They sometimes say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in reality, beauty is more than skin deep. Nobody knows this better than Marianna Bowering, a mother who is a makeup artist and has something for the world to see.
That mother, who is from Australia, has a lot of support online. She uses social media to her advantage but she does it in order to help her and help her daughter.
That little girl, Angelica, was born with birthmarks on her face. People were not very friendly about them and often, they would say things that really were uncalled for.
Thanks to her unique and wonderful makeup skills, however, the mother was able to change things. She is also able to change perceptions, and she does so for the world to see.
Angelica was born on May 6th, 2018. She has a heart-shaped port wine stain birthmark that goes from her chin to her forehead. At first, her mother and father were in shock with what they saw but they quickly embraced the birthmark as part of her identity.
We all have a desire to be accepted, and that was also true of this entire family. Unfortunately, they saw some bullying coming their way and the mother talked about times when she posted pictures of her daughter and people were cruel enough to call her hideous.
Some people were even talking about how her birthmark would affect her ability to find a partner in the future. They considered it a flaw, but the mother knew better.
These types of birthmarks often get deeper as the child ages. Sometimes, they can be helped with laser treatments, but they don’t naturally fade for many children and it can lead to difficulties, including bullying.
Children who have this type of birthmark also have an increased risk for issues such as glaucoma and Sturg-Webber syndrome. Fortunately, the mother and father have done what they could to assist by giving Angelica regular checkups with the doctor.
When describing the comments and criticism she faces, she said that there was one particular comment that was exceptionally cruel. Someone had asked if her daughter’s face was pressed into a hot skillet, implying that it looked as if it was grilled or burnt.
Someone else called Angelica’s birthmark a defect, and that led to a lot of emotional pain.
Fortunately, the mother was willing to stand up to the bullies and she decided to take things to another level by raising awareness of port wine stains. She even drew a heart on her own face as a way of showing unity. Often, she will share pictures on Instagram and she gets a lot of support.
You can see the love and joy that Angelica has when she looks at her mother’s face. It is something that does more than help Angelica, however, it has helped the world to see that there is much that can be done when families work together.