It's funny because I'm a sucker for glitz and glitter when it

When Alison Sweeney declares, “It’s funny because I’m a sucker for glitz and glitter when it comes to clothes and nail polish, but with my makeup, I’m more comfortable with a natural look. It feels more like me,” she speaks not merely of beauty or fashion, but of the eternal struggle between appearance and authenticity — between the dazzling armor we wear for the world and the quiet truth of the soul beneath it. Her words are not about cosmetics alone; they are about the deeper art of being oneself amidst the masks of life. For every human heart carries two lights: the one that shines outward to attract and adorn, and the one that glows inward to guide and reveal.

In every age, people have sought beauty — the Greeks in their marble, the Egyptians in their gold, the poets in their verses. Yet the wisest among them knew that the outer shimmer is but a reflection of the inner flame. Sweeney’s affection for glitz and glitter mirrors this timeless desire: to celebrate the joy of color, texture, and form. There is no shame in adornment, for beauty is an echo of the divine — it uplifts the spirit and delights the senses. But when she speaks of finding peace in the natural look, she reminds us that adornment must never drown out authenticity. For the truest beauty is not that which dazzles the eye, but that which resonates with the heart’s quiet truth.

The ancients told of Helen of Troy, whose beauty was said to launch a thousand ships. Yet in the myths that linger beyond the surface, it was not her painted face nor her jewels that bewitched nations, but the aura of her presence — a kind of living light that came from within. When all the gold and crimson of war faded, what remained was the question of who Helen was beyond the legend. So too does Sweeney’s reflection guide us toward a modern wisdom: that amid the noise of mirrors and praise, we must ask, what feels like me? For that question, honestly answered, is the beginning of peace.

There is power in her choice of words — “It feels more like me.” This is the language of self-knowledge, a virtue praised by sages and poets alike. The Delphic oracle inscribed upon its temple, “Know thyself,” for it knew that a person who knows their own nature walks with grace through a world of illusion. To find comfort in simplicity is not to reject splendor, but to master it — to wear beauty without being owned by it. The natural look, then, is more than the absence of paint; it is the presence of truth. It is the quiet courage of standing unmasked before the world and saying, This is who I am, and it is enough.

Consider the story of Coco Chanel, the woman who changed the language of fashion. In a world gilded by excess, she stripped beauty down to its essence — the little black dress, the scent of clean skin, the elegance of understatement. She once said, “Simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance.” Chanel, like Sweeney, understood that authenticity outlasts ornament. To adorn is an art, but to be is a revelation. When we choose the genuine over the grandiose, the quiet over the showy, we do not lose beauty — we discover it anew.

Yet, let it not be misunderstood: there is joy in glitter, and there is poetry in glitz. The world was never meant to be drab, nor the human spirit dull. Sweeney’s words honor both sides of the self — the playful and the peaceful, the radiant and the real. To embrace both is to live fully, for life itself shimmers between light and shadow. The wise soul does not reject the sparkle but learns when to wear it — and when to set it down, to feel the quiet weight of their own unadorned spirit.

So, O listener, take this teaching to heart: adorn yourself if it brings you joy, but never let the mirror tell you who you are. Seek the balance between celebration and sincerity. Let your beauty be both seen and felt — not because it conforms, but because it expresses. Each glittering thread and every unpainted face are chapters in the same story of becoming. The goal is not to impress the eyes of others, but to align the outer with the inner, to let what the world sees be faithful to what the soul feels.

In the end, remember this: true beauty is harmony — the meeting of authenticity and art, the blending of sparkle and stillness. The clothes may shimmer, the polish may gleam, but the truest light will always come from within. Walk through the world radiant, not because you are decorated, but because you are at peace with who you are. For that is the rarest beauty of all — and it never fades.