Lindelwa, Swaziland

"I feel most beautiful when wearing the colour black."

Jessica, Uganda

"I feel most beautiful when I smile, but not too much."

Bernarda, Angola

I feel most beautiful when my mother compliments me. She does not easily say you look pretty. When she does, that means you do look pretty.

Bakhazile, Swaziland

Lynette, Uganda

"I feel beautiful most times I look in a mirror. At first I thought it was particular kinds of mirrors, then I thought it was particular kinds of lighting that made me seem beautiful. (At times I thought it was my distance from the mirror that determined how pretty I would look. I wonder if I actually look that beautiful in "real life" ."

Natasha, Zambia

 

 "I always feel beautiful around my family; they always compliment me and just make me feel loved and beautiful. However, the most beautiful I've ever felt was during 2nd year at my boarding school in Norway. My roommates used to tell me I was beautiful almost everyday, and it meant more coming from them because they each had different definitions of beauty according to their cultures. Additionally, unlike my family, they weren't obligated to think I was beautiful."

Ange, Rwanda

"I feel most beautiful when I am wearing clothes I feel comfortable in."

Mariama, Sierra Leone

''It comes at rare and unlikely moments but beauty complements from my family make me feel beautiful in a way not even having my hair done does. Its edge might be because its spontaneous and also because it comes from the people who know me the most such that I know it isn't just physical.''

Esmeralda, Angola/Namibia

"I feel most beautiful when people tell me that I am beautiful. Especially during the summer. Maybe because I am always with the same people during school days and I have been at boarding school for a long time."

Sukeji, South Sudan

"I have never really thought about it! So after observing this for a few days, I feel the most beautiful immediately after a shower and after sleep. I have a habit of looking at myself in the mirror during these times!"

Ash, Malawi

"Sometimes its a simple complement that gives you reassurance, sometimes its just a look in the mirror after a terrible day, it could be something stupid like a gesture from the hot guy next door or whatever. So I feel the most beautiful when I allow myself to."