Beauty | LifeBliss Lisa

The Number One Super Secret Magical Feel Good Look Good Solution!

May 10, 2012 By Lisa

It doesn’t matter how much or little weight you want to lose. It doesn’t matter if you run marathons every week or walk around the block once a day. I don’t care if you are a young-un or if you’re older than Methuselah! No matter what your condition or ambition, there is one most important thing you need to incorporate into whatever your plan may be.

While this important thing is not the onliest thing we need for overall well-being it is one of the top two things that are just not negotiable. Substitutions don’t suffice. The sooner we all accept this thing, the better, healthier, more vibrant, energetic, and beautiful we will all become.

It’s not a pill, it’s not a potion, or a gadget. What is it!? It is a fairly simple and easy to access item. It’s plants. Nutrient dense, high fiber plants.

Eating plants is the answer. But wait, don’t go away yet, keep on reading! (WARNING: Food porn ahead) I do not promote vegetarianism, veganism, raw veganism, or any other ism for that matter, but I have nothing against them. I believe that it just doesn’t need to be that complicated. A mainly (90%) plant based diet (which includes unprocessed vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains) is the answer to pretty much all diet-related ailments. And all this plant eating can be done with great pleasure. Sadly, the average American diet is made up of less than 15% unprocessed plant based foods. All of this translates to: we need to eat lots and lots more vegetables. Vegetables pack the most nutritional punch without breaking the calorie bank. Fruits come in second, since fructose adds calories.

Vegetables don’t need to be those horrible, gray, soggy, salty canned crap many of us were force fed as children. I’d never been a fan of vegetables (I can’t stand the word “veggies”) in the past, I only tolerated them. But when I took the time to discover the exciting, colorful, sweet, sensuous, full of life combinations of flavors that can be created, everything changed. EVERYTHING. I’ve made it my job to find the most fantastically delicious way to eat well, with REAL food for REAL foodies. [Read more...]

Stuck in a Weight Loss Rut? Try Affection, Adornment, and Adoration.

April 9, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

You’ve lost some weight. You’re still working at it. You have you been eating right and exercising and you’ve reached a plateau. You weigh yourself daily and scrutinize your booty in your old skinny jeans. Is your mind on weight 24/7? Do you spend every waking moment obsessing, talking, tweeting, thinking, and worrying about what diet food you’re going to eat or what workout you’re going to do?

What if you gave all that a break for a while, it must be utterly exhausting!

Oh, no! Break your stride, no way! You know I would never suggest that you backslide to your old ways and reverse all that great progress.

But what if you do pretty much the same things you do now except within a different frame of mind? What if the high level of anxiety you are maintaining around the idea of “losing weight” were the very thing causing you to keep the weight on? How would things be different if there was a shift in focus from what you can’t eat and how many calories you burn with every single movement you make to giving your body something else it needs–affection, adornment, and adoration?

But how? You know how much I don’t like corny affirmations and “self love bla bla bla…” So we aren’t doing that. Here are a few handy tips to get things moving again and you feeling like a Goddess: [Read more...]

Real Beauty is Fun, Posing is Boring

March 4, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I have my own ideas about what beauty is and what beauty isn’t. I’ve talked about carefree sensuality and the importance of comfort and confidence. I continue to notice that the most beautiful women are the ones who are not obsessing about it all day long, every day, but the ones who take the time to do themselves up, and then forget about it. I came across a great article in Beauty Redefined that describes the root of this phenomenon best:

(Girls) are raised from our earliest memories to believe our happiness, success, ability to be loved, and confidence come almost exclusively from how we appear to others.

This passage immediately brought up mental images of women who fit the standard media-defined beauty, walking nervously, shoulders up to their ears, butt cheeks clenched tightly together, constantly pulling, tugging, and adjusting their clothing right in the middle of some ridiculously fun mayhem and debauchery. I see these women as going through the motions and not authentically living life. [Read more...]

What is a Sensual Lifestyle Like?

February 26, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

A sensual lifestyle is one where you experience some joy every single day, no matter what, and that joy is not based on what you have, what you do, or who you know. It comes from entirely within. A sensual lifestyle is based on the philosophy and world view of tantra. The characteristics of a sensual lifestyle may differ slightly from person to person, but there are some commonly shared aspects. It is authentic, it’s super-juicy, joyful, and attracts more joy. It’s primary and immediate — right here and right now. This concept is very abstract and esoteric, so bear with me while I try to explain what it looks, feels, sounds, tastes, and smells like.

It’s how you feel when you’ve found the style that is so you, so REALLY you that you are like a gorgeous Goddess just the way you are right now, completely unlike the incomplete feeling you get when you get to a certain coveted size or weight. It’s the freedom and confidence of inner beauty that allows the natural outer beauty show through, it’s like that Ugly Betty carefree beauty. It’s the kind of beauty that you don’t need to fiddle with or worry about. This beauty makes you attractive to potential partners who really want you for who you are, not a set of statistics or facade. You find out that OMG! you’re sexy! Not necessarily the corporate media’s representation of sexy. I’m talking about the REAL grown-up irresistibly juicy sexy that can make a grown man cry. You can throw something together at the last minute and feel like a million bucks (and not think about how you look, instead focusing on having some fun).

You can really taste. Not just sugar and salt, suddenly you’ll notice a huge array of subtle different flavors that previously [Read more...]

New Attitude! The Many Shades of Fabulous

January 25, 2012 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I’m gonna get real personal here. Welcome inside my head. So I don’t look fabulous like Sofia Vergara:

I’m not talking about the makeup and the team of pros who fix her up or Photoshop. I’m talking about her voluptuous curvy figure I’ve always wished for. I will NEVER look like that. It still stings a little that I can’t have everything exactly and precisely the way I want it, but working through that… [Read more...]

The Happy Healthy Spot between Diet and Exercise Neurosis and Not Giving a Damn

November 2, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Friend 1: “I have sugar-free, fat-free, gluten-free, salt-free wheat-free, nut-free, dairy-free, real food free, flavor and texture free, eco-friendly protein bars for every meal because I’m saving the animals and saving the plants because they have feelings too, but being this fabulously thin is just a lucky side effect.”

Friend 2: “Oh yeah? I’m on day 89 of the annual 100-day peanut butter and duct tape dress size 14 to zero cleanse and I’m in a great mood because I’m rid of all those deadly food toxins that had accumulated in my liver! Seriously, I’m not cranky.”

Friend 3: “Umph, that’s nothing! I’ve completely switched to the raw vegan organic sticks and igneous ancient European cave stones Hollywood celebrity lifestyle and I’m losing 46lbs every 8 days!”

Friend 4: “Oh please. I woke up at 2am and bench pressed my car, did 5,000 sit ups and 18,000 jumping jacks before dawn, all this before running a full marathon. I can eat whatever I want. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat!”

Friend 5 (me): “Whateva man, I guess that means you all won’t be interested in Sunday brunch at my house–spinach frittata, fresh broccoli salad, smoked salmon, berry and dark chocolate fondue, whole grain apple nut muffins and passionfruit mimosas—followed by some serious dance game shenanigans…” [Read more...]

Wanted: Apple Shaped Figure Fashion Tips, not an Emotional Beatdown!

October 26, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Last week was the first week of chilly weather of the season. I was getting ready for work when I realized “I DON’T HAVE A THING TO WEAR!” From time to time I go crazy and throw away or donate everything, and that must have happened sometime between spring and now. Lucky for me, I know a professional stylist, Candace, and sent her a message. I’ve worked with her before and she is fantastic so I’ll be working with her again. Now, it’s helpful to give a stylist all of the pertinent info about what help is needed so as preparation for our meeting I decided to look up fashion advice online regarding how to dress an apple shaped body. Lawdamercy, I had no idea what I was in for! [Read more...]

6 Simple Steps to Gorgeous–No makeup, plastic surgery, or Photoshop necessary.

October 19, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Photo: Matthew Rolston

This photo is featured in O Magazine, of normal size supermodel, Katie Halchishick and founder of Healthy is the New Skinny, posing naked with surgeon’s markings indicating how much of her would need to be chopped off to give her the same proportions as the toy she’s holding. Whaaa?

The same way that greed is the root of evil, negative body image is the root of ugliness. Have you ever witnessed the not-super-attractive woman walk into a room and light it up like a Xmas tree? How does she do it? She does it the same way that so many pretty women make themselves hideous by shlumping around being catty and self loathing. It’s all in your mind’s image of yourself. [Read more...]

Exercise Alone will not Make you Pretty, 5 Ways to Shift the Balance

August 24, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I can feel the controversy brewing already, but I don’t care, this thing needs to be said. I am not bashing exercise. Exercise is ~~good~~ fantastic. I am tired of seeing women who will run 50 miles a day and do yoga 25 times a week but because they don’t take care of their faces, hair, teeth, and posture look like absolute trolls. Skinny trolls. Why? Our society’s obsession with thinness has overshadowed the need to take care of other pertinent things like, oh, faces, teeth, hair, and posture. Our culture is extremely single-minded. Now I am not suggesting that everyone abandon their workouts and be all high maintenance with wigs and weaves, fake lashes and nails, and a ton of makeup. What I do say is that some basic needs must be met if you care at all how you look, and shifting a little of the unhealthy fixation away from being thin will do everyone a lot of good. I promise, a little beauty maintenance will not take significant time away from, or sabotage your excessive workouts to the point that you’ll instantly get fat. Here’s what you can do or pass on if you are one of the skinnyness-compulsed women with deteriorating looks or know someone else who is: [Read more...]

Fantastically Effective, No Frills, No Bull Crap Skin Care Products Available Now!

July 4, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Say Hello to your New Paula’s Choice Beauty Consultant. This is some good stuff. Now you can get it from me, with no shipping costs.

What is Paula’s Choice?

Paula’s Choice is a no-frills, no-bull crap skin care line that I’ve been using for several years. Paula’s Choice products successfully treat everything from acne to wrinkles, rosacea, sensitive skin, sun damage, dry skin, oily skin, and blackheads. All of Paula’s Choice products are fragrance-free, colorant-free, and don’t contain any unnecessary or irritating ingredients.

The line was developed by Paula Begoun, aka The Cosmetics Cop, author of Don’t Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me, Blue Eyeshadow Should Be Illegal, The Original Beauty Bible, and Don’t Go Shopping for Hair-Care Products Without Me. Paula’s books have sold more than 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her work as a nationally-recognized consumer expert for the cosmetics industry has led to repeat appearances on CNN, as well as programs such as Oprah, The Today Show, 20/20, Dateline NBC, The View, and Dr. Oz. [Read more...]

What the Hell is a “Bikini Body” Anyway?

May 24, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

I’ve been thinking about this issue for a while. Last season I did an experiment. I wanted to see whether a bikini would be more flattering to my relatively fit, hereditarily round bellied body. My reasoning was that despite the taboo of anybody bigger than a bone can possibly be acceptable in a bikini, in some cases it’s better because tankinis ride up (and the belly pops out) and one piece swimsuits are a hassle. I started writing about it but never published. I planned to talk about objectivity when it comes to determining what actually looks good on a particular body. I also wanted to address the fact that in most other cultures and parts of the world, a swimsuit is not a thing that induces suicidal thoughts, but a utilitarian garment to be used to swim in, with no emotional baggage involved. Lastly, I wanted to discuss the whole ridiculous notion of a “bikini body”, a highly specific and narrow set of characteristics considered bikini acceptable. Ophira, of Adios Barbie beat me to the bikini discussion so I wanted to share it with you. Let me know what you think.

“Bikini Bodies” & The Ugh of Swimsuit Season

For years, I dreaded the arrival of spring magazines, knowing they’d be filled with pages of flirty, colorful and teeny bikinis fitted to fat-free model bodies. I was a girl with cellulite, Beyonce thighs (when she’s eating her favorite southern dishes, that is) and a tum that more than coquettishly peeped over the waistband of any bikini bottom. Well into my 20s, my beach uniform was always a one-piece, usually topped by an oversized T-shirt or tank top and shorts. I hated that moment when everyone sat down and disrobed, casually eyeing how the others looked nearly-naked, our brains registering a comparison to the culture’s ideal. The pressure of exposing my body in public was enough to convince even a sun- and sand-lover like me to stay on the cement.

I had an epiphany at 27, when I decided to say “f— it” and wear a size-16 bikini. Proudly. Publicly. I called myself a “body outlaw” and held my head high. Hey world, here’s a body you don’t usually see in a swimsuit. Get used to it. [Read more...]

Much Ado about some Tween Pushup Bikini Tops

March 28, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Why is everybody so up in arms? You didn’t see this coming? I did. Big corporations are out do do only one thing: make money, by any means necessary. If that requires making women and little girls feel inadequate, so they’ll feel as though they desperately NEED certain products, then so be it. Look at the advertisements. Abercrombie isn’t even the worst. Have you seen those American Eagle Outfitter ads on the back of magazines, posing pre-bloom girls like little sex kittens-in-training? Have you ever passed by Limited Too, with the grown looking miniature outfits?

Take Control!

So you cry, you call the news, you make a big deal, but all that is completely unnecessary. Just don’t buy it. As a matter of fact, don’t even shop there anymore. So I hear that it’s just not so easy because our daughters beg and plead for the those expensive rags? It’s not enough to just say no. It is very important to help our girls understand why this is not good for them.

[Read more...]

The Ugliness of Beauuuuuuty!, Race, and Weight in our Culture

March 26, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Beauty stereotypes in the television media

Yesterday I was watching the morning news (which I hate because they vastly underestimate the intelligence of the already not-so-sharp members of society and dumb down the broadcasts for them) and became annoyed. It has been happening since the beginning of time but the media’s negative hidden messages to women about beauty are hitting an all-time high (or low, depending which way you measure). Actually, it may not have changed at all, but just struck a nerve with me.

View video

The first story was about a biracial couple who had fraternal twins who came out looking different-one white, one black. I thought, big freakin’ deal, didn’t this happen to a couple in the UK back in the 1970s? If you understand the basics of heredity and genetics, this would not be so fascinating. But in a country that is obsessed with race, this was newsworthy because of the poor treatment of the parents by ignorant people. It’s 2011, shouldn’t we be so over this now?

Blue eyes are prettier, fer sure!

What struck me about this segment was that the announcer made a big obvious point of emphasizing how beauuuuuuutiful! the white-looking twin’s blue eyes were. It left such a stinging implication that the black-looking twin was unattractive, or at best, not so beauuuuuuutiful! Btw, both of the twins are cute as buttons, regardless of skin/hair/eye colors. This is not the first time I’ve heard this kind of thing. Ever noticed how when you hear a news story about someone missing, kidnapped, or worse, they often tend to go out of their way to emphasize how unfortunate the incident was, particularly because the person was such a beauuuuuuuuutiful! blonde haired, blue eyed bombshell? Now don’t get me wrong, I never ever want to be referred to as a bombshell. But what kind of thoughts does this give our non-blonde, non-blue eyed girls when they hear this over and over and over again? That they are ugly by (the beauuuuuuuutiful!) omission? That somehow it isn’t as tragic when something bad happens to an ordinary brown-haired girl? Don’t wait! Run out and get yer hair bleach and silicon injections immediately, you ugly brown-haired trolls! [Read more...]

Ready for Spring? Sensual Lifestyle and Wellness Coaching Groups Forming Now

March 9, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Get healthy and enjoy life at the same time!

What if you could take the misery and drama out of maintaining a healthy body and mind? You can, with our playful work on creating an individualized, holistic approach to living, you will get healthy, prevent illness (such as diabetes or high blood pressure), or lose fat.

Most (but not all) of my clients hire me to help them lose weight. They are very successful because in this program they don’t sit around all day obsessing about trying to lose weight. They move, they grub, and before they know it, BAM! their clothes are too big.

This is what we do:

Get real about your fitness and weight goals and align them with the honest amount of effort you wish to exert, without any judgment;
Develop a sensual eating style around nutrilicious foods that please your palate;
Explore exciting and realistic movement options that fit your interests and physical ability;
Elevate your self esteem by sharing the journey with supportive, positive, adoring Goddess peers;
Prevent relapse into past unhealthy habits;
Let loose and act a damn fool!

The program works like this: [Read more...]

My Chat with Somebody’s Thighs

January 31, 2011 By Lisa 2 Comments

I went to my husbands gym with him to work on getting my legs and knees strong enough to teach and perform bellydance again next month. I went to do the quad machine (don’t know the real name of it) which is right in front of the big mirror. When I stepped off the machine I got a glimpse of the rarely seen in the dead of winter backs of my thighs. I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Whoa! Whose are THOSE!?

The conversation could have gone like this:

OMG I HATE YOU! Big ole’ fatty thick cottage cheesy lumps of mush! Where the hell did you two hamhocks come from? [Read more...]

Meet “The Pretty Lady”

January 27, 2011 By Lisa 1 Comment

Her real name is Terry Nicholetti. She’s a neighbor who we met several years ago at a local community cookout. Some people might be surprised by my nickname for her “The Pretty Lady” only because Terry is not a standard beauty. But that does not take away from her gorgeousness. Her eyes sparkle. Her smile brightens your day. I’m reluctant to even try to describe her, because it’s not relevant. When we first met in somebody’s back yard we talked and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, and my husband agrees. So years later I discovered that she lives just around the corner. Of course I had forgotten her name so I came home and told Hubby that I saw the pretty lady, you know, the one we were talking to at that cookout on bla-bla-bla street… Or recently when my daughter was doing some freelance work over at Terry’s place, I told Hubby, she’s at the pretty lady’s house and he knew exactly who I was talking about.

Terry is much more than a pretty face. She’s also very smart and talented. She is a chief encourager and an entertainer. Right now she is performing in her one act play in Madcap Winter Carnival of New Works, [Read more...]

Beautilicious Wellness Expo February 6, 2011

January 23, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

Learn how to rock that glow from within, slim down after the holiday binges (the fun and sensuous way), sample herbal cosmetics, and more!

At LifeBliss Solutions we are hosting a Beautilicious Wellness Expo on Sunday, February 6th from 2-4pm where there will be beauty and style experts as free makeovers and cosmetic samples and all natural products for purchase. We’ll also have free delicious smoothie samples. Please mark your calendars if you will be in Washington DC on that date because you won’t want to miss this FREE event. RSVP today.

Beautilicious You! Getting a Head Start

January 12, 2011 By Lisa Leave a Comment

So is everybody done with their bogus new years’ resolutions to lose weight? Whateva. Now it’s the dead of winter. It is the perfect time to take care of or enhance your beautilicious self with treatments that take longer than a week to show optimal results. Even if you don’t lose one single little ounce of fat there are plenty of things that you can do to look super fabulous. If you do lose some fat, that’s great, but don’t forget now, THIN ≠ BEAUTIFUL, FAT ≠ UGLY! So if you feel like a nice springtime pick-me-up, don’t wait, right now you can get started with the following ideas if you need them:

[Read more...]

Happy Solstice and Welcome to the Golden Age of Truth and Beauty

December 29, 2010 By Lisa Leave a Comment

It’s December 21, 3:28am, the winter solstice 2010. I woke up to get a glimpse of the total lunar eclipse this morning. Earlier I had been looking for historical or ancient symbolism of this unique event, a lunar eclipse on the winter solstice. The winter solstice is the time when the sun reaches its lowest point in the northern sky. The day of the winter solstice is essentially the shortest of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The seasonal significance of the winter solstice is in the reversal of the gradual lengthening of nights and shortening of days.

While I gazed out of my bedroom window (did you think I was really going outside in the 20 degree temps?) at the progression of the eclipse, it came to me. The solstice is the darkest and longest night of the year. [Read more...]

News Flash: Not all Black Women Wear Fake Hair

October 7, 2010 By Lisa Leave a Comment

It’s weird, three people in the last month or so have said something to indicate that they assumed that I am wearing extensions, a weave, or a wig. WTH? Does my hair look fake?

Ok, I realize that this is because of the terrifying profusion of fake hair being worn by my beautiful sistahs, and some women’s obsession with long hair at whatever cost, be it monetary or beauty. Is it because of the movie “Good Hair”? I was horrified by that movie too. Before that film I had never seen a weave being applied either.

It is no secret that I can’t stand weaves and wigs. Mostly because they have tainted the whole idea of black women with long hair. I grew every single strand of these thick, luscious, nappy, long locs on my head from the follicles on my scalp. My hair is REAL. It didn’t come from some poor Indian woman’s temple or a horse’s ass. Believe it.

I’m obsessive about the products I use and care I take of it. I want it clean, fresh, and shiny at all times. I’m glad you like it but please know that there are black women with beautiful (and long) hair, oh yes, there are others besides me! Please do not automatically assume that some black woman’s hair cost a fortune or that she spends her days sitting up in a salon having it sewn onto her head. Consider that some of us just might have real hair.