Tag Archives: Beauty

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The Fabric Of Our Lives

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

I love clothes and how people choose to express themselves through adornment. One of my favorite past times is to look through the glossy pages of a fashion magazine and dive into Pinterest blogs on fashion. One day, feeling completely inspired and like I wanted to immerse myself in that world, I headed out to the fabric district in Los Angeles. The fabric district is really part of the Fashion District, but it’s a whole world on to itself, so I really think of it as it’s own district-no matter what the city of Los Angeles says.

I drove into Los Angeles and splurged on great parking. The parking was on a rooftop and just across the street from one of the oldest and most prestigious fabric shops, Michael Levine. It was great being in the middle of the whole scene and convenient too. Pedestrians, cars, vans, motorbikes and city buses moved quickly to avoid colliding. There were several blocks where every corner and the spaces in between contained a multitude of fabric stores. There were fabrics of every color and type imaginable. The prices were amazing and the shopowners were out to bargain. It was not a place to be shy. The fabrics were works of art. Every weave imaginable was represented. There were beautiful and glorious pieces with beading and flowers that shimmered in the light.

It was a world filled with color. A Kaliedescope of various hues. The possibilities were infinite. It made me think of how our world is lit by the sun. Each morning, light greets the world and illuminates our space and creates a stage. The colors of the rainbow that are reflected in beams of light influence human mood and energy.

Photo by malcolm lightbody on Unsplash

Through science we’ve learned to understand the meaning of light and color and apply what we’ve learned in traditional scientific medicine as well as holistic and ancient medicines. Therapy utilizing light and color can be implemented on a very basic level and artists have known this for ages. Famous artists have expounded on the life giving benefits of light and color for centuries. Physicians as far back as the Renaisance implemented light therapy. The oldest spiritual guides and texts direct the human flock to follow the light, that God is light. The path to Nirvana is filled with light and color which serve as milestones for various levels of enlightenment.

I headed into Michael Levine’s, which had been there since the 1940’s. Groups of people milled about discussing projects and making plans. The employees were skilled and answered my questions quickly and with in-depth knowledge of the product. They seemed to have a good eye for serious buyers and creatives that frequented the district to make their livelihoods. There was an air of seriousness and intent hovering over the scene. Creativity danced about the space, seeming to be shooting everywhere, from so many people that had come to this industrial, but beautiful space to realize their dreams.

Photo by Brunel Johnson on Unsplash

There were designers comparing fabrics and discussing building a line of fashion for the next season, people picking out small accoutrements to add to their creations such a flowers buttons and beads and moms with their daughters picking out fabric for possibly a prom dress. It was completely open and comfortable with a sense of purpose. I soaked it in and stored it away for future inspiration.

Next, I headed across the street and up a flight of stairs into a worn warehouse smudged with grease, dirt, graffiti and possibly anything that had been flung at it by humans and machinery. About three flights up was the remnant store for Michael Levine. It was a great spot filled with fabric ends. You could fill a bag for just one dollar. It was quieter here with fewer customers. I toured the space, sizing up what was offered and realized what a great opportunity it was to be creative on a smaller budget. I filled up a bag and then was on my way.

Before I headed back to my car, I stopped in a few of the smaller shops that were jam packed with gorgeous fabrics from around the world. I spoke with one of the sales guys, who was super friendly and ready to make a deal. After scoping out the district and experiencing the excitement of the area, I felt that I had got what I came for and even more. I headed back to my car feeling that it had been an amazing day well worth the drive that took about an hour on a Saturday morning from the Inland Empire.

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Serum Magic

Photo by Pretty Drugthings on Unsplash

Who doesn’t love an amazing skin product that actually works? We are so lucky these days, because now more than ever people are developing new and exciting skin products that really work. One major advance is serums. Women in Asia have been using serums accompanied by cotton masks and massage for decades now and the practice has finally arrived on the shores of the United States. This new health product can be found in your corner drug store, department stores and prestige retail stores.

You can buy stand alone serums or serums that are loaded into disposable masks.The consistencies range from oil bases to gels to organic mediums. The consistency of a serum is usually quite gooey and slimy, but cool and wonderful. The serums contain secret formulas of vitamin enriched mediums that cool the skin and attract hydration and then lock it in.

The gooiest in some cases come from snail slime. Factors in the snail slime promote excelerated healing of the skin and intense moisturizing. One has to wonder how such large quantities can be extracted from such tiny animals? Can this possibly be humane? The answer is both yes and no depending on who the snail farmer is and how he or she chooses to extract the slime. Yes, sadly, some farmers kill the snails, but there are many who utilize a scientific approach that utilizes steam and actually creates pleasure for the snails with the end result of gallons of slime and the snail getting to go back home after a lovely group sauna.

Alas, here is an amazing product, but does it last? This is the big question and I would say in a very subtle way, yes, but not in of itself. This is not a stand alone fix for aging or damaged skin. I would propose that you combine the use of these products with a stress free lifestyle and a very healthy diet. Balance is the key that unlocks the door to wellness and results in a glow that we interpret as beauty.

It’s real life magic at our fingertips.

Photo by Anna Sullivan on Unsplash

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats

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Ballet for the Best Life

Photo by Sarah Cervantes on Unsplash

My mom sent me to ballet school when I was just four years old. My siblings and I took lessons twice a week from a retired ballerina of the San Francisco ballet who had set up a private studio behind her 1940’s bungalow. The studio was in her garage and had a bouncy wood studio floor and wall to wall mirrors with barres for the dancers to practise. She must have had at least a hundred or more students, because when I arrived for class, dancers were leaving and when my class left, more dancers were coming. We had a yearly recital at the civic center and the seats were always filled.

The discipline of ballet and the effect on the body is an experience that transports an average human being into a physical state beyond the norm. The repetition is like meditation and entering the zone happens almost immediately. Wether you like it or not, and if you have a good ballet instructor, they will keep you to task and do what ever it takes to keep you counting to eight and moving to the count of eight. Mind and body are willed into synchronicity. It’s a good lesson, and probably the best lesson, a child will ever learn. The lesson of repetition with good intent that results in beauty and sends positive energy into the world.

As I danced, my legs became flexible, strong and capable. As I walked to school each morning with my sisters and friends, we could leap more squares of the sidewalks then the others who didn’t dance and leap over puddles easily. At night after school we could climb up to the tops of the trees like monkeys easily and with speed. Our play evolved and we naturally assimilated graceful postures and movements.

Now as an adult, I don’t go to class anymore, but the barre stuck with me. It was the best way to limber up and release the joints that kept getting tighter with age and sometimes felt like a vice within my own body.

Looking through pins of ballet dancers, tendons, muscles, extreme flexibility and strength burst forth. Ballerinas on their toes in shredded satin and wooly soft leg warmers umbrella by small stiff tutus. The satin of the shoes stained with blood from the force of the dance. Pics of strong men and women and using their strength to create raw human beauty. Ballet was beauty, it was health and it made for a beautiful life.