A Beauty Trend To Love And (Also) To Hate

How can you love and hate something at the same time?

When looking through Youtube for some beauty tips to help with both my personal and business life, I have noticed a beauty trend that has been going for a while now. One which I really like but also, completely dislike - Celebrity look alike tutorials.

Here are just some of the few, I have come across in my search for personal beauty care and current beauty trends. 

• Makeup look like Taylor Swift
• Makeup look like Selena Gomez
• Makeup look like Beyonce
• Makeup look like Rihanna
• Makeup look like Angelina Jolie

The Love
It's great to get inspiration from celebrities and see what a transformation makeup fused with beauty or style can bring. After all, who does not want to look like the gorgeous Beyonce, the glamorous Rihanna or the trendy Selena Gomez!

The Hate

This beauty trend seems to have become so obsessive and I'm wondering when is it going to gradually end! I'm all for beauty and I'm a trained professional. That said, I'm an advocate of personal brilliance and personal style. I believe that beauty is unique and should come from a place of authenticity. Most importantly, young girls and young women are being encouraged to think that they are not cool enough, gorgeous enough or simply beautiful enough until they've made their makeup look like that of a celebrity or somebody else. 

Finding The Balance

There is nothing wrong in following a beauty trend or being inspired by other people's looks: what they wear, their makeup, lifestyle or indeed their beauty. All I am saying is that while doing that, do let your own beauty shine through too. Beauty is unique and personal. It is great to love and embrace another person's make-up and style, but in the process, do not lose your own beauty power. 

So I'm hoping that you'll rock your own personal beauty with authenticity to let yourself shine, even with an inspired look from a celebrity model or celebrity icon. 

Woman! You are beautiful in your own way. Please, remember that.

Radiance and Love,

Wumi xoxo

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7 Other Ways To Say You Are Beautiful

Sometimes it feels to me that the word 'beautiful' is beginning to lose its meaning. So I began to look for more powerful ways to tell my friends they look beautiful without it feeling cheesy, indulging or just plain boring. Also, I believe we ALL need to expand our beauty vocabulary......so here are my seven other ways to say you are 'beautiful'.

You ooze your own style.
You look really radiant.
Your brilliance abounds.
You're glowing, my dear friend.
You look glam naturally!
Your brilliance simply rocks. 
You sparkle like a diamond.

If you noted, I have avoided using the words unique, amazing and awesome as these words are losing their meaning too.

May 2017 be a brilliant and glowing year for you. Now, go and sparkle like a diamond.

Radiance and love,

Wumi XOXO

Beauty Love: Serena Williams Went To Nail School!

When I came across this video recently, I couldn't help being surprised.

Serena Jameka Williams at Nail School, I mused. What should I expect from a world class champion who has been ranked world No 1 in singles on six separate occasions by The Women's Tennis Association. 

Serena Williams became the world No. 1 for the first time on 8th July 2002 and went on to achieve this ranking for the sixth time on 18th February 2013. Apart from this, Serena Williams holds the most major singles, doubles and mixed doubles' titles combined among active female and male players.

Key Lesson

Even if you're dominant in one passion or talent, you are likely to have other interests that you are still passionate about. Will you let them go to waste? Serena Williams clearly loves beauty especially nails, even though she is a world class tennis champion. 

Don't be too proud to start something new. If Serena Williams went to nail school, so can you.
Just keeping it real. It's all for the love of beauty!

Radiance and Love,

Wumi Oyewole

Friday Feeling: What Has Beauty Got To Do With Self-Esteem?

Did you know that feeling confident about one's appearance rates as the most important factor for building self esteem? This is backed by several years of research, conducted by the Cosmetic, Toiletry & Perfumery Association (CTPA) since 2004 and comes above having a large group of friends, being financially successful and even having a supportive family.

So What is Self-Esteem?
Confidence in your own worth or abilities; self-respect, self-assurance, self-belief, self-love, dignity, morale and self-regard!

This is why I love the beauty industry; an industry that understands the issue of self-esteem and its relationship to how people see and view themselves. It was for this same reason that Look Good Feel Better was founded in 1994 to help cancer patients deal with the side effects cancer treatment can have on a person’s appearance. 

Look Good Feel Better provides free skincare and make-up workshops to help women and teenagers look good so they can feel better. The aim is to greatly increase a woman’s confidence and self-esteem during a very difficult time in their life – especially after receiving cancer treatment. Many of the side effects of cancer treatment are highly distressing as they can dramatically change a woman’s appearance and body image. For instance, the loss of hair not only on the head but also on the eye brow can really change the way a woman looks and ultimately the way she feels about herself. 

To date, the beauty industry supports the program in over 25 countries worldwide with over 1.5 million women attending a workshop somewhere in the world since the service began. I support the charity as a volunteer skin care specialist helping to deliver the workshop alongside other beauty professionals and I can see first hand, how this program helps to build a woman's self esteem and self-worth.

So when people ask me what has beauty got to do with self-esteem? 
My answer is simply this: a lot!

I am building a community of women who know their self-worth. Please join us on Facebook and like our page, if you love what we do.

That's my Friday feeling and inspirational musing - from me to you, beautiful.

Radiance and love,

Wumi

How To Be Your Own Kind of Beautiful

Do you feel that you just don't look cool enough, gorgeous enough or simply beautiful enough?

I felt a strong sense of pent-up emotion, the first time I watched this video.

Lupita in her soft, spoken voice speaks about her experience of when she did not feel comfortable with her own beauty, particularly the colour of her skin. But that is all history now. Having been blessed to have a mother who was a source of encouragement, Lupita finally made the mind shift and is doing so well as an actor and director.

To feel beautiful and be beautiful you cannot hate who you are and the experiences that have shaped you. This includes your family background, the colour of your skin, how you were raised, where you went to school, the neighbourhood that you grew up in and many other factors. Self-love and self-worth is crucial to the way you feel, see or view your outer beauty.

What do you think about Lupita's video? Please leave your thoughts in the comments box below.

Radiance and Love,

Wumi

Loving Your Skin - The Beauty of Spots

The skin is the largest organ of the body and one of the most sensitive subjects to talk about. Intuitive issues such as confidence or the lack of it, self esteem and self image do emanate from how people feel about their skin colour, skin type or a certain type of skin condition they may have.

Loving Your Skin: A Case Study
Recently, I came across Brock Elbank's project on freckles which I found really interesting. Elbank, a British photographer, launched his project in 2012 whilst in Sydney Australia. He attended a soccer match and asked to take a picture of his friend’s freckled son, Eddie. His portraits have now become viral but the message has not been lost in the frenzy!

What are Freckles? 

Freckles sit on the top layer of our skin which is called the epidermis. They could be said to be an abnormal collection of melanin pigment, packaged in a different way than a normal melanin pigment is packaged as in dark skin.  Melanin is a substance that gives our hair and skin its natural colour. Simply explained, the more melanin a person has, the darker their skin will be. 

Freckles, particularly common in people with fair skin are flat, tanned circular spots typically the size of the head of a common nail and are commonly found on the face. They can also be found on the neck, shoulders, chest, arms and back. Sometimes having freckles is just hereditary. People with red hair and green eyes are said to be prone to this skin condition. 

Loving Your Skin Can Be Tough
Where Is the Beauty in Having Spots? This, no doubt, is a tough question to answer. I'm a woman with even, dark skin so I have no idea of what it feels like to be freckled. However, when I write from the position of being a skin care specialist and beauty consultant, then I have some understanding. 

Due to the work I do, I have seen, first-hand, how people feel about their skin especially when they have a serious skin condition. I believe, having freckles is not dissimilar to the feelings of low self-image and low self-esteem experienced by some of my clients. Infact, Elbank did mention that "Ninety-nine percent of the people documented so far have struggled with their freckles, felt different, alienated. Many received teasing, bullying and verbal abuse". (Source: www.Today.com)

The First Step to Loving Your Skin 

Self Acceptance is the first step to loving your skin and it starts from within. Indeed, Elbank did mention (in the same article) that many of the people he photographed who hated their freckles as a child, have now found peace to embrace the skin their in, as they've grown older. This is not an easy decision.

However, the reason why I love Brock Elbank's project is the fact that it looks at beauty from a different angle. "Every human has beauty in their appearance in some shape or form," he told Today.com via email.

This leaves me to say that beauty is unique. Beauty is different and there is some beauty in having spots. It's a tough one!

The Other Side of Love

If you are really struggling to accept your freckles, I will suggest you speak to a psychologist or counselor or see a skin therapist. There are some things you can do to lessen the appearance of freckles such as laser treatment. 

Click the share button below, if you found this useful. Thank you!

Radiance and love,

Wumi

Beauty Is What Makes You Happy

Being my own boss has its own benefits and I won't change it for the world. Sometimes, business is high and at other times it's not that high! After five years of self-employment, I've come to realise that money is so important. I can't run a business without any cash flow and without any money!  But the old-time question is this:

Can money buy you and me happiness?

Broadly speaking, people with higher incomes are likely to be happier than those who struggle to get by. Having grown up and lived in Nigeria, I can honestly say there is no dignity in poverty. No joy can be found in trying to live with a meagre salary or without enough to pay for the bills. If you don’t have enough money, please do something about it.

Come to think of it, money can make a difference in how we feel, although that feeling is likely to be temporary. For instance, some people make a lot of money and then give it all away to charity because that is what makes them happy. Wealth alone does not provide any assurance to a great life. Some people are very wealthy.  Yet, they are also very miserable. What matters a lot more than a big income is how you spend your money, alongside other things that make you happy in life. This led me to come up with a double quote for today’s post:

“Beauty is What Makes You Happy”

Because

"You need more than money to live happily and healthy."

Still being in thanksgiving mode, following after my friends across the pond who celebrated thanksgiving yesterday, I have come to realise that I cannot equate some things in life to money. What’s that? My family and my friends!  I just cannot compare my family and friends to whatever money I may or may not have.

I truly appreciate and I’m thankful for my family - hubby, two sons who sometimes drive me potty, my parents and awesome sisters. As a matter of fact, one of my baby sisters is a great listener. I use her as my sounding board, just to be sure that I'm on the right tract. Just recently, another of my sister’s called to encourage me. She knew that I needed to be reassured!

Oh my heart leaps for the love of family!

And that makes me insanely happy.

I am also thankful for my friends, fans and customers too. I wouldn't have a thriving business without you. You guys simply rock and you make me happy.

Another one of my happiness spots is giving back. I love helping out in the community so I support a number of charities. The one that relates to my work as a skin therapist is the Look Good Feel Better charity.  I volunteer a wee bit of my time, via their workshops to support women who are going through cancer treatment. Through this initiative, I put a smile on a woman’s face to make them look and feel happy.

Do you love exercising, dancing, running, sewing or singing? Whatever it is, that is your happiness and beauty spot. Yeah! Beauty is what makes you happy.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so drop a line in the comment box below or connect with me on Facebook.

Radiance and love,

Wumi Oyewole

Beauty Is Your Personal Style

Ever stayed awake at night thinking about a puzzling question that just won't go away?

A Little Reflection!

Entering the world of business and entrepreneurship has made me a little more reflective. More so, when I decided to go back into education and retrain as a beauty and health professional.

My journey into the health and beauty industry has also made me to take a minute from the hustle of city living and ask myself (what I would consider) one of life's quite intriguing questions: What is Beauty?

Beauty is Your Personal Style

I love Beyonce. She's a go-getter. She's got her own style. She's relentless.

Beyonce is an excellent, extraordinary performer and a gifted, brilliant singer.  To me, Beyonce Knowles is the performing goddess. I admire her greatly, but truthfully speaking that's where it ends. I don't want to be like her. Why?

I've got my own personal style too! I believe everybody has theirs.

What is Personal Style?

My own definition - That thing, that very thing that makes you uniquely different and totally you is your personal style. For instance, I'm a hands on creative. I love trying out stuff. I've dabbled into home decor, floristry and even soap chemistry! This means that creativity is part of my personal style and I won't change that for anything.

When you walk in your own personal style, it makes you stand tall. It makes you beautifully brilliant, ravishingly radiant, and above all charmingly confident. We can and we should enhance our personal style, if we so desire but please, we don't have to relinquish it! My heart breaks and aches when I see people throwing away their personal style and beauty because they want to blend in or be somebody else. This is why I love what I do - helping and showing women how to embrace and enhance their natural beauty using products they'll truly love! 

I'd love to hear your thoughts about what beauty means to you. Drop a comment below or click the share button below, if you found this useful. 
Thanks.

Radiance and love,

Wumi x