiful. Giving is the fastest way to unleash inner beauty.

Taking a few minutes to recharge makes me feel beautiful.

My personal favorite is 10 minutes of meditation. For me, meditation clears away all the clouds that sometimes block my inner beauty and allows me to connect with my authentic self. A walk outside, time in the garden, exercise, a couple minutes of reading, an hour with friends are all great additional ways to recharge and keep from running on empty.

You are beautiful! Say it as many times as it takes to believe it, to know it. Becoming a parent only enhances your inner beauty because you have chosen to become the greatest teacher and giver of love. Love is what makes us beautiful. Love for our family and love for ourselves.

“I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love.”  ~ Mother Teresa

Wishing you a beautiful Mother’s Day filled with love!

Want to learn more about letting your inner beauty shine through? Visit Clariol on Facebook, Twitter (@ClairolColor), and YouTube.