Birthmarks are natural occurrences in many babies during infancy. Although many children’s birthmarks fade away with time, some individuals retain their welcome gift into the world and learn to cope with their parting gifts from birth. In fact, some people have made careers off of their so called “unwanted birthmarks.” Just look at Cindy Crawford or Marilyn Monroe. Both women practically made their mark (pun definitely intended) in beauty history by proudly sporting their moles.

For those of you who aren’t quite sure exactly what a birth/beauty mark constitutes as, it’s an area of discolored skin present on the face or body which is noticeable at birth or shortly afterwards. Birthmarks can also take numerous forms. As stated above, moles are a very common form of birthmark, as almost everyone has moles – unfortunately not everyone’s moles are conveniently located on their upper lip region – talking about you Cindy Crawford and Marilyn Monroe. In fact, their iconic moles have become so popular that many girls today are piercing their upper lip and wearing jewelry to simulate the infamous mole.

Other common birthmarks that don’t tend to fade with time include the café au lait and port-wine stain birthmarks.

Those born with these common and apparent birthmarks must learn to embrace them. The café au lait birthmark gets its name from the drink meaning coffee with milk. In effect, the birthmark looks just like the drink – a light, caramelized brown colored patch on the skin.

The port-wine stain is similar to the café au lait in that it is a patch of off-colored skin. It too derives its look directly from its name. It looks as though someone poured red wine on the skin. Just ask Tina Turner or Smashing Pumpkin’s front man Billy Corgan what they think of her port-wine stains. They seem to be pretty content with their “welcome to the world” gifts.

Whether you have a birthmark or not doesn’t deter from the fact that these natural imperfections in appearance play a vital role into a person’s individuality. The answer to true beauty is imperfection. It’s the flaws that make us who we are and as a result turn our birthmarks into beauty marks that we can wear proudly and fashionably.