Love the body you have…TODAY!

by Celebrity Makeup Artist, Self-Esteem Coach, and Bestselling Author Michelle Phillips

Love the body you have today!

It’s no small secret that women don’t like their bodies. In fact, I’ve been doing a little research and I am sad to report that recent statistics say that more than 80% of women are dissatisfied with their bodies. Even more troubling is that 65% of young girls think they are fat and are already dieting. Ladies of all ages, this has got to change!

As a celebrity makeup artist and stylist the first things I usually hear when when working with a client is “can you cover this up” or “could you make me look 10 pounds thinner?” With the right makeup, lighting, and airbrushing anything is possible in front of the camera, but in real life- the Life Coach in me has to take over from there. That bit of “cover-up” is best if it comes from inside.

I can tell you from working with hundreds of women that the latest diet or workout won’t be the key to having a body you love. Believing in who you are, and in how you look… is the foundation to achieving what you truly want out of life. I know this isn’t always an easy thing to do but freeing yourself of negative thoughts is a huge step towards living a truly beautiful life and achieving a healthy body. The first, and possibly the most crucial step on that path though, is to start loving the body you have right now.

Here are some suggestions to do just that:

Create an “I love myself because…” list

First, write down 20 things that you love about yourself. Your list may include your personality, kind heart, your sense of humor, compassion, smile, elbows, feet, etc. Include your talents and achievements, or various ways you’re proud of yourself. If you have trouble with this exercise think about what your best friend would say about you. It’s time to be your own best friend!

Take notice of the beauty around you

Take a deeper look at nature surrounding you. It may be a tree, mountains, clouds, the moon, butterfly, a flower…is it perfect? Does it have imperfections, maybe a few blemishes on a leaf? Start to notice the beauty around you. Train your mind to let go of the “imperfections” and revel in what makes things uniquely beautiful.

Delete Negative Self-Talk

Every time you hear yourself talking negatively about how you look…STOP! Who needs another critic? Instead, turn that inner dialogue into positive self-talk. You have the power to focus on what is great about you right now by deleting the negative thoughts whenever they show up.

Appreciate your beautiful body

Women are familiar with their face but not necessarily their body. Start to look at your body in the mirror. Study your shape and find the beauty. Notice how your body supports you and your daily life. Our bodies are beautiful vessels that transport our gorgeous souls.

Cut the tags out of your clothes!

Don’t buy a closet full of clothes that are too tight for you to fit into hoping that you’ll be in them soon – those are just guilt garments that don’t make you feel good when you open your closet. Buy and wear clothes that fit the body you have today. They call it a “fitting room” for a reason. Size doesn’t matter; it is all about how you feel in your clothes. By dressing the body you have today will help increase your self-esteem and in-turn unnecessary weight will begin to fall away. When you feel better about yourself, you take better care of yourself. It’s that simple!

Whose Voice is Running in Your Head?

Are you so accustomed to the voice running in your head that you don’t even realize it’s not yours? Is it possible that voice is making your decisions for you without you even knowing it?

This past weekend I had the opportunity to go shopping with Michelle Phillips to re-evaluate my personal style. She was pushing me to look at clothes that were outside my comfort zone and I was feeling really triggered. All sorts of fears were running through my head – what if she does all this work and I still can’t get myself together? What if there’s nothing that’s going to look any better than what I’ve got now? I was driving myself nuts!

Finally, I’d had as much clothing-inspired craziness as I could take. We figured a change of venue was in order, so we went into a shop that has funky, inexpensive jewelry. As Michelle pulled out necklaces for me to look at, I turned each of them down in turn. I finally said to her, “I don’t like costume jewelry, it doesn’t look classy or elegant enough for me.” As I heard the words coming out of my mouth, I realized they didn’t feel exactly right. Is it true that I don’t like these cool, funky necklaces? I admire them on other people and wish that I had things like that to wear. So why, when presented with the opportunity to purchase a few pieces at a really great price, did I turn them all down?

Is it true that I don’t like costume jewelry? No.

Is it true that it’s not classy or elegant enough for me? No.

So what IS true? My mother doesn’t like costume jewelry! It’s not classy or elegant enough for her! And I’ve soaked that idea in so totally that I didn’t even realize it wasn’t my own idea! I’ve spent the last 15 years admiring something (my own thoughts) and reviling it (someone else’s thoughts) at the same time. Talk about making me nuts!

My mother’s way has been to find one good piece, save for it, and then wear it every day. Which is absolutely fine – FOR HER! I, on the other hand, like more variety, which is absolutely fine – FOR ME! The issue was that I was making my decisions based on someone else’s rules. As soon as I realized and verbalized the issue, it disappeared. I was free to purchase a really fun necklace, and I put it on right away…and I’m sure that I’ll enjoy wearing it for a long time to come.

So who’s making your decisions? Next time you say you don’t want to do something, or that you don’t like something, ask yourself – is that really me? You might be surprised what you find!

Leah Carey is the creator and facilitator of the Live. Write. Share.workshops that help people strengthen resilience through writing, sharing, and performance. For more info go to www.leahcarey.com. You can read her blog at www.TheMiracleJournal.com.

Mind, Beauty, Spirit with Celebrity Makeup Artist Michelle Phillips

We are among the first generations of women who have the ability to be or do anything we want. The women before us fought long and hard so that we could lead countries or corporations, or stay home as mothers and lead our families and communities. We are stronger and smarter . . . yet we are lost! We’re stuck between what we could be and what we think we should be, searching to balance that with our femininity. We’re grasping to attain our ideal of beauty with the belief that if we could just find the right hairstyle or finally fit into the latest fashions, everything else in our lives would fall into place.

I believe there’s something more to achieving the balance between inner strength and outer beauty. You just have to know where to look. . . .

If you’ve lost touch with the woman you wanted to become physically, emotionally, or spiritually, it can affect every aspect of the way you look. Let’s not waste time on a makeover, though—let’s go for a transformation. Are you ready to create your ultimate life?

It’s time to make the connection between your outer appearance and your deep inner self. By doing so, and expressing it in all of your everyday actions and choices, you’ll radiate a beauty that can’t be outmatched. I believe that by rediscovering and defining who you are on the inside and what you most want out of life, you will reveal to the world what makes you uniquely beautiful. This is the basis of the Beauty Blueprint. Every woman has one, but not every woman recognizes what hers contains.
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I spent the first part of my career behind the scenes of TV and movie sets as a celebrity makeup artist and learned quite a few lessons about true “beauty” in the process. As my career progressed and I moved in front of the camera, speaking to women’s groups, I learned even more. What made the deepest impression on me was the realization that the nature of what makes us beautiful goes well beyond our exteriors. It’s passion and compassion . . . it’s our love, laughter, tears, and sorrow, and how we combine it with a nurturing strength of spirit. Our beauty shines when we allow ourselves to revel in these qualities and share them with the world. It’s in these moments that we are all radiant and exquisite. But how do we women reclaim this authentic beauty?

I started to discover the answer to that question while on my own journey. Through my experiences, a shift of awareness occurred. That’s when my mission in life became crystal clear: I had to share what I’d learned by helping other women rediscover and express their true beauty. And so, as part of my dream to inspire others, this book was born, a “Beauty Blueprint” that would allow me to help women experience their own profound shift.

By creating and living your unique Blueprint, you’ll find that once again, or perhaps for the first time, you will walk out the door every day with your head held high. You will be more confident about who you are, what you stand for, and where you are heading. In turn, people around you will take notice and deeply appreciate you for all your beautiful qualities.

Change is always possible—in fact, it’s inevitable. My first question for you, then, before we get started, is this: Are you going to fight change or embrace it? Because you can become whomever you want to be. Believe it! You can become the woman who doesn’t just turn heads—you’ll become a woman who touches hearts as well!

To achieve this, I’ve included the three things needed for change and growth: a plan, support from others, and inspiration. Join my network and I’ll help you put together your own Blueprint, which is your plan. I’ll also show you how to establish your own support system, and I’ll provide a healthy dose of motivation and encouragement in the process.
Along the way, I’ll share the inspirational stories of friends and clients who have identified and attained the goals they deeply desired, in spite of the obstacles that cluttered their paths.

Now, if you’re ready to transform beyond anything you could have dreamed of, let’s get started. It’s time for you to become the woman your granddaughters will tell their granddaughters about. It’s time for you to become an extraordinary woman from the inside out!

Go to http://www.michellephillips.com and sign up for the Mind, Beauty, Spirit Network to receive free classes, videos, and articles to support you in creating the life and look of your dreams!

Is it time for a “Spiritual” Spring Cleaning?

By Celebrity Makeup Artist, Life Coach, and Bestselling Author Michelle Phillips

Nature has a beautiful way of cleansing to purge what is no longer serving it and make way for renewal. Old leaves fall off and gentle winds carry them away to help the trees gather water and brace for the cold. With the spring thaw comes a flurry of new foliage to cover the bare branches and the growth starts anew.

In many ways, we as people have adopted a similar schedule for our own cleansing and renewal that follows nature’s calendar. We use this time each year to go through drawers and closets to clean out the clutter, dust the nooks and crannies, and give things the “out with the old, in with the new” spirit.

On a similar note, I have seen through my career as a makeup artist that much of the beauty on our skin comes from treating it with the same reverence; cleansing and gentling exfoliating off the old, dry layers and allowing the new, glowing skin to surface.

It makes me wonder though, if taking such care of our external selves is so beneficial to creating beauty in our lives, why should we stop there? Let’s keep going with a spiritual and emotional tidying up that truly sets the stage for a period of growth in our lives. Much like pulling out the couch to find life-sized dust bunnies, we might be surprised what we find by searching deep areas of our lives that may not get the attention they should.

Here are some places to look to start scrubbing away the negative in your world:

List your positives. Sometimes when there is clutter on our furniture we only see the mess. The same goes for when we focus on the negative aspects of our lives. Our failures, etc. By listing your positive influences, accomplishments, and qualities, you polish the plusses to shine beyond the clutter.

Nourish your spirit. Too many of us have influences in our lives in the form of books, TV, and movies that become the prism that we see the world through. And unfortunately today, so many of these media sources are dark and negative. Take the time to find and enjoy positive influences on a regular basis to bring a more peaceful outlook.

Plant the seeds for growth. Have you always wanted to take an art class, dance lessons, or try meditation? Rather than continuing to stagnate or grow in directions not of your own design, list the top ten things that you love to do and then start doing them. Make no excuses. When we begin to incorporate the things we love to do and experiment with new things on an on-going basis our lives become full of joy, happiness, and beauty.

While the first part of my career may have focused on outer beauty, there was a point where a shift was created. An awakening to the connection between the beauty of our inner spirits and what we radiate out to the world became clear.

By taking the time to nurture your spirit and cleanse yourself of negative influences, you clean space for more beauty to come into your world! Happy cleaning!