About this photo: “My boyfriend at the time (now my husband) was set to graduate from boot camp in two weeks. I wanted to absolutely dazzle him when he saw me after two months away from each other. So for the first time ever, I decided to add a little color to my hair—nothing drastic, but some highlights and a nice trim. My salon appointment ended up being a little over three hours, but during the middle of it, I remember looking into the mirror and laughing at how ridiculous I looked: the oversized cape and my hair stacked in little rods of tinfoil. The things we do for beauty!” —Tess Lopez, editorial assistant for Grit and Grace Life

A #filterless Look at Our Internal Beauty

These days, we’re inundated with the pressure to be beautiful. The cosmetics industry has boomed with exciting products and a legion of beauty YouTubers marketing their tricks for blended eyeshadow that looks like a work of art. We’ll spend hours in the salon and drop hundreds of dollars for a fresh cut and color that best frames our face shape.

And there’s nothing wrong with these things. As women, we crave to look and feel put-together. We want to enhance our features and let people see us at our best. Some mascara and lip gloss might give us the boost we need during an interview. The problem with this idea of beauty is when we stake our entire being and worth on our appearance.

An expensive tube of lipstick isn’t going to raise our children. The trending hairstyle isn’t going to sit up late, listening to and consoling a broken-hearted friend. Our external beauty might snag a few dozen likes online, but does it speak to the generous, cheerful, tender-hearted soul within? How we carry ourselves and how we treat others tells more about our character and how radiant we really are than any beauty product we can buy. As the old adage goes: “Beauty will fade, but a beautiful heart will last a lifetime.”