No make-up! No air brushing! WHAT??

So I got an e-mail from HEAT magazine to do a photo shoot with them!! And you know by now that I love photo shoots so how could I say no?
I did think about saying no to this one though, not because I had a change of heart and decided that I don't like photo shoots anymore, but because this is a different shoot.

This is what the e-mail said :

"Okay, so we are doing a beauty shoot – showing off our South African celebrities in all their natural beauty! I have attached some references for you to have a look at. We want to do the same thing with our locals. The shoot would be in the same type of clothing – and without any airbrushing. "

Yep, this is part of the e-mail that I received...
Yep, SA celebs in all their natural beauty! This means NO MAKE-UP!! I've never had to do a shoot with no make-up on, but I'm not worried about this because I'm comfortable with or without make-up...I have great skin that hardly has any break-outs, thank goodness!

I saw the reference pictures and I got a little uncomfortable because I would have to wear underwear / the shortest shorts and a vest...You'd think it was ok since it's not a nude shoot right?

Thing is, I love the shape of my body! This hasn't always been the case, but now I think I have amazing curves in all the right places...I especially love my upper body, but I've always had issues with my thighs.

Did you see that part about NO AIR BRUSHING?? This means all my flaws will be visible for nation to see!!

But guess what? I'm doing it!! I SAID YES!!
And the reason I said yes is because people in the public eye are usually viewed as perfect beings, no mistakes, no flaws, just perfection! I'm showing the people who support my work that I am not perfect and I'm ok with not being perfect!
I have cellulites too! So what??
I don't have the "perfect" legs.. So what?
My flaws make me unique.
They make me who I am. So how can I not love and celebrate who I am?

In the e-mail , they also mentioned :
"Obviously we want you to be as comfortable as possible, so we’ll show you the photos as they are taken and only go to print with the ones you are happy with."

This means I have full control of what I want to be published and if I decide to chicken out, I'm allowed to. But I will not do that!
This feature is meant to show the HEAT magazine readers that even the most gorgeous celebrities have a few body issues – it’s a powerful women’s feature to make all women accept and be happy with what they've got.

I'm all about the empowerment of young women, so this is another step that I am taking to help women love and accept themselves!

The shoot is on the 18th of August 2011 and I'm actually looking forward to it!
No make-up, no air brushing! Just me.. the real me.....


Love your body, it's the only one you have
Pearl