In About Face, xoNecole gets the 411 on IGers who give us #skincaregoals on the daily. Here they break down their beauty routines on the inside and out, as well as the highly coveted products that grace their shelves and their skin.
Kaylen Zahara, better known on Instagram as @AmazedByKay, is an entrepreneur and digital content creator taking the beauty and wellness industry by storm. "My favorite part about this career field is the opportunities it provides and the realization that my entire lifestyle is sponsored," she tells xoNecole. "I get paid just to be myself and use products and services that I would if I weren't in this career field."
She reminisces back to when her relationship with beauty and skincare began to strengthen five years ago. "I would have to say 21 is when the shift happened," Kaylen tells xoNecole. "It was an older gentleman who taught me about the importance of taking care of my skin at a young age so that I would age beautifully. After that conversation I never looked back and began manifesting a lot of skincare beauty deals."
Courtesy of Kaylen Zahara
Whether it's through her quick tips for hair and beauty on YouTube, giving advice on personal branding on IGTV, or speaking on panels for marketing and entrepreneurship, the 26-year-old Los Angeles resident proves that she's a businesswoman and budding beauty guru to be on the lookout for in 2020. With over 115,000 Instagram followers and counting, she has proved to her growing audience that she can be the new go-to girl for fashion, beauty and reliable lifestyle content.
In this installment of xoNecole's "About Face", Kaylen talks about keeping her skincare routine simple, the personal benefits of cannabis and her spiritual journey to appreciating beauty and skincare on a deeper level.
My morning routine consists of...
Courtesy of Kaylen Zahara
"A typical morning for myself is waking up, giving gratitude, meditating, checking emails and social media, along with with jamming to my favorites like Jhene [Aiko], Kehlani, Alina Baraz, Masego, Ari Lennox to set a vibe and intention for my day to be joyous and soulful!"
My AM skincare routine looks like...
"My skincare routine is extremely easy and quick. Day and night stays the same. I believe in less is more and just focusing on one thing at a time per season."
My evening routine consists of…
"My evenings are typically accompanied with music, vision board sessions, sound baths, binaural beats, YouTube, and maybe even cannabis."
My PM skincare routine looks like...
"I keep my routine the same. Less is more for me, no need to complicate things. Occasionally, I will use a sheet mask to assist with removing under eye bags if I haven't been getting adequate sleep. Sheet masks by The Creme Shop are super affordable and they cure any under eye bags overnight. [They] keep them away if you use them each day!"
How my skincare changes for the seasons…
"My fall and winter skincare is ALL about moisture and hydration. Spring and summer is where I focus on cleansing and preventing acne. In the fall and winter, I focus on hydration. I start with washing my face with warm water and First Aid Beauty face cleanser. I like to dry my face with a clean towel after and I apply my favorite choice of gel cream, which is typically Erno Laszlo Hydra Therapy Gel Cream - this cream is so hydrating! I then follow up with eye cream by Dermalogica [because] bags under the eye can happen any time of the year.
"If we are in the spring and summer season, I would apply Dermalogica's Age Brightening Acne Serum after washing my face and before applying a gel cream for hydration."
My go-to makeup look consists of…
Courtesy of Kaylen Zahara
"My go-to makeup look is always the 'no makeup' makeup look. I like to start off with a primer that is hydrating and has a shimmer to it. I find that it allows the light foundation on top of it to shine like a diamond. I touch up with shimmer-like bronzer around the perimeters of my face and add concealer to my eye and forehead area to make sure my makeup doesn't look flat or one dimensional."
How I approach beauty from the inside-out…
"Honestly? Being a woman that partakes in consuming cannabis has allowed me to awaken to my authentic self and led me onto the path of becoming my highest version. Cannabis is such a healer, a mentor, a soulmate, and more for me and so many others."
What self-care looks like to me…
"My self-care must-haves are sheet masks, a gel cream for hydration, cannabis, crystals, herbs, tea, sage, binaural beats and of course my devices."
My earliest beauty memory…
Courtesy of Kaylen Zahara
"My earliest beauty memory that really stuck with me and made me feel like a woman was when my mom finally allowed me to get acrylic nails when I was 13. That trip to the nail salon was extremely impactful and ignited my love for nail care and acrylics!"
How my view on beauty and skincare has evolved…
"I used to think that beauty and skincare was just at a surface level; vanity and external. I learned with my growing spiritual journey, that it's much more deeper than that. It is internal. It's energetic. What we put in our bodies, how we think, what we feel, and what we choose to believe has a major direct impact on our skin and its health just as it does everything else. Present day, I have adopted a lifestyle that supports healthy skin that consists of herbs, meditation, adequate alkaline and kangen water intake, and care of all other organs."
For more of Kaylen, follow her on Instagram.
Shop Kaylen's Beauty Staples:
*Some links are affiliate links. If you purchase an item from an affiliate link, xoNecole might earn a small commission.
Featured image courtesy of Kaylen Zahara
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Anyway, I personally think that the less shallow folks out here may contemplate calling things “quits” or they at least distance themselves a bit from their partner (and what I’m referring to is serious relationships) due to all of the stress and strain that oftentimes comes with the holidays whether it be financial, familial, due to their tight schedules or something else.
Listen, I would hate for you and your man to miss the fun and happiness of experiencing this time of year, all because you are so overwhelmed or irritated that you can’t really enjoy it. That’s why I have a few practical tips for how to avoid allowing the typical holiday season stress from INFECTING your relationship.
Manage Your Expectations
GiphyUnmanaged expectations. If there is a main reason why the holiday season tends to be so stress-filled for so many people, I’d bet good money that this is the cause. And when you’re in a long-term relationship, expectations can manifest themselves in all sorts of cryptic and/or unexpected ways. You might have relatives who assume that you are going to be with them for Thanksgiving or Christmas when you have other plans in mind. You might be thinking that you are going to spend one amount for presents while your man is thinking something totally different. When it comes to scheduling, your signals may be crossed.
And you know what? To all of these scenarios, this is where clear and consistent communication come in. Don’t assume anything. Don’t dictate anything either. From now until New Year’s, mutually decide to check in once a week, just to make sure that you are both on the same page as it relates to the holidays and what you both are thinking will come along with it. The less blindsided you both feel, the less stressed out you will be. Trust me on this.
Set (and Keep) a Budget
GiphyOkay, so I read that last year, 36 percent of Americans incurred some type of holiday-related debt. Hmph. Last year, there was still some sense of normalcy in this country, chile, so I can only imagine what finances are gonna look like over the next several weeks. That said, since I don’t know a lot of people who don’t find being broke stressful, make sure that you and your bae set a budget and then stick to it this year — no ifs, ands or buts.
Because really, y’all — it doesn’t make sense to deplete savings and/or max out credit cards for a few days of giggles only to be damn near losing your mind because you don’t know how to make ends meet come Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
And by the way, this tip doesn’t just speak to things like food and gifts; I also mean travel. If it doesn’t make a ton of sense (or cents) to be all over the place this year — DON’T BE.
Keep Matthew 5:37 at the Forefront
GiphyIf off the top of your head, you don’t know what Matthew 5:37 says, no worries, here ya go: “But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” That verse right there? Oh, it’s a boundaries lifesaver! I say that because do you see “maybe” or “I’ll think about it” in there? Nope. LOL. It says that you should tell people “yes” or “no” and leave it at that — and that complements Anne Lamott’s quote, “’No’ is a complete sentence” impeccably well. Yeah, you’ve got to remember that anything beyond a yes or no to a request is privileged information; you don’t owe anyone details or an explanation.
Besides, if you are really honest with yourself, when someone asks you something and you give a “Umm, let me think about it” kind of reply, more times than not, you already know what your answer is going to be — so why not let you both off of the hook? Give your response. Commit to that. And let everyone (including yourself) get on with their lives and schedules.
I promise you that when it comes to those holiday parties, you are pissing more folks off by not RSVP’ing or doing so and not showing up than just saying, “Thank you but not this year” off the rip.
Remember That Your Personal Space Is Privilege Not a Right
GiphyA friend of mine recently bought a new house and invited me over to come see it. He’s a single man with no children, so as I was taking in all of the space that he had, especially as I walked through his finished basement, I joked about relatives coming to live with him. “Hell no” and “absolutely not” were pretty much his immediate responses as he went on to say that some folks even had the nerve to be offended when he told them that he had no intentions on taking DNA in.
Ain’t it wild how people think that your stuff is their right? And yes, that brings me to my next point. Your home is your sanctuary space. If you want to host folks this year — cool. If not, ALSO COOL. Please don’t let folks (family included) guilt you into how they want you to act or even into what they would do if the shoe was on the other foot. You are not them — and as one of my favorite quotes states, “If two people were exactly alike, one of them would be unnecessary.” (A man by the name Larry Dixon said that.)
Hell, my friends? They know that I am good for sending them random things that they need or even want all throughout the year. Coming over to hang out at my pace, though. Uh-uh. Chalk it up to being a card-carrying member of the ambivert club yet I like keeping my living space personal — and I sleep like a baby, each and every night, for feeling that way.
Always remember that your space, your time, your resources, your energy and shoot, yourself period (including your relationship), are all things that are your own. You get to choose how, when and why you want to share them. The holiday season is certainly no exception.
Cultivate Some “You Two Only” Traditions
GiphyIt’s not uncommon for some couples to hit me up after the holiday season to “detox.” Sometimes it’s due to the financial drama (and sometimes trauma) that they experienced. Sometimes it’s because they allowed their relatives (especially in-laws) to get more into their personal business than they should’ve. More than anything, though, it tends to be because they didn’t get enough quality time together and so ended up feeling “disconnected.”
Please don’t let that happen. Listen, I’m not even a holidays kind of woman and yet, I will absolutely sit myself down with some hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies to enjoy a Hallmark holiday film or two. Aside from the fact that most of them are lighthearted and sweet, I also like that they usually focus on couples loving on each other amidst all of the holiday beauty and ambiance — which is something that all couples should set aside some time to do.
Maybe it’s a vacation. Maybe it’s a staycation. Or maybe it’s my personal favorite, A SEXCATION. Whether it’s for a few days, the weekend or even overnight — don’t you let the holidays go by without setting aside time for you and your man to celebrate one another. Don’t you dare (check out “Are You Ready To Have Some Very Merry 'Christmas Sex'?”).
GET. SOME. REST.
GiphyI once read that 8 out of 10 people get stressed out over the holidays and 3 out of 10 lose sleep during to it — and when you’re stress-filled and sleep-deprived, that can absolutely lead to hypersensitivity, making mountains out of molehills and even not being in the mood for sex.
Your relationship can’t afford to go through any of this, so definitely make sure to prioritize rest. I don’t care how unrealistic it might seem during this time, sleep should never be seen as a luxury; it will always and forever be a great necessity.
That said, try to get no less than six hours of shut-eye in (check out “6 Fascinating Ways Sex And Sleep Definitely Go Hand In Hand”) and even ask your bae to take a nap with you sometimes (check out “Wanna Have Some Next-Level Sex? Take A Nap, Sis.”). Not only will sleep help to restore your mind, body and spirit but, when it’s with your partner, it’s an act of intimacy that can make you both feel super connected, even in the midst of what might feel like chaos.
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Holiday season stress is real. Still, never give it the permission or power to throw your relationship off. Put you and your man first and let the holidays be what they are gonna be, chile.
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