Talk Beauty: Jessa Blades

This Makeup Artist💫Natural Beauty+Self-Care Expert💫Holistic Beauty Coach just might empower you to choose the people, products, and lifestyle that work best for YOU…

As part of our Wellness Wednesday series in Soho, Jessa Blades has taken up a short residency with us to discuss all things natural beauty — what it means, where to find it, and how to, slowly but surely, work it into our daily routines. We attended the first of her 2-part workshop this week — not only was it informative, but fun! The demos and DIY take-home bath salts made for a nice touch, too. For those who were lucky enough to attend, as well as those who aren’t visiting NYC, read on to meet the woman who is well on her way to changing the beauty world for the better.

Natural beauty expert, makeup artist, and herbalist… Is there one you feel more drawn to than the other?

I really feel like, depending on the day and depending on either the workshop or the group of women I’m working with, I lead with one or the other. I’m always talking about the healing power of plants, empowerment, taking your health care back into your hands, having more fun with healing, beauty, nature, and just being the best version of ourselves. But, depending on who I’m working with and who I’m talking to, the medium sort of varies. You can meet someone who has no knowledge of natural beauty but loves to garden, so then maybe I would choose to lead with herbalism.

What is one piece of advice you would give someone just starting his/her journey toward a cleaner inner-beauty lifestyle?

Focus on the gut. That means small amounts of fermented foods integrated into your diet every day. Spoonful amounts of kimchi, or sauerkraut… and make sure you have a really good probiotic and are adding more sleep and more plants into your everyday diet. But ultimately, the gut is really the root of all that can help.
 
Beauty and wellness seems to be on everyone’s minds these days. Are there current trends in the beauty/wellness world that you are loving?

I love that the term self-care is being used and thrown around. I think it still needs a bit more definition, like what does that actually look like? And what does that actually mean? But I think that’s something I can really help with through my teaching. Also, natural beauty topical products — they are just a lot more accessible than they were 9 years ago.

A trend we should stay away from?

Detox. You are not toxic. Your body is perfect. Your body wants to be in balance. When we study and look at Ayurveda as a 5000-year-old lifestyle, it reminds us that everything is medicine. So for me, coffee might be okay, but for you, coffee might be “toxic” and so you should avoid it depending on the balance in your body right now. However, it’s too simplistic to say that something is good and something is bad and this detox idea has a negative connotation and does not come from a place of empowerment.

What are three items in your beauty arsenal you could not live without?

Eyeliner — because if you forget your mascara you can rub it on your lashes to give the illusion you are wearing some anyways!

Lip and cheek color — it’s something really simple that I can put on my lips and rub in a circle on my cheeks

Eyelash curler — a really good way to wake up your face.
 
If you could only pick one herb to use for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

I will answer this but I will say that just because this is good for me does not mean it’s good for you and, depending on your age and your cycle, the right herbs change from person to person. But for me, it is lemon balm. It is so easy to grow and is delicious in a tea or dry. It is a really good immune-boosting plant and a really good anti-viral. It is also known to keep the heart happy. Bees love it, and when I want the energy of a bee — like when I just want to be buzzing around and living from my heart — I will have some of that.

What do you think is next for the beauty/wellness world?

I want to see the topic of REST coming back into the conversation. I think, instead of being proud of the busy and the overwhelmed, we need to be reminded that to look good, you have to feel good.  So we need to put more rest back into our lives and practice saying no.

What is next for you!!? 

I am currently writing two books and working on an online teaching curriculum. I get to each in these wonderful big cities but there are a lot of people who are not in those cities who need real help getting back in touch with their body and their cycle, and really understanding what natural beauty is. I’m trying to create some portals to help do that. I also am getting more into the cannabis industry and just trying to remind folks that marijuana is just one of the many plants on this earth that help and heal.

What does free mean to you?

The opportunity to find that quiet moment in your day, or on retreat. or over the weekend, and to actually get to listen to your own intuition and really tap into your innate and incredible power — and feeling empowered to choose the people, products and lifestyle that really works for you.

+ Dying to learn more? Sign up to talk all things beauty and wellness with Jessa next Wednesday here!

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I agree with her that detoxes are something we should avoid. Especially when it comes to juice detox or whatever fad detox the media recommends putting our bodies through at the moment!

Charmaine Ng | Architecture & Lifestyle Blog
http://charmainenyw.com

anita
6 years ago

I love the fact that she talked about “rest”. Sometimes we are trying to hard that we completely ignore the importance of a good day off.