Fairies are known as mythical creatures who grant human beings wishes with a wand and a pinch of fairy dust, but what if I told you there were fairies who can fulfill all your sweet dreams IRL? Think I'm kidding?
Well, meet Melissa Woods and Michele Burton-Oatis, sisters who are widely known as the CupCake Fairies.
Located in a peppy pink building on the historic Bayou Road, CupCake Fairies isn't just a cupcake destination, it's a café that carries pies, brownies, cake pops, éclairs, custom cakes, designer cakes, wedding cakes, hummus, coffee, teas, fraps and vegan options. They also offer low sugar and gluten-free. These delectable treats are big and bold and a reflection of their fun-loving personalities and vibrant hometown. And it's truly evolved into a family affair with their husbands and children helping with the execution of their famed desserts.
"It's love. We bake with love. When we're baking we're listening to music, laughing, and having a good time. It's a lively place to be. If you've ever been to New Orleans, you feel the energy," Melissa shared.
Since its inception in 2009, the CupCake Fairies have risen to prominence thanks to the cultivation of their specialty treats and unbelievably moist cupcakes comprised of only the best and finest ingredients. The ladies were even featured on Food Network's popular baking competition Cupcake Wars. For all intents and purposes, noteriaty and a thriving NOLA-based business have been the creamy icing on the two sisters' proverbial cupcakes. What many might not be aware of however is just how humble their beginnings actually were. Especially because baking for a living was never in either of their plans.
Growing up, Melissa and Michele were always close, even with a five-year age gap (Michele is the oldest), but they never thought they would ever go into business together. Born and bred in New Orleans, Melissa and Michele cultivated a business out of the pure love they have for their community whom they also credit for the start of their delicious entrepreneurial endeavor. "We always baked at home. Michele and her husband Michael always did the desserts at holidays. I baked for my kids and so, from that, it just started to become too much so we started giving it out to one of the organizations we worked with and they ordered from us," Melissa explained.
It was also an unconventional healing opportunity for the residents of New Orleans who were recovering from Hurricane Katrina. Michele chimed in, "We had a big event to do with them the following day and they asked if we could bake some cupcakes and we said yeah. Later on that day, I asked how many, and they said 300. And that didn't make Melissa and I happy because we don't bake regular size cupcakes, we bake jumbo cupcakes and we only had two pans at my house. So, I had to realistically do the math and try to figure it out."
After baking all night and the following morning, Melissa and Michele showed up to the event with 300 jumbo cupcakes in hand and with a simple bite, guests began inquiring about the desserts. Playfully implying that they had a little help from fairies to accomplish such a massive order, everyone began referring to them as the "cupcake fairies."
With no plans of turning their fun hobby into a profitable business, they had no company name and when the non-profit decided to write a check for their hard work despite the ladies being volunteers, they wrote it out to CupCake Fairies and thus, their baking business was born. "We felt this is where the universe wanted us to go, so we drove to Baton Rouge with check in hand and [the] LLC Cupcake Fairies and we opened up a bank account that day," Michele said. "When we got home, we were happy, we were excited. But then, the next day, reality set in and we were like 'Ok, what do we do now?' Luckily, we built up a good reputation with our non-profit that those organizations started to support us on that journey. So cupcakes found us."
With their signature Fairy Cakes, which are twice the size as a traditional cupcake, Melissa and Michele captured the attention of people in New Orleans and its surrounding areas, but when they landed on Food Network's Cupcake Wars, they had also captured America's attention."Two of the most memorable experiences that we had on Cupcake Wars was we had a lady, her and her children were going through a rough time and she wanted to do something special for them and her children just loved her, so they planned a family trip to come down to meet the fairies. When we heard that story, it just brought us closer, [and] brought tears [to our eyes] because we were so honored and so we made it so special for them," Melissa shared. "Those are the things that we hold near and dear to our hearts and that's why we push so hard and try to be a good representation of the people that are our family, our city because we understand the impact our presence will make."
Having a positive impact on others has always been their number one passion. Prior to becoming the CupCake Fairies. Michele, who worked in education and Melissa, who worked in finance, developed a non-profit called New Orleans Video Voices after Hurricane Katrina. The non-profit taught documentary film skills to community members and organizations as a platform for empowerment and engagement. Its purpose was to share the real-life stories of the people of New Orleans and the reconstruction of the city.
While their non-profit is no longer active, they still partner with other community organizations to give back and with next year marking CupCake Fairies' 10-year anniversary, their community can expect a special treat. "When we first started out, I called us the funky train. It was an old funky train on the track that wasn't working and nobody wanted it. Now we're on the track and we're beautiful and shining, so everybody who believed in us when we were the funky train, we want to celebrate them as well. It's amazing what this business has done and the people it brought into our lives so that's what the celebration really is about," Michele shared.
For more CupCake Fairies, check out their site: www.cupcakefaires.com and be sure to follow them on Instagram @cupcakefaires.
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Anyway, I have watched enough of Christiana’s content to know that she and her husband Arismarlyn Sabino eat pretty healthy. She works out a lot too. That’s why, I would be super surprised if taking probiotics isn’t a part of her diet (because I’ve definitely seen her use fermented foods in her recipes like in this videohere). It’s a wise thing to do because probiotics do so much for the body — both inside and out.
Either way, whether she does or not, as I was thinking about what is required to have healthy, youthful, and vibrant skin like hers, I wanted to make sure to give probiotics a special mention because, although you may already know that they can help to strengthen your immune system, reduce your stress levels, manage your weight, decrease allergy-related symptoms and help to prevent heart disease, they can also do wonders when it comes to giving you the flawless skin that you desire too.
What Are Probiotics and Why Does Your Skin Adore Them So?
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Although probiotics is a word that comes up quite a bit in cyberspace, in order to explain how your skin is able to flourish with them, I want to make sure we’re all on the same page about what they are: probiotics are live microorganisms (in the form of bacteria and yeast) that help to keep your gut in good condition which ultimately helps to improve every part of you. Because your body naturally has both good and bad bacteria in it, probiotics help to keep the bad bacteria from overtaking your system, so that the good bacteria can help to keep you in optimal condition.
Although I already shared some of probiotics’ health benefits in the intro, some additional ones include their ability to reduce inflammation; help you to (better) manage your appetite; help to prevent and speed up the recovery of vaginal infections and urinary tract infections (UTIs); decrease the chances of cavities and gum disease; support you having a healthy digestive tract; lower stress and anxiety levels; help to keep your blood pressure where it should be — and yes, probiotics can also support you in having beautiful skin.
When it comes to your skin, specifically, why are probiotics so good for it? Well, the reality is that not only is 80 percent of your immunity in your gut (check out “80% Of Your Immunity Is In Your Gut. Take Care Of It Like This.”), it’s also true that when your gut is not working at its best, it can show through your skin in a myriad of different ways — ways that I will address in just a moment.
That’s why it’s a good idea to eat foods that are full of probiotics (including fermented ones like pickles, yogurt, and cheese), and that you consider taking a probiotic supplement (although you might want to speak with your doctor first because there are different strains of probiotics to choose from) and, that you use skincare products that are also rich in probiotics. As far as that last tip goes, probiotic skincare is simply about putting forth the intentional effort to apply products to your face, neck, and other parts of your body that have probiotics — yes, live bacteria — in them.
When it comes to this, the strains that you should specifically look for (you know, on the labels of the products) include:
- Lactococcus
- Bifida
- Streptococcus thermophilus
- Saccharomyces
- Lactobacillus
- Leuconostoc
The reason why you should take note of these is they are reportedly the most effective at doing the following things for your skin…
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1.Probiotics Can Reduce Dry Skin
If it seems like, no matter what you do, your skin is always dry, you should consider taking a probiotic. What research reveals is, that by doing so, not only can probiotics help to decrease transcutaneous water loss (TEWL) that’s in your system, but they can also reduce the amount of water that your skin loses throughout the day by strengthening your skin’s barrier (more on that later).
As far as which probiotics you should apply to your skin in order to keep dryness at bay, look for the strain that is called Vitreoscilla; it will help to strengthen your skin’s barrier and reduce dryness as a direct result.
2. Probiotics Can Soothe Eczema and Psoriasis
If eczema or psoriasis flare-ups are what’s driving you up the wall, probiotics can help with that. The science behind this is, that when you have these types of health-related issues, it can lead to inflammation as well as a different type of bacteria in your gut (in comparison to those who don’t have eczema or psoriasis). By taking a probiotic, it can reduce the inflammation and alter the bacteria that you have which can, in turn, reduce the symptoms.
And just what kind of probiotic-based skincare products can help with this? Strains likeBifidobacterium lactis and Lactobacillus acidophilus currently show the most promise.
3. Probiotics Can Speed Up the Healing Process of Breakouts
I’m telling you, if you want to look and feel better, you’ve got to pay more attention to your gut health. Take breakouts, for example. Did you know science says that the condition of your gut and acne actually on hand in hand? The gist is that when the gut’s microbe is not where it should be, that can trigger inflammation which oftentimes results in pimples forming.
This is just one more reason to add a probiotic to your diet and to apply probiotic skincare strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus or Bifidobacterium bifidum to your skin; they help to reduce breakouts.
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4. Probiotics Can Balance Your Skin’s pH
If you’ve ever wondered what pH stands for, it’s “potential hydrogen;” it basically speaks to how acidic or alkaline something is. When it comes to your skin, this matters because if it’s too acidic or alkaline (which basically means basic), that can result in dry skin, itchiness, inflammation, sensitivity, and other skin-related issues. That said, if your skin is healthy, it will have a pH of somewhere around 5.5 which is slightly acidic. And how can you know what your skin’s pH is?
The best way to test this is by booking an appointment with a dermatologist. However, if you notice some of the symptoms that I just mentioned, take a probiotic and see if your skin improves within a few weeks. Oh, and when it comes to sensitive skin, especially, skincare that has Streptococcus thermophilus in it should be able to help you out by elevating the ceramide levels that are in your skin.
5. Probiotics Can Improve Your Skin’s Barrier
The outermost layer of your skin is your skin’s barrier — and it goes through a lot. In fact, a Healthline article that I read on it stated, “This fantastically thin brick wall is literally keeping you alive. Without it, various harmful environmental toxins and pathogens could penetrate your skin and cause adverse effects inside your body.” Therefore, if there is anything that you should want to go almost overboard about in maintaining, your skin’s barrier would be it.
And since it is the “front line of defense” for your skin, in a lot of ways, that means your skin’s barrier is vulnerable to things like rough skin, itchy skin, fungal infections and inflammation. It’s a good thing that probiotics can help with strengthening your skin’s barrier so that there is less of a chance that these things will happen. A list of some of the best probiotics for your skin’s barrier can be found here. The types of bacteria strains (probiotics) to look for in skincare as it relates to your skin’s barrier are Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus, and Vitreoscilla.
6. Probiotics Can Reduce UV Damage
It can’t be said enough that everyone needs to be proactive when it comes to keeping their skin from experiencing UV damage (which is damage that the sun causes). Believe it or not, probiotics can help in this department as well because they can help to reduce oxidative stress, and inflammation and they also help to protect your skin’s barrier while you are outdoors. As far as your skincare plan, your best bet here would be to look for sunscreens that have probiotics in them. COOLA is one brand that many people are fond of.
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7. Probiotics Can Slow Down the Signs of Aging
One more. Although aging is a natural part of life (that should be embraced, by the way), when you factor in things like the years of what the sun can do; the loss of elastin and collagen over time; the shifts in pH balance; the fluctuations of your hormones; the damage that comes from oxidative stress; the decrease in melanocytes (pigment cells); the less natural oil that your skin produces; the natural fat layers that begin to thin out more and more — if nothing else will convince you to be hypervigilant in taking care of your skin, all of this stuff should.
And yes, probiotics can even assist with slowing down the signs of aging in your skin because, thanks to what is known as the skin-gut axis, the more good bacteria that are in your gut, the less inflammation your skin will experience, the more elasticity it will have and the less oxidative stress that it will go through.
So, definitely take a probiotic for this and look for skincare products that contain the strain known as Bacillus coagulans. It’s directly connected to helping your skin to age at a slower rate, so that your skin is looking fabulous, from the inside out, for many years to come.
All this from probiotics? Yep.
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