You Will Never Look Like the Girl in the Magazine

From the age of 10 I was obsessed with models and fashion I loved the creativity and the glamour. I would look at these images and wish I to could look like those models in the magazines, being young and naive I was unaware about the hard work that is put into creating an image and that what I was really looking at were images of fantasy.
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As I flick through my magazine I am confronted with stunning images of celebrities who look perfect with not one hair out of place.

I look down at myself, and for a split second I start feeling rubbish about myself, because I dont look quite like these super humans that stare back at me.

Then hurrah, my sensible brain kicks in and brings me back down to earth, "do not worry girl, the girl in the magazine doesn't even look like that." Now this is true.

The images we are faced with in magazines and billboards are manipulated using Photoshop; there is an army of professionals that spend hours making an ordinary looking girl into a polished and preened picture of perfection.

Something we may aspire to look like to feel we are successful or deemed as beautiful.

Raw and retouched image of myself. Gavin Chapman photography

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Now don't get me wrong, these women are beautiful in their own right, however not your everyday girl has the luxury of a personal hair and make up artist following us around, a stylist with a never-ending wardrobe of up to the minute trends, not forgetting the personal trainers and chefs on standby.

Instead my life is watching makeup tutorials to get that Kimmy K contour, walking out the door with my hair damp hoping it blow dries in the wind on the way to work and my personal trainer is in the form of my three year old daughter Tianii who has me running around after her. I guess that is pretty much the reality of many a busy mums life.

So do not panic if you are not looking like the models or the celebrities, what we are seeing is not real. What is real is when we see images of celebs caught off guard without a face full of make up and looking refreshingly normal but still annoyingly beautiful at the same time.

We are living in a time where beauty is everything, it's a massive market that homes into womens insecurities making you believe if you purchase a product a celebrity is seen wearing you to can look like them to.

The sad thing is you are already amazing without that contour kit, the lip plumper and the valencia filter you use on your instagram selfies.

As I write this I am telling myself too, that I am amazing something that I have battled with for a long time, the girl I would see in the mirror was something I was not happy with, why? Honestly I am not too sure.

From the age of 10 I was obsessed with models and fashion I loved the creativity and the glamour.

I would look at these images and wish I to could look like those models in the magazines, being young and naive I was unaware about the hard work that is put into creating an image and that what I was really looking at were images of fantasy.

It lead to over 20 years of an ongoing battle with food, in recent years being diagnosed with bulimia and body dysmorphia. Something I have managed to keep at bay with help from loved ones.

Everyday someone is battling with an eating disorder, many formed because they do not reflect the image of beauty that is represented in the magazines.

It is a very sad reality that as you read this someone out there is skipping a meal in the bid for "perfection".

This is the scary part of fashion many young girls dream of being models and will go to extreme lengths to look like them.

From extreme dieting to surgical procedures many girls are pursuing the image of " perfection". A nip here and a tuck there, plastic surgery is readily available if you have the funds to go to such lengths.

It is saddening that the influence of the media makes women look at themselves and feel they need to change how they look to be happier and more attractive only down the line to be unhappy with the transformation.

We think it would be beneficial if there were a stamp on images to highlight the fact that they have in fact been manipulated, what are your thoughts?

The Models Of Diversity team are working hard to make the fashion industry listen and use a wider range of models. The models should reflect the buying public, correct? There is room for diversity in fashion and I really hope 2016 will be the year of change.

If the industry changed their perception of beauty then maybe it could save some girls from themselves.

Remember you are beautiful as you are - the girl in the magazine does not even look like the girl in the magazine.

This February, HuffPost UK Style is running a month-long focus on our Fashion For All campaign, which aims to highlight moments of colour, size, gender and age diversity and disability inclusivity in the fashion and beauty world.

We will be sharing moments of diversity at London Fashion Week with the hashtag #LFW4All and we'd like to invite you to do the same. If you'd like to blog about diversity or get involved, email us here.