Dear Beautiful | August 2026 Letter
Dear Beautiful,
A few weeks ago, I took my granddaughter shopping for her first day of first-grade outfit. There's something about tagging along with a seven-year-old on a shopping trip that changes how you see everything.
She knew instantly what she loved. No hesitation, no second-guessing, no glancing around to see what anyone else would think. She just lit up the second she found what she wanted.
Then on her first day of school, she FaceTimed me on her way out the door. "Bea, you look so cute!" I told her. Without missing a beat, she said, "I DO look so cute!"
I want to be like Bea when I grow up. The confidence. The self-love. The complete lack of hesitation. May we all see ourselves a little more like Bea sees herself. Between the shopping trip and that call, I have thought a lot about how effortlessly we understand ourselves when we're small.
We like what we like.
We wear what makes us happy.
We make friends with everyone.
We raise our hand when we know the answer.
We let ourselves get excited about everything.
Then, somewhere along the way, we start looking around instead of within. We learn to measure ourselves against others. We start second-guessing. We become fluent in what everyone else is wearing, chasing, achieving, thinking, and that little girl who once knew exactly what she loved starts waiting for someone else's approval first.
Watching my granddaughter get ready for that first day made me want to hold onto that part of her for as long as I can. And it also made me wonder if I could find a little more of it in myself.
I think this back-to-school season isn't just for the kids. The rest of us need a fresh start, a reset too. Maybe that isn’t a new backpack or a box of crayons, but a way back to the girl who knew herself before the world taught her to be small.
I hope my granddaughter always walks into her life confident, knowing exactly who she is. And I hope, in my own way, I can walk like that more often, too. I want to be a little more like Bea. I hope that for you, too.
Love,
Darcey, CEO
Shine Cosmetics
P.S. Maybe growing up isn’t about becoming someone new. Maybe it’s about finding our way back to the girl who already knew she was pretty great.
