Five Easy Ways to Reduce Your Daily Stress

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We all know stress is hard on our bodies and minds in every way. It’s a new year; you’re ready to change up some habits. Time to make some simple changes to affect our stress-load. We did some research and found five things that have a positive impact and aren’t hard to access.

 

1. Get real about your YESs and NOs. Full body yes? Great! Do it. Not so much? It’s a no.

2. Plan ahead. Getting places, day-snacking, outfits. Take out some of the decision making and intensity of your day. We’ve started leaving 5 minutes early to get places. It gives you a chance to breathe, to notice, to arrive before you jump into what’s next, or to maneuver through the ever-growing Boulder traffic and still arrive on time.

For day-snacking, we’ve been keeping healthy bars, baggies of mixed nuts, and an orange or apple in our handbags. Nutrition without sacrifice when we’re getting hangry. 

Simplify your AM routine by sticking to a tight rendition of your personal style and only wearing things that make you feel great. The rest of it? Donate pieces to Dress for Success or the Disabled Veterans. Fewer choices, more time to breathe. And, no, your co-workers don’t remember what you wore this week, or last week, so push those variety excuses aside.

3. Walking meetings. We’ve been making an effort to exchange at least one break-room phone call or co-worker meeting for a walk-n-talk version.

4. Hydration. We live in a high desert. Your body and especially your skin (!) need water all day long. Plus, being dehydrated saps your energy and can make you feel falsely hungry. One of our favorite tricks to enjoy water more is to add a splash of bitters in them. We especially love Dram Apothecary and Cocktail Punk, or the good old-fashioned Angostura (most liquor stores now carry bitters).

5. DIY Spa Night. Every Sunday, we’re each known to lock ourselves away in our bathrooms for about an hour to prep for the week ahead. Exfoliate, face mask, Dry Brush, deep conditioning hair mask, hot shower, body scrub on elbows and knees (Trader Joe’s makes a great lavender one!), shave, finish with a body-oil-body cream combo slathered generously everywhere, GM Collin Nutrivital rich cream mixed with 2 drops of Odacite oil for facial and neck skin.


Cheers! Happiest New Year everyone.

7 Minute Holiday Makeup -- The Full Story

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While professional makeup artist and local coach Cindy K Cruz showed us how to polish off our look in seven minutes (really), she also pointed out that it’s the glowing skin underneath that saved our model (Isabelle) from feeling like she needed to go heavy-handed with her makeup. We certainly agree! (see the video here)

Foundational, fresh skin (with a skosh of medical science) that glows without any makeup at all:

  • Facial with either microdermabrasion or dermaplane
  • If you’ve never tried it, wait until you see the dramatic difference.
  • A light touch on filler and/or Botox
  • Eyelash and eyebrow tint + RevitaLash, RevitaBrow
  • A simple, effective skincare regime that you will stick to no matter how tired you are (cleanser, eye cream, serum, sunscreen are the basics)

      Cindy’s 7-Minute Holiday Polish (Makeup) Look

      She was emphatic about two things when we collaborated on this.

      1. The right face serum to work with your skin, and help makeup stay in place. (Cindy used G.M. Collin Hydramucine Optimal Serum on Isabelle)
      2. Eye Patches. Bright and tight in 20 minutes (we like to keep a stash of G.M. Collin Instant Radiance Anti-Aging Eye Patches for times like these)

        Next:

        • Apply a good, effective concealer well-matched to your skin tone under the eyes, under and beside the nose, and on the inner and outer corner of the eyes plus on any blemishes. Work in with a good brush or pat with your fingertips. She is a Mac makeup fan for concealer (not a paid influencer or affiliated in any way, she just loves it).
        • Smooth in a dime size of G.M. Collin Mineral BB Cream so as not to hide your beautiful skin but instead simply even out your skin tone.
        • Smoosh in a neutral eyeshadow shade and line your upper eyelid in a tonally matched shade staying very close to your lash line. For a little oomph, use a brighter color eyeshadow on the outer corners, and on top of, the liner to the edge of your pupil.
        • Add a pop of natural blush to your cheeks.
        • Use your favorite no-mirror-required lipstick and top with a plumping gloss like G.M. Collin Lip Plumping Complex.
        • Extra credit: If you want some light bounce on the tops of your cheekbones, but don’t want to look like you have strobes on your face, pat 2 drops of Odacite oil in your palms, warm and thin by rubbing your palms together, and pat lightly onto the tops of your cheeks.
        • Done and done!

            Now, do as the French do and walk out the door, not thinking about your hair, makeup, or clothes again -- confidence is electric, wear it all like you mean it and don’t fuss. Have fun.