No getaway vacation this holiday weekend? No worries! find out how you can create your own solstice and reudce daily stress!

It is Memorial day here in the United States and as I was boarding a plane today to travel for work I started to feel a bit gloomy! I wanted to be enjoying a relaxing getaway weekend like everybody else. As my plane started to race down the runway for take off I closed my eyes and focused on tuning in to meditate, as I always do when I fly as it calms my nerves and helps me to forget about my fear of flying. My depression lifted and I felt better, then I thought to my self that many times that getaway vacation that we all want to take can also be stressful and often isn’t always the answer to helping reducing stress in our lives. The most effective tool for me is always a daily meditation for a minimum of 15 minutes. If you have trouble getting started try focusing your minds eye on a color or shape while you breathe deeply. Give it time but with consistency you will soon reap all the benefits of daily meditation. Happy Memorial Day!

Getaway
acrylic on paper mounted on canvas 11×14

Bring the Ball into your morning beauty routine! here’s how!

I always love a good red carpet!! The Met Ball was last night here in New York and I have to say while reviewing all the looks I was somewhat disappointed! The Celebrities and their stylists clearly ran themselves into a frenzy trying to re-create runway looks that we see on models in New York, London and Paris and it just didn’t work on almost everyone! The one woman who shined bright for me was non other Madam Anna Wintour herself! She never looked better! Chic bangs paired with a fresh and pretty makeup is a look that can translate easily into your daily routine. Check out my 5 minute face video for the makeup tips for this look and become your own queen bee like great fashion icon!

Balance yourself from the inside out! Here’s how!

If your life is unbalanced on the outside it is because you are unbalanced on the inside! Whether it is a hot bath, a manicure or a quick workout for example, when you make taking time to care for yourself a PRIORITY you will begin to see things in your life fall into place more smoothly.

Painting by Stephania Parent oil pastel on paper mounted canvas 5×7

Pretty in pink or maybe not? find out what color you should be wearing for spring!!

I feel like I can finally with all honesty start talking about spring makeup!! The weather seems promising now the last few days so here we go! I have seen many beauty writers talking about the usual pretty in pink for spring blushes lately and I often wonder what on earth are they talking about?  In my opinion there aren’t that many of us who can actually wear a true pink on our skin. I also am not one to advise to  much on following trends with makeup because ideally once you find a blush that enhances your own beautiful skin color, you really should just stick to it. Your cheeks should never look stark but instead should appear as if it is your own natural color  peeking through. Try this palette by Urban Decay Naked Flushed!  This palette is a combination of warm pink and bronze with a dash of iridescence for highlighting. Happy Spring!

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Rise up and let go!! Happy Easter!

On this Easter Sunday instead of  thinking about how Jesus may have suffered for our sins think about how  you can apply the true esoteric meaning of the holiday into your daily life. For me it is to simply let go of the things and beliefs that no longer serve your highest and greatest good and rise up everyday with an open heart and feel  truly grateful for this wonderful life. Happy Easter!

painting by Stephania Parent acrylic on canvas 60×72

A colorful treat to help ease away depression here’s how!

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Post partum depression, monthly PMS, raging hormones, never ending house cleaning, laundry, kids, cooking and full time jobs! Daily life for many moms is filled with let’s face alot of hard work and stress, which can easily lead to mild and sometimes severe depression.  It seems to be common knowledge these days that lack of sunlight particularly during winter months can lead to depression in many people.  Color therapy can be traced back thousands of years to the healing practices of ancient Egyptians whereby the effect of different colors can heal the human body both physically and mentally as the colors correlate with the bodies chakras. If you don’t have the time to visit a color therapy practitioner then try meditating upon a specific color or imagine your self breathing that color into your body for a few minutes every morning. Violet, indigo, light blue, green, yellow, orange and red are the colors that correspond with the bodies chakras. Wearing the colors on your body and YES with makeup can also help your mood! So try a splash of indigo over the top of your eyelid to perk things up a bit.

 

Get your Tousled tresses on the outside and untie them from the inside! here’s how!

Stress, we are all under its spell! and it can leave us feeling wound up and tense on the inside. Anxiety, illness, depression are just a few of its most common symptoms. If you live in a big city like I do in New York, often just your daily trip on the subway can raise your blood pressure a few notches. I find the key to untying the knots in my belly when they rise up is to stop, breathe in, close my eyes and simply just be for a few moments. Meditating daily for 20 minutes has enormous mental and physical health benefits but when your holding on for dear life on a fast moving train with little time, just being with your quite self  for a few moments can also become a highly beneficial daily habit. On the other hand Tousled up hair can be very sexy so if you have shoulder length or even longer hair you might want to reach for Garnier Fructis volumizing anti humidity hair spray. Just tilt your  head over in the morning and spray your hair, then scrunch with your fingers, finish up  the look by placing your hair up in an messy bun for awhile. The longer you leave your hair up the more tousled it will look. NO one will ever suspect with all that sexy tousled up hair that on the inside you are really a serene swan!

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Are you looking and feeling peachy keen today? If not, take a moment and read on.

Food for thought!

It came to my mind today as I was looking over the produce in the grocery store that I was feeling and looking like a shriveled up old prune! What would make me feel better I asked myself? A juicy ripe colorful PEACH!! Did you know that peaches greatly benefit the skin’s elasticity and appearance.  The phrase ‘peaches and cream skin’ developed because in the olden times, women used peach scrubs and masks to help create a radiant glow to the skin. As I sat down to relax a moment and eat my peach, I realized I was beginning to feel alot better! was it all that Vitamen A  I wondered?” . As I reached the peaches core, it was then that I realized what is was that had turned on my happy tune! THOSE FEW QUIET MOMENTS ALL TO MYSELF! because after all our inner core is just as important as the peaches and cream skin we all want to have isnt it?

Shimmer Glimmer and Shine from the inside out everyday here’s how!!

When your a busy mom on the go sometimes life can feel a bit like a cosmic storm!! Stressful events tend to happen often all at once and many women  feel that it is their duty to bear the burden of the entire world upon their shoulders. Life will always be filled with obstacles and difficulties to overcome and rather then holding it all in you may find that glimmer of hope right inside of yourself  through your very own good old PATIENCE!! Being a mother is stressful and creating more patience from within will not only help you, but your kids too. Deep conscious breathing for 10 seconds in then out is an effective patience booster. Now Watts up for the shimmer and shine on the outside you ask? exactly that WATTS UP soft focus high lighter by Benefit!  use it in a dash after you have done your breathing that is, on the temples of your cheeks and on the inside corner of your eyes for a quick brightening of your day.

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Embrace the beauty and love inside of you first, then go for the fabulous red lip!

If its one thing we do in this life it should be to be kind to ourselves first. All to much time and effort is given towards striving for outer perfection and being perfect at what we do in our lives. Mothers are the most guilty of this as it is far to easy to forget about ourselves and put everyone else and their needs before our own. On this Valentines day take a moment for you to remember your own unique beauty hovering close underneath the surface behind life’s busy schedule and tell yourself  I’M AMAZING!! Then after your feeling great go ahead and put on this spectacular red! Happy Valentines day!!

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