The World’s Largest Selfie

That’s me, in an un-retouched bikini selfie. For a lot of women (myself included), that’s slightly scary. There’s something lovely about adding filters to anything where you are mostly undressed. It’s comforting. But the reality is filters don’t follow you around in life. And instead of hiding ourselves or covering ourselves with fake lighting, we should be proud of what we’ve got. Let’s show off what God gave (or didn’t give) us, what we work for at the gym, our badges of honor from bearing kids. With that in mind, I’m really excited to talk about my next project.

There have been a lot of un-retouched selfie movements lately: celebs with no makeup, the #belfie … The next one to come along is happening right here in Miami Beach. Aerie is hosting the world’s largest unretouched selfie. To gear up, I took this pic of myself in the backyard. And trust that if I’m not allowed to use some filter to hide my flaws I am going to layer myself in baby oil. Don’t judge—we all have our emotional bandaids. Chances are I’ll be all oiled up again on Saturday, March 7 when Aerie by American Eagle shoots its world’s largest selfie. And we’re all invited to be a part of the shoot. Since it’s Miami and the weather is amazing, I’ll be donning a suit from the brand’s Lincoln Road store’s cute selection. You can be in the pic, too. Just RSVP to the address above, toss on your bikini and join me on March 7 at the Mondrian South Beach Pool at 1100 West Avenue in Miami Beach from 10 to 1 p.m. Ultimate bonus: To celebrate this shoot, I’m giving away a $250 gift card to one lucky reader. All you have to do is share an unretouched selfie (like mine above) on Instagram and Twitter and tag it @Aerie, #AerieREAL, #LoveYourREALSelfie for a chance to win. Then, after the shoot, we’ll all hit the Lincoln Road store at 825-829 Lincoln Road for a little shopping, where you can get a suit from their new swim collection. To see what it’s all about, check the hashtags #loveyourrealselfie and #aeriereal.

My lucky winner will be selected on Friday, March 5. Good luck shooting your own selfie, and if you need the baby oil, I’m more than willing to share.