Beauty Starts with US #BLQBeauty

Beauty Starts with US

Having started my career 14 years ago there's so much I've learned along the way, yet only ONE aspect has remained very clear to me:

Beauty starts with US as individuals.

We choose what we want to look like especially when it comes to showcasing ourselves to the world. With the help of hairstylists, make-up artists, estheticians and manicurists to guide us through the path we have desired, they help us create and manifest the image and persona we want to become.

The whole idea of becoming our own image is so we are able to experience different areas of our personalities that we've haven't gotten to explore just yet. 

Some of us now would never have imagined ourselves looking the way we do though because we've been assured and have trusted our beauty advisors that we would look great, we're exposing some of our best images and angles to everyone who encounters us today.

I've always said to my clients that it's a 50/50 partnership when looking in the mirror and loving the new and improved 'YOU'. We were both able to achieve it together.

The inside is what makes US whole, 

and together, 

we can reach the beauty that starts with US.

Fearless Beauty #BLQBeauty

The next few blogs will be featuring an intimate and personal account as to what BEAUTY means to each individual.

We start with BLQ's Assistant and her account on Beauty:

 

Fearless Beauty

Love the imperfections that make me unique,
Such an easy concept to understand, yet so elusive,

So typical to take dozens of pictures,
In hopes of finding perfect lighting with the right angle,

All just to appear flawless,
No Scars, dark circles, big pores, redness, uneven skin tone, or wrinkles,
 
What am I scared of?

Letting my guard down can be one of the scariest things, yet so empowering.
Seeing who I really am,

Loving myself for every version of me:
Whether it's no make up and in sweats, full glam, or somewhere in between.

It's so easy to get carried away with makeup, filters, 
Or anything not to let people see flaws,

Just have to remember not to forget who I am. 

By :Ilda Gutierrez
 

Drunk with Love

Expect the unexpected when "Love" falls in your lap. You can be taken for a spin that can ultimately change it ALL. Never under or overestimate it. You don't know what LOVE will require of you until you have to go through it. 

Some turn a deaf ear, others go blind, or go in so deep that it makes their entire
 world a whole new journey.

The case is closed when it comes to the heart. 

It longs for acceptance and a firm grip; making LIFE that much easier. No matter what it takes, the heart will choose and do what it needs to do.

Remembering what it felt like to be in love, in my situation I'd have to say it was a "drunk" kind of love. I couldn't get enough of what I was feeling and kept asking for more. It wasn't an overflow by any means. Yet, if I had to compare it to anything, it was a bittersweet wine that made anything and everything go away. The more I had, the more blind and oblivious I was to my inner world, let alone the outside world. 

 

It felt so good to have more than an infatuation, than an addiction, than a wink, and something more than a butterfly kiss. It felt so good to have something so warm that kept me alive.

I got so drunk with love that it made me go on a whole different path in LIFE. 

LOVE did what it was set out to do. 

It fulfilled me...until next time.

 

A Christmas Food Memory

Coming from a Mexican American family, Christmas was always a special time. As kids, we had to go to sleep early so that Santa Claus could come in the middle of the night to leave our presents under the tree.

Such a joyous time! 

Always meant for us to be on our best behavior, especially when going shopping. Knowing what we already wanted, we were forewarned by Mommy Dearest to not ask for anything, because Santa already knew what we truly wanted, and it was unfair to the other kids around the world. 

Yet, aside from Santa Claus and Christmas shopping, we had a tradition that went on for years & years that of course required my favorite substance in the world...FOOD!

Every year close to 2 dozen Tamales were made by hand. I, of course, would oh so generously volunteer to be the taste tester on a Saturday for about 6-7 hours and help make them (not continuously). By the time the tamales were all done and ready to be served, I was on the couch ready to go to sleep with no desire to eat anymore. 

It was a blissful time I have to say!

Then came the wonderful time I was in charge of stirring the chocolate based drink called Champurrado. A very tedious process that requires an individual to continuously stir the much loved mexican drink for 3 hours...yes 3 hours! Just standing there and stirring! No iPod back then, couldn't find my walkman, and my discman had no batteries... I was going insane! I tried to convince Mommy Dearest that for all that time I spent stirring she would have to pay me....yeeeaaah that didn't work, though it was worth a try! 

All said and done, the Champurrado came out just as she had wished, all thanks to her ingredients and my  constant stirring.

Since I've started my career much of that food tradition has died down, especially since our relationship has suffered in part to our conflicting personalities. Nevertheless, these and many more memories continue to live in my heart and I can remember them fondly as I look back and laugh. 

If you haven't had Tamales or Champurrado, 

I urge you to give them both a try, your taste buds will love them!

Never

Never Say Never.

Never means Never.

Never leads to Never.

Like the rain, it NEVER means to do us any harm...if anything it comes around to cleanse and nourish what is dry.

Above it all as humans we are meant to make memories in LIFE and are meant to pave the way for others to come in and follow our lead. Yet we make it difficult at times to allow others into our world for FEAR that we will ONE DAY be forgotten. It's NEVER meant to be that way, though the heart makes it into another story.

 

You can keep guessing why things happen the way they do and why they are meant to be for a specific action. We want to make sense out of those moments, we want to begin to come around and learn from our past, though if you dive into the past a bit too much, you might get stuck there once again. You NEVER mean to go in too deep.

See the pattern?!

There will ALWAYS be "too much"...
There will ALWAYS be "why now?"...
There will ALWAYS be "can't you see?"...

We will ALWAYS want to seek into the FUTURE without having to prepare for what we're about to hear and try to comprehend the information provided for us. We just want to take a peek...just a peek into what will become of us. Once you get "too much" information then you'll ask yourself "why now?" are you seeking this out and "can't you see" that everything is overwhelming and you can't just be without having to question yourself even more than ever.

We are REAL, we are in a TRUE LIFE setting and let's not forget to LIVE without wanting to know everything in advance for our struggles dictate our paths and our survival mark our paths. 

NEVER Say Never.

--To opportunity

Never means Never.

--You'll always be you, not someone you're not.

Never leads to Never.
--You'll follow YOU, take your OWN lead.

~`Compare and Contrast: What WAS and What Can Be`~

So much can happen in such little time that the actual PRESENT can
become the PAST in a matter of seconds.
I myself have grown tired of letting others dictate what my present and future should become.

It's a shame that at some point, situations along with personalities have to collide at some point and when they do, it's a shock yet one of those, "It was meant to be" kind of moments.

"Give me a reason to let you go, allow me the opportunity to clear and wipe the slate clean, send me a sign knowing that it's ALL said and done."

I used to cringe at the thought of losing, at the thought of having to let go and needing to move on because that's what LIFE wanted me to do.
Not anymore. 

I've embraced loss and have been able to appreciate WHAT I've lost because now I understand the path that LIFE holds when time is up. 

I used to want to catch my breath when facing the inevitable, for it would always be like taking a punch to the stomach. Though once I stopped fighting against the waves that came crashing I realized that the worst had already come, all that needed to be worked on was to see how much light I could bring to the darkness and depth of loss.


Everyone has a moment where you know it's time to move on. You've done all that you've been able to do to level out any bumps in the road and patch up any holes that needed new pavement. Until you've run out of options, and quite frankly, running out of options is actually a PATH that has been well lit for a long time, we've just denied to look into it.

Traveling is the key, experiencing is the key, LIVING is the key. I can't deny a well lit path when it's rays have been so bright that it naturally looks SAFE to walk through. Even though there are no promises to ANYTHING that might happen while on that path, there is a CHOICE, a DECISION, and HOPE to keep me alive and well while I mend my "present past".

Nothing is promised to us and nothing is a lifetime warranty, though keeping ourselves ALIVE and advancing with a ray of hope is what will get us through the point of what WAS, and we'll live to UNDERSTAND what CAN be.

Just by saying 'I Love You'

Nothing is real until you go through what you need to go through.

Everything has it's limit, it's own LIFE span and above it all, it has it's own desired meaning. 

Many things are said and done, and as much as we wish to deliberate and want to add to our actions, the time has simply lapsed and the only way it can get corrected, is by OWNING up to what was said and done. 

-->They're simple yet the most desired words you can ever say to a person,
Actions can motivate you to express it,
A peck on the cheek can say it for you,
Though it can be simple enough
Just by saying 'I Love You'.

The affection of a hug, The affection of strength,
 The affection of the human touch,
Brings light to the flame,
The ONE thing that keeps the heart going,
Just by saying 'I Love You'.

The smirk that brings everything out of the shadow,
The smile that leaves the sadness behind,
The laughter that shelters from the rain,
The harsh conditions of LIFE will go away,
Just by saying 'I Love You'.

A promise can be written within the word,
 A broken piece of your heart can be forgotten,
The luxury of turning away cannot live alone,
As erasing all the good can be done by leaving,
I once wished you could've changed your mind,
Just by saying 'I Love You'.

I explored the world with your silence,
I kept the broken promise in hopes of finding you,
I wrote endless amount of LIFE in my empty space.

It all came full circle to become what I was in search of,
You live LIFE your way as I LIVE mine,
All along to discover that it was I who could feel again,
It came to me once again,
It was I who did it,
It is I who learned to LOVE,
Just by saying 'I Love You'.<--

--> Erik Velasco 2014 

(Inspired by the song "More Than Words" by Extreme)