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Brilliant Skin & Laser Studio

Wholeness in Beauty: Filter Thief

I don’t know if the foggy mornings and cozy evenings are making me more

reflective, or if there really is a heaviness in the air. Amid my reflections, I found

myself wanting to hit pause on all the skincare advice and pull back the curtain on the HEART in what we do.


There is always a catalyst for clients who walk in our door. When we sit across from them face to face for the first time during a consult, we start to hear their story and eventually the catalyst is usually a whispered side comment. These whispered comments tell us how to care for YOU in your journey. Not just your skin, but YOU.


  • "I’ve been taking care of my loved one for so long, I let myself go. I don’t

    recognize myself in the mirror and I want to do something to make me like

    myself again."


  • "I have a medical condition that changed everything. Now it affects so much of my life and when I look in the mirror all I see is the medical condition. It has

    changed how look, how I feel, and how I view myself."


  • "I experienced a great loss several month ago. I was in a dark place, but now

    I’m trying to take care of myself again."


  • "This thing has always bothered me, but life was one thing after another. I’ve

    finally decided to do something about it."


  • "I’ve never been given any direction OR I’ve tried everything, and I just don’t

    know what to do to make my skin better."




I used to get mildly annoyed with the lack of authenticity with social media. People showing perfect pictures, perfect lives, perfect meals with an occasional nod to reality. But what used to make me mildly annoyed, is now causing me growing concern. We are all struggling in one way or another, and in our practice at Brilliant Skin we often get the privilege of being a voice of care or the mirror you need to see your inherent worth.


As we journey with you in your skin or medical condition, we want to be the safe place where you can learn to be confident and live to the fullest again. I want to share a moment when I grasped the reality of harm when we start seeing ourselves as less-than, broken, or lost and stop caring for our whole person. In our culture, this harm is most present in the use of filters. Hear me out: I used to view silly filters as an amusement for tweens and teens trying to grasp their place, but now I’m seeing it span every age group. I see in those pictures is actually an ache. A sense of loss or desire for people to be somehow different than what they really are.


I experienced this sickening sense of loss the first time my daughter said to me, “Mom, look at this great picture my friend took.” And it was the first time I saw my daughter through a filter. She thought the picture was great. She thought the

picture was a better version of herself. I didn’t recognize her. As a result, spontaneously wrote the piece below.


I know it’s a lengthy blog post this month, but if you keep reading, I hope what you will find is a reminder of the beautiful masterpiece of you. Whole, unique, loved, beautiful and worth the journey to be able to look in the mirror and see what we see the first time a client walks in our doors: a masterpiece.


Filter Thief


When I look at my daughter’s face I see reflections of so many I love.

Yet wrapped in an unmatched masterpiece that is uniquely her and her alone.

There’s freckles from daddy that highlight her radiant smile.

A dimple from an aunt two thousand miles away.

Lips of a Mimi with a heart of gold.

A playful expression only close family would know.

Perfect and kind almond eyes like the sister I hold dear.

Fair skin and wild hair that I am proud to claim as my own.

One face tells a story of love and life!

One face displays my heart as a masterpiece only those who truly love her will see.

Her style is pretty with a sparkle to show off her joy.

Her contagious love of people and places and fun brings light to every room.

A twinkle mischievous, a tiny smirk highlight her whit coined ironic.

Her brilliant mind is perfectly inquisitive and thoughtful -

Applying knowledge, loving people first, growing in graceful wisdom.

The filter stole this beauty - crashing my heart to my stomach.

Where are the freckles that trace the joy?

Where are the kind almond eyes?

Why are the lips that smile so easily now pursed, and plumped, and pointed?

The brilliant joy is enveloped in an artificial halo.

Her dimple replaced with a chin of a stranger.

I can no longer claim my complexion or hair wild and free.

It has all been stolen by a filter telling her what she should be.

A thief that does not know the story of love or the priceless treasure it stole.

It ripped it to shreds and tore out my heart for the sake of a plastic display.

How can a filter name beauty when it doesn’t know its depth?

How can a filter put a price on a soul it does not love?

Oh daughter! Be vigilant of your priceless worth!

It cannot be replaced.

No one can match the love or story I find when I gaze in your beautiful face.

You are a masterpiece perfectly made for the world to know your light.

What you offer is only yours to give - your face is just a part!

Your mind, your heart, your joy, your soul are all lovingly etched in its features.

No filter can capture, no artist can recreate what only your smile reveals.

Don’t hide behind the lies of a stealthy filter.

The filter thief will trick you, befriend you, console you over pain it first inflicted.

Until you trade the treasure for filtered affection, relinquish the heirloom without a fight.


A masterpiece lost forever -  a tragedy of buried love, light forgotten, soul shattered.

And what remains is a plastic replica - sold in tourist shops for a dime.

My daughter! Smile brightly, wear your pearls, let your hair go wild and free!

Highlight your almond eyes to draw others to the kindness within.

Show your style and brilliant mind boldly and with grace -

Just don’t let the filter thief steal the masterpiece of your face.

It’s my heart, it’s our story, your soul lights up every smile.

My daughter! Be vigilant of your priceless worth!

Your beauty is unmatched and you are a treasure to all who love you truly.


— Christa Murray

1 comment

1 comentario


Mary Hays
Mary Hays
24 oct

Well spoken and filled with love. Namaste’

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