Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but only if you’re stuck on the archaic idea that physical appearance has something to do with it. It isn’t the color of your eyes, the width of your waist, or the prominence of your cheekbone that dictates whether or not you’re a natural beauty. It’s time to put aside those antiquated ideas and get real about what being beautiful means.

Beautiful people respect the Earth. For too long the Earth has been disrespected and abused. Intelligent beauties know this. They are lifting their voices and demanding change. Every time you select recyclable or reusable packaging, you’re part of the beautiful chorus. When you’ve spoken out against the use of microbeads and decried the practice of “greenwashing,” you’ve proven your beauty. Any time you educate yourself and others about global climate change, any effort you’ve made, big or small, to be part of the environmental solution not the problem, proves how downright gorgeous you are!

Beautiful people respect themselves. You deserve to be treated like the goddess you are, and that includes self-love. Choosing a plant-based, organic diet means you respect yourself enough to nourish your body with the healthy foods it really needs. Not only are those veggies the healthy choice for your insides, research has shown going green with your plate means clear, healthy, radiant skin. Hand in hand with what you eat, you’re going to want to get up and get moving too. Breaking a sweat keeps your heart healthy and your skin radiant.

Respecting yourself also means paying attention to what you’re putting on your body. Real beauties know natural, organic skincare and makeup products are the only way to go. Show yourself a little more love and purge your makeup bag of products that rely on chemicals and animal derived ingredients. An Intelligent Beauty knows she deserves natural, organic and cruelty-free makeup and skin care.

Beautiful people respect other living beings. It’s hard to be gorgeous when you’re dismissing the lives of other living beings. True beauty requires compassion. If your skin care and beauty regime includes products that have been tested on animals, it’s time to make a change. Animal testing is not necessary. Using cruelty-free products makes you downright ravishing! Your plant-based diet speaks volumes also! Believe us, there’s nothing sexy or beautiful about taking a life so you can tear into a plate of meat and dairy-loaded side dishes.

We want you to reclaim the concept of beauty. Be confident and proud of your radiant, sultry self! Snap a picture and share it with us on Instagram. Use the hashtag #EBNaturalBeauty! Be sure to tag us @eccobellabeauty. Thanks, gorgeous! You inspire us to continue as an innovator in natural beauty, while looking out for you, animals and the planet.