New Year Beauty Essentials

Here is another great post from Emma, you can read all of her posts here.

First of all Happy New Year beauty lovers! I feel so inspired and ready for the new year. I want to tell you all that self love is the absolute best beauty treatment you will ever use. Without self love nothing matters. If we can love ourselves and uplift and support each other imagine how much more powerful we would be as females! So let’s do it. It all starts with how you treat yourself. May your beauty shine from the inside out…

My mum brought me a book for Christmas that I can not put down. It is called ‘Eat Yourself Young’ by Elizabeth Peyton-Jones and has inspired me to write my first beauty essentials for 2015. It essentially is about a plant based diet and how it keeps you young inside and outside. As a vegan the book is confirming what I believe and inspiring me to finetune my eating habits. My dream is to eat raw full time. It’s a constant work in progress….

Being healthy is a lifestyle and if this is a new journey for you then here are a few simple steps that can get you started. What you eat is the most important part of your skincare routine. Once you start taking care of your body, your mood improves and you become happier. The mind and body are connected. When you start taking better care of yourself, you will find you make more positive choices for yourself. It’s a domino effect.

The first step is to look at what you eat. Then how you move. Obviously being a model and actress requires that I stay fit so I’m motivated by that, however once you understand how your body benefits from feeding it organic healthy food and exercising there’s no turning back. It becomes a reflex. Infact when I don’t work out I feel unbalanced. I like to workout in gyms, I like the discipline of a gym. Find a gym that offers classes you are interested in so the membership covers your workout and classes. I’m a member of Equinox (they are across America and now in London). I am a huge fan of this gym, it’s spotlessly clean (which is non negotiable), it offers superb classes and has a great yoga and pilates studio, steam room and the lighting and interior is inviting. I think it’s motivating to work out in an environment you enjoy being in. Let’s talk classes. Pilates is amazing. It works your core and elongates your body. Certainly worth a try if you’ve never tried it. Be patient with yourself. It takes consistency to see results. Yoga has been a part of my life for over a decade. It has so many benefits. It’s like an internal massage. As an actress it’s helped my breathing and therefore my voice technique, it grounds you and really helps with flexibility and again keeping you lean. It’s a great way to check in with yourself.

In New York we walk a lot more then most people, I certainly notice it when I leave the city. Walking is such a simple way to get your body used to moving if exercise is new to you. I also love bike riding. Do what works for you. Most of all you have to enjoy it. I’ve decided to start belly dancing for the new year.

What you eat is even more important then exercise. The five most aging foods are; Sugar, Salt, Cows dairy, Meat and Bad Fats. The five best youthing foods are; Beetroot as a detoxifier/eliminator, Tumeric as an anti-inflammatory, Red Beans as an anti-oxidant, Lemon as an alkalizer, Garlic as a hormone balancer. This is according to the book ‘Eat Yourself Young’. I start my day with warm water and lemon to flush away the livers by products. A clean liver equals clear skin. Also as I’ve mentioned previously drink enough water. I aim for 2 liters of filtered water daily. And I’m reminded by my mum to add lemon to my water. I brought my mum a Nutribullet for Christmas and I have to say we love it. While at home we made a few juices and it was effortless. Juicing is a superb way to get your greens.

If you are familiar with my beauty essentials you will know my love of coconut oil. Well yet another benefit of this superfood is how it assists in weight loss. This has been scientifically proven and has a long history of uses by tropical cultures around the world. Try it. I take two tablespoons a day, it increases your energy too! We love that. I use Natures Gate Extra Virgin coconut oil, make sure to get Pure and unrefined and always organic. By the way it is also a fabulous face and body moisturizer and hair mask.

I am a lover of red wine, I definitely enjoy a fine Pinot Noir. However I know it is loaded with sugar so I do my best to limit it. Alcohol in general is so loaded with sugar and a quick way to cut out unnecessary sugar (and major weight gain) is to cut out alcohol.

A plant based diet is the absolute best way to support your body and keep your body lean. Try cutting out certain foods (meat, dairy, wheat) one at a time. I know when I cut out dairy I noticed a difference in how my body leaned out. A book I recommend reading is ‘The China Study’ by T.Colin Campbell. I brought my mum a copy and was rereading it while at home and it just blows my mind. I could not put it down.

I hope whatever your fitness goals for 2015 you find my words encouraging. And again the side benefits of taking care of yourself is improved skin tone and an elevated mood. Look good, feel good, love life!

This is Part 1 of a two part series for the New year. Stay tuned for Part 2 later this month.

Emma is represented by the Mary Anne Claro Talent Agency and MMG model management in NYC & World Models in Miami.

Photo credit to Tania Quintanilla and Lenka Drstakova.

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