Beauty blogger Joanne Larby is someone who, by the looks of her Instagram page, has an idyllic life. Her 115,000 followers are privy to her posts showcasing crystalline waterfalls from her travels in Croatia, selfies of her body from flattering angles, rides on inflatable unicorn floaties, sunsets, and gorgeous make-up looks.
Many of us can fall into the trap of assuming others’ lives are far superior to ours on social media, and give apps like Instagram and Twitter the power to hurt our mental health. That’s one reason it’s so important that Larby is speaking out.
The beauty blogger, who goes by The Make Up Fairy, took to Instagram and Facebook Tuesday to speak out about her struggles with her self-esteem, Allure discovered.
“Self confidence. You would think from my social media accounts that I have it in buckets right?” she captions a selfie of herself in full make-up. “Wrong. Lately I’ve been experiencing a severe lack in self confidence; I’ve been doubting myself and my capabilities, picking at aesthetics flaws constantly and letting exterior situations determine how I feel in my own skin.”
She then opens up about her struggle with comparing her bodies to others, a struggle many of us resonate with.
“I’ve started to look at bodies online and in person and constantly compare myself even though I know that’s detrimental and you’re suppose to simply love who you are,” she continues, “But how can you truly love the body you’re in if you’re wanting to change it so severely and dramatically? Food for thought. Some days I’ll wake up and think I look nice while others I’ll hold onto every negative thing said about me online or in person and remind myself I’m not ‘enough’.”
She concludes by stressing how she wants to be known for her “kindness” and “work ethic,” and yet she spends so much time focusing on the negatives about her body.
Her followers are thanking her for speaking out, and her words are resonating with many of them.
“This is one of my favorites of your posts,” one user writes, “You’ve worked your ass off and deserve serious pats on the back for powering on through days like that.”
More and more beauty and fitness bloggers have been opening up about embracing their imperfections in recent months, from one fitness trainer’s acceptance of her butt dimple to another fitness blogger who gained weight to take better care of her mental and physical health.
When nearly half of girls as young as seven years old have self-loathing relationships with their bodies, every person who uses their platform to speak out on the issue has immense power.
