To be 9 Years Old

     Hi all! I am really struggling with the direction of this blog. On one hand I feel that I need to move on to more beauty themed articles like last week's post. I was thinking of branching off of my self esteem rants, but recently have had several people say that they really appreciate the self esteem blogs. This is where I need your help. Please tell me which of the two you prefer. I could even think of a way to rotate; write a self esteem blog one week, and then a different topic the following week. I need your help!

     I was going to talk about trending styles for summer, but in light of what some readers have expressed, I will talk about something that happened on Monday.

     Monday afternoon, I was invited to a "Fashion Show" put on by my 9 year old niece and her best friend. Of course I was delighted, and had no idea of what to expect. They played Katy Perry's "Firework" on repeat for the whole show, and handed out programs. The first category was "Casule Wear" and within seconds it became very clear that neither girl had ever seen a catwalk or fashion show. It was very refreshing to see what two innocent girls saw as fashion.

     My niece wore pink in every category, and neither of the girls did typical catwalk poses. They had props, and acted out what they thought each category meant. Our in between entertainment consisted of the two 3 year olds dancing around while we waited for the girls to change into their next outfits.

     Although this made for a light-hearted fun afternoon, I couldn't help but think back to when I was that age doing those things with my friends. Completely unaware of what colors and styles were actually in trend or popular, I was content being me and showing off what I love, not knowing or caring of the actual world of fashion.

     I think it is time to be 9 again. I do love knowing what is trending, what brands and colors to look for, etc. but I also enjoy doing my own thing and making my own trends. I have forgotten what that is like. I encourage everyone to have something in their wardrobe unique to them. I had a friend back when I worked at Starbucks who made all of her own headbands and I admired her for being so bold. They were so cute and like nothing I had ever seen.

     If you don't have a Polyvore account, I highly suggest it (polyvore.com). This site is great for figuring out your own style. You can create entire outfits, print them out, and go shopping for an entire outfit. Try shopping at unique boutiques that you've never been in, or if you're passing a shop you've never heard of, venture in and look around. 

     Sorry this isn't a themed post. I hope to hear from more of you on the direction you would like me to go with this blog. Thanks for all of your input so far.

How to Survive the Heat

     Hey all, I hope your summer is going well. We've been having a heat wave here in Seattle. I'm not complaining, I'm loving every bit of sunshine and vitamin d I can. Who knows how long it will last! I have taken some suggestions from some of you and done some research on how to survive the summer heat in a healthy way for your skin.

     1. Sunglasses. This is often overlooked, but it is the leading cause for "crows feet" (wrinkling around the eyes), because when it's bright outside and you don't have sunglasses, you squint. Squinting causes damage along with the under eye getting over exposed to UVA and UVB rays. I suggest not only wearing sunglasses, but also using eye cream with SPF in it.

     2. Sunscreen. Anyone who is or has been exposed to direct sunlight without SPF before the age of 18 could develop skin cancer. Prevent and protect every chance you get. Sun burns are very damaging to the skin. Not to mention how annoying they are to deal with. People often overlook their face when applying sunscreen. I like to use face lotion with SPF in my daily routine, as well as tinted moisturizer for foundation during the summer. Look for the brands that carry a minimum of SPF 15. 

     3. Not enough water. Not only can this problem leave you dehydrated in the heat and possibly cause heat stroke, but water intake affects your skin. Drinking plenty of water helps your skin produce collagen, which improves the elasticity and firmness of your skin, causing less blemishes and smaller pores. Unfortunately for those over the age of 30, your skin's ability to produce collagen reduces at a rapid rate, so stay hydrated. Of course water has so many other. Benefits outside of caring for your skin, so go drink some!

     4. Smaller, more refreshing meals. Our natural tendencies when it's nice outside is to grill and BBQ. Quite a few sources say in order to keep cool; stay away from big giant meals. Big, protein-laden meals force your body to stoke its metabolic fires. So try some tasty leafy green salad with chopped chicken, or chicken/tuna salad. Maybe have a cold cut sandwich. Eat smaller, more frequent meals to keep cool, and it's better for you anyway.

     5. Limit physical activity. Many cases of heat stroke in children, and teenagers are caused by outdoor activity. When you're young you tend to play no matter what your body might be telling you. If it's hot, take adequate breaks from your activities. Take your breaks in the shade and cool down with a cold beverage. Here are a few signs to look out for that could mean heat stroke: headache, profuse sweating, exhaustion, nausea/vomiting, muscle cramps, dizziness/fainting, dim or blurred vision, hot dry skin, cold damp skin. 

     That's my list! I hope it helps, and I am leaving a list of resources at the bottom of this blog so you guys can look for yourself. Stay cool, my friends!

Skincare.about.com, webmd.com, zocdoc.com, shifu.people.com, ehow.com, medicinenet.com, cchealth.org

Image

     Hello all! I hope you're having an awesome week. Things are finally on track, and this is all feeling a lot more doable. I'm getting awesome ideas and feedback from all of you and I appreciate that so much. I may end up possibly changing my routine to 2 vlogs a week because of all the interest, so if I can't fit it all in, I will add an extra day.

     As you all know, I am an Image Consultant. Well, what is "Image"? Image, to me, is how others view you, and most importantly, how you view yourself. Image is so broad, that under its umbrella, you will find speech, appearance, and demeanor to name a few.

     Image includes how well you carry yourself and your education. When you speak well, others think more highly of you and your abilities. This is especially important in the corporate world. Employers take notice to things like posture, vocabulary, your attire, and confidence even if that impression is subconscious.

     Unfortunately, society and media have somehow managed to twist the somewhat universal idea of image into physical beauty, and if you have none by society's standards, you are less valued. At a Ladies Tea a couple of months back, we had to do an exercise, where we wrote down the top 5 things we loved about ourselves, the top 5 things we admired in other people. There was not one lady there who had named anything physical about those whom they admire. 

     Think of the values, characteristics that you most admire in others, and strive for those things, not whether or not you can fit into this size or wear that dress. You are valuable. You are loved and admired. Someone thinks the world of you and loves you for exactly who you are. So carry yourself with a sense of pride. Pride is often looked upon as arrogance, but you need a tinge in order to find your confidence.

     I suppose I am typing all of this because this week in particular has been filled with one little pet peeve I have. Whether it is being said to me, or to someone else in earshot of me; "Yeah but you have skinny legs", "But you have an amazing bone structure, I could never pull that off", "Yeah, but you're so small and everyone thinks you're cute". Blech! Women, you can compliment others and not put yourself down in the process. We are different shapes and sizes. Embrace that and move on. 98% of women are not super models.

     This week I will be giving away some free product if I can get 150 "Likes" on my Facebook page. Facebook.com/heidimyworld so please like and share. Once my goals reached, I will select 10 people at random to receive free Artistry products.

     I love you all just the way you are.

     Here I am with my husband in Walla Walla for some summer fun.

New Schedule

     Hey everyone! I have been working on my time management skills and wrote down what I would like to accomplish. I need to change my focus and my schedule a little bit. 

     I realize that Tuesday blogs are much more fresh because I have had an entire weekend to think about what I want to write about. However, Thursday is only 2 days later, and let's face it; my life is just not that exciting. So! From now on, I will be blogging only once a week on Tuesdays, and vlogging once a week on Thursdays. Yay for organization! I think this schedule will be a little easier to work with.

     So, I will work very hard to make my one blogging day pack a punch, and my videos will hopefully get better over time as well. 

     Here is my new vlog on it's new scheduled Thursday spot.

Exciting Things

     Hi everybody! I am going against my own advice and getting a tan. So much sun here and too many good books not to read outside. 

     I want you all to know that I am staying accountable to my last post. I got up really early (for me) and have been cleaning/organizing all day so that I can post beautiful pictures of my closet before summer is over. I have also entered the world of smart phones. Huzzah! Finally. Mine came in the mail today.

     Some of you have asked me if I have a Pinterest account, and I do! (http://pinterest.com/heidialyse/boards/) If you are interested in seeing what seasonal palettes look like, I have a few boards devoted to that. 

     Don't forget to check out my Facebook page (facebook.com/heidimyworld) and look at the personal styling and before and after pics I have there. I have several more sessions coming up and will be posting new pics soon.

     I'm so excited for the coming months. I learned a few things through my training that I am keeping on the hush hush until I get to try them, and then I will share what I've done. Super secretive, I know, but I don't want to jinx it.

     Well, I know this is super short, but that's all for now.

This is a pic from my May photo shoot. I did all the makeup and styling.

     

Summer

     Hello all! I hope you all had a safe and happy 4th. I completely forgot about my blog. We had an excellent show of fireworks, good food, and awesome company.

     This week I discovered tumblr and all it's addictive glory. I can't believe that I hadn't been utilizing that site before now. I share my blog on Facebook and get between 3 and 9 views on average. I got 12 views within 4 hours on tumblr. Yay!

     I am dedicating this week to doing things with my YouTube channel. I was too busy last week, and this week I forgot. Yikes! I will do better I promise! I'm also doing a complete overhaul on my closets this month, and will blog about it as I go and post pictures of what I accomplish. There is a much needed trip to Ikea in my near future.

     This summer is quickly filling up with to-do lists as well as fun road trips around Washington and Oregon. Our trip to Alaska is next month! Time flies so quickly. I hope the weather permits us to do it all.

     I also plan to start a series on my blog called 30 Days In My Palette where I put together an outfit for every day in the month that caters to my body type and skin tone. I will include where I got each item and a picture of the end result. I'm thinking I will start that next month some time. I need to go shopping first!

     Please continue to give me ideas on what you would like me to post about. I realize I have been off topic for a while now. I am an Image Consultant and have lots of great things to share when provoked! I unfortunately have a harder time organizing my brain enough to come up with these topics on my own, but when asked, I have answers!

     I hope you all have great weekends, and I will connect again on Tuesday.

     

     

Post LeakyCon Withdrawls

     Happy Tuesday everybody! I hope you've all had fabulous weekends. It was very hot in Portland, but I wore my cosplay regardless. As it turns out, it is equally hot in Seattle. We usually don't get this kind of weather until later. I'm not complaining!

     So after discussing with the other two people that came to Portland with me, we shared our top 3 learned lessons of the "Con". We surprisingly had very similar answers, so I will paraphrase:

1. It is a genuinely wonderful feeling to be accepted and have your views respected to a point of having your walls come down in a public place and truly be yourself.

2. You are not the only "freak" in this world. Everybody has a little craziness in them, and it's okay to let it out from time to time and have fun.

3. It's great to know that there are people and organizations out there that really care about what happens to America as a society and culture. People who see things going on in this world that they don't like and decide to do something about it.

     I know that I've beat the dead horse too many times on the topic of being yourself already, but I feel compelled to share one more thing about it. First of all, I am an extrovert. I get energy from being around others. I don't generally have problems with having my voice heard, or starting conversations. Social interaction comes naturally to me. I talk to people everywhere I go. I'm telling you this because I travelled to Portland with 2 very introverted people. The people I left LeakyCon with were different people than I initially showed up with.

     Sometimes, we just need to see someone else "acting a fool" to make us okay with doing it ourselves. Someone (I'm sorry I can't remember a name!) on one of the panels we sat in on told this story: There was once a field of people just sitting and doing nothing. Then one person decided to get up and start dancing. Everyone stared at this person, began talking about him, making fun of him. Then, one other person for whatever reason got up and joined him. Soon there was a field of dancing people. This is called a movement. Nothing worthwhile ever happens any other way. First someone takes it upon them-self to lead, but the bravest person in that field was not the person who started the movement, but the second person who joined. With all the ridicule flying around, it would be easy to sit back and make fun with the rest, but it takes courage to stand up and say, "I like what he's doing, and I'm going to do it to".

     That was a very long way of saying that I am so proud of my 2 friends for being okay with "acting a fool" with me. It also helped that just about every line we ended up in had someone who interacted with us and shared some of our likes.

     So to all the introverts out there, sometimes observation is a very powerful thing. You sometimes sit back and watch silently while us extroverts wonder why you don't engage with us. In my experience, you say more profound things, you make more calculated decisions, and you are genuine. Don't be upset that you're not social like us extroverts, be proud that you play a part in big movements. When we unite, we change the world.

     Sorry, I can't post any pictures, I'm on my IPad and it won't let me. I will come back later when I am at home and add some.

Here I am with another Draco I found. She was awesome!

It's a little blurry, but that's The Lizzie Bennet Diaries Panel.

The Nerdfighter himself, Hank Green.

I found Professor RumbleRoar!

 Lizzie Bennett!

 Bing Lee

 Ly-Dee-YA!

George Wickham 

Jane Bennett

 Mr. Darcy

 Mr. Collins and Gigi

Charlotte and Mr. Collins