On a daily basis, I consult women who are experiencing  skin and hair issues.  As a Holistic Esthetician, I look beyond the thinning hair and the obvious breakouts on the skin to try and sort out what the skin and hair are telling me about my client.  What I find more often than not, is turmoil and struggle under the surface.  Women are constantly bombarded through media, culture, and with expectations of beauty, weight, fashion and identity issues.  Women have been programmed to accept celebrity endorsements and Hollywood stylists as the standard for beauty.  When the hair, weight, skin and fashion budget don’t add up, many women feel less than; self esteem, spiritual, physical and mental health suffer.  As a result you don’t feel beautiful, energetic, worthy or perfect enough. This inner feeling that starts in the mind and permeates to the soul is the set up for hair loss, lackluster complexions, depression, weight and self esteem issues.

So, with that said, how do you transform yourself?  How do you begin to unveil your authentic beauty?   How do you feel beautiful when your hair is thinning, your skin is dull and dry, and your feet are swollen?  The following are what I believe to be the basic five principles of holistic beauty.

• First of all, know that you are so much more than what you see in the mirror. I am reminded of the lyrics to my favorite India Arie song.  “I am not my hair, I am not this skin, I am not your expectations no, I am the soul that lives within.”  Your worth is far greater than any hairstyle or hair color.  Beauty is in discovering the authenticity that lies beneath the surface.

• Next, you have to accept and embrace your uniqueness.  Variety is the spice of life.  What a boring world it would be if we all looked alike. Learn to appreciate you.   Study yourself.  Really get to know the unique, beautiful being that you are.  You have a purpose on the planet so unique that only you can fulfill it.  Do you.

• Pursue health.  Your hair, skin, and nails are more than just superficial signs of beauty, they are direct reflection of your overall health.  Beautiful, glowing, skin and hair are signs of a good digestion and metabolism and a healthy diet.  Your skin reflects the quality of your blood.  A healthy diet, one that is suitable for your blood type, is how you create that healthy outer glow.  No matter what your blood type, a healthy diet will be one that is full of fresh and organic fruits and vegetables, healthy proteins and whole grains.

• Be honest with your self and take inventory of your life and make the necessary changes that will bring you into sync and harmony with nature and those around you.  The serenity prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr is a perfect meditation for this step; “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; and the courage to change the things that I can.” Tension and stress wreak havoc on your inner health.  It shows on your face.  Nothing is worth disharmony and the disruption it causes to our inner psyche and physiology.  You can heal your life, but you must first be honest about what it is.  True, authentic beauty comes from a mind and heart that are in harmony.  When you have inner harmony there is emotional confusion, lack of confidence, stress and worry disappear.

• Last but not least, beauty is a choice.  Make the choice each and every day to become healthier.   Choose a healthy diet, friends, career, thoughts and lifestyle.  You have the power to transform yourself into the radiantly beautiful woman you are meant to be.  Be good to yourself and expect the same from others.  Look for beauty around and within you.  It’s there waiting for your beck and call.  “Be ye transformed by the renewing of your Mind.”  Romans 12:2

Willlette Monk (AKA Greensistah) is a Licensed Holistic Esthetician and Beauty Consultant. Willette specializes in helping women to restore hair loss and resolve skin issues.

Willette can be reached by email at: greensistah@gmail.com

holistic beauty

Here are some great tips on choosing a lipstick color and how to apply it like a pro. I could have used these at age 13 when I first ventured into the world of make-up. I bought orange lipstick and applied it all around my mouth, even in the corners. I probably looked like the Joker!

Light Skin Tones

Consider these colors:

* Light-brown beiges with pink or orange undertones.
* Medium brown with pink undertones or beige lipsticks with a pink undertone.
* Browns like Mocha browns, and darker brown/pink lipsticks for an evening lip look.
* Deep plum reds like soft berry and wine reds with a blue undertone.
* Pinks such as light shiny pink lipsticks with blue undertones work well.
* Pink with a slight gold shimmer also enhances this skin tone very nicely.

Be careful of these colors:

* Extra pale browns with yellow undertones make fair skin look washed out.
* Reds with an orange undertone.
* Hot pink lipstick as it overpowers fair skins

Medium Skin Tones

Consider these colors:

* Deep reds and the blue-reds brighten medium skin with a yellow undertone.
* Brown and warm reds will soften and look warm on medium skin.
* Rich caramel shades, medium brown with yellow or pink undertones, and creamy coffee color browns
* Pinks like rich and deep pinks. Also pinks with brown undertones enhance and flatter medium skins very well.
* Sheers, creams, and mattes can also be tried using these shades of pink.
* Olive skin looks good with brownish reds, light browns and raisin shades of lipstick.

Be careful of these colors:

* Browns that are very pale can make medium skins look ashy and washed out.

Yellowish Skin Tones

Consider these colors:

* Rich, deep brown reds and deep, dark berry shades.
* Browns with a red or auburn or mahogany undertone and rich browns that resemble coffee, toffee, and chocolate colors work well with this skin tone.
* Pinks like deep berries, rich rose, and soft to medium plums with strong yellow undertones are flattering to this skin tone.

Be careful of these colors:

* Stay away from orange or reds and pink or red shades.
* Avoid pinks that are to cool and too light as these pinks can make complexion look draining.

Dark Skin Tones

* Plums, wines and deep reds and reds with a blue undertone.
* Mahogany
* Almost any shade of brown color such as light browns to a rich, dark, coffee brown suits black skin tone.
* Pinks like medium and soft sheer pinks, pink in glosses and sheers with a touch of beige.
* Berries and deep roses

Be careful of these colors:

* Avoid orange and pink reds on this skin tone.

Application

* Prevent lipstick from seeping into cracks by coating the mouth with lip balm, letting it sit for five full minutes, then blotting the excess with a tissue before applying color. (For really chapped lips, gently slough off dead skin with a soft toothbrush or a damp washcloth before wiping off the balm).

* To keep lipstick from bleeding, dip a cotton swab in translucent powder and roll it just outside the lip line before putting on any color.

* Consider using a lip brush when filling in the mouth (it can give more control than using the tube itself).

* Line the lips using lip liner, keeping to the natural lip line. Consider lining lips with a neutral pencil, even if the lip color over that is a bright shade. This way the finished mouth looks more natural and if the color fades or is “chewed” off, the layer underneath is not a bright orange or red.

* Proceed to fill in the entire mouth with the lip liner pencil. This will also help the lipstick color last longer. Use the side of the pencil, not the point, for filling in the rest of the mouth.

* Use a lip brush and fill in the entire mouth up to the same edge as the lip pencil.

* Blot with a tissue.

* You can optionally put powder over the top of the first coat of lipstick to help it last longer.

* Reapply lip stick with the lip brush and blot again.

* You can alternatively try staining the lipstick onto your lips: apply three coats of a deep shade, leaving it on for a few minutes, and blotting it with a tissue so only the pigment remains.

* Blotting with a tissue will also help lip gloss last longer. The wetter the mouth, the less likely the gloss will stick.

* To take off long-lasting lipstick, cover the mouth with Vaseline and wait a minute before wiping it off. Waterproof eye-makeup remover works quickly, too.

Thanks to tokyostargirl for the tips!

image: dailygreen

lipstick, lipstick application

What should women and men look for in a flirty fragrance? This is the million dollar question! But imagine: If there were a universal elixir that would guarantee victory at the love battlefield, it could be a curse in disguise; your secret weapon would not be so secret any more, since everyone would be wearing it, thus rendering it ineffective! Still, there are some guidelines in place when choosing a flirty fragrance for a romantic tete-a-tete, although those are less strict than you might think. 

A fragrance to entice a potential or existing partner should be something to stir the imagination, beckoning closer to discover things hinted at but not outright revealed and to be memorable. Therefore it should leave a subtle trail behind (in French industry -speak this is called sillage ~pronounced see-yazh), but not a hurricane! Whether it would be fresh, floral, oriental or woody is more a matter of personal taste, as within each fragrance family there are elements which contribute to a seductive hint. The received wisdom lots of women adhere to that vanilla is an aphrodisiac for men (and it does please some of them) should not be taken too literally, nevertheless: too sweet or food-smelling concoctions might make him feel like you’re more suited to baking him a pie than making love to! Vanilla and foody smells however might play a role in your flirty fragrance, but shouldn’t single-handedly be identified as such. There is something to be said about the complexity of the perceived aroma, which should create a question: What is this exquisite smell and who is that person smelling of it?

Last but not least, ultimately the fragrance which makes you confident in yourself ~whether you are a man or a woman~ is the best ammunition in the romantic game. It will make you feel sexier and more daring, ensuring that you feel fabulous no matter what. For all practical purposes nevertheless here are three tried & true picks for flirty perfumes encompassing different styles, for women

Feminine fragrances to weave a romantic web:

Narciso Rodriguez Narciso for Her: If one looks at the slinky yet timeless fashions of this Cuban-hailing designer, one can see why his first foray into fragrance catapulted it into the modern classics hall-of-fame. Narciso for Her is an indefinable and refined aura of musky and lightly ambery sexiness garlanded with abstract flowers that burst forth their freshness; like a sensuous person just out of the shower being the prelude for other activities, it signals courting!

Chanel No.5 Eau Premiere: When the iconic classic that Marilyn Monroe wore in bed, No.5, is given up an ingenious freshening up to suit younger ages and subtly differentiate itself from the familiar smell that is a great thing! No.5 Eau Premiere softens the characteristic aldehydes of the antecedent with piquant lemon and more vanilla in the base, yet retaining the sophisticated feeling, thus rendering it fit for the daughter or niece rather than the mother or aunt.

Christian Dior Hypnotic Poison: This fetishy, poisoned apple alluding to fairy tales and original sin is like an olfactory dessert testimonies of whose use ensure it works on guys like a magical charm! Milky almond bitterness and caraway folded into vanilla cream unfold against the floral hint of jasmine and the radiance of sensual musk. Arguably a long-standing best-seller for a reason, but you won’t regret choosing it.

Visit again for our next post, when we will be focusing on flirty masculine fragrances!

Shop Smarter.com for a variety of discount perfume.

chanel eau premiere, dior hypnotic poison, Fragrances, narciso for her