We're right around the corner from Christmas, and there are so many emotions brewing.
Some of us are frantically preparing for holiday parties and last-minute shopping for gifts. Others are in a mental state of bliss that's heightened with each Christmas song and ugly sweater we encounter. Yet others of us are battling through conflicting feelings about the holiday season due to the loss of loved ones or other traumatic experiences that've put a damper on the Christmas spirit.
Either way, each of us deserves to remember ourselves during this time of giving by indulging in self-care. As such, xoNecole encourages you to take part in our 12 days of Christmas Self-Care Challenge as the ultimate gift to yourself. Each day, participate in the designated activity below. Feel free to bookmark this page as a guide, it's our way of making spirits bright.
12 Days Of Christmas Self-Care Challenge
Day 11: Take A Personal Day & Do Nothing
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Featured imaeg by Getty Images
Growing up with a father who transitioned from being a professional baseball player to a full-time artist was a path that influenced Reyna to follow her passions fully. “Early on, that ingrained in me that it is possible to have a fruitful career in whatever your passions are,” she tells xoNecole. “That helped to keep me brave enough to take a chance on myself as I got older and gave me the audacity to believe that everything I love, I incorporated into my artwork, whether it's fashion, whether it's travel, beautiful women.”
Her signature style, which blends colors like orange, teal, and pink, creates the perfect backdrops to center the brown and deep bronzed women that are featured in her art pieces. Although the women in her designs tend to be faceless in an effort to allow women to “see themselves in the artwork,” the source of her musing is an intentional display of Afro-Caribbean heritage that pays homage to the rich and soulful Latin culture.
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
“My work is all about uplifting women, making them feel beautiful, and encouraging them to take up space,” she says. “Knowing that I was going to be able to put those figures on the razor and for it to be an unapologetic celebration of femininity and of my culture made it a very easy fit.”
"My work is all about uplifting women, making them feel beautiful, and encouraging them to take up space."
The initial inspiration for the Sensitive Care razor design came from her desire to create abstract representations of the art of shaving. What she envisioned was drawing little figures of a woman gently brushing herself with a flower, symbolizing the idea that women need self-care and nurturing to flourish, much like tending to flowers.
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
“It’s a sign of how gentle the act of shaving can be and how women, like flowers, have to water ourselves, we have to put ourselves in the right environment and give ourselves the love and attention we need in order for us to bloom,” she explains.
As an artist who juggles many projects at a time, Reyna knows a thing or two about creating space for moments of self-care. To combat creative block and maintain a consistent source of inspiration, Reyna shared the importance of watering yourself first and setting aside time for self-care rituals to ensure that self-care remains a priority.
“I’ve learned that I have to water myself so that I have inspiration continuously,” she says. “Not getting too caught up in the day-to-day aspects of work and creating that I forget about myself has been integral. It's those little intentional actions of setting aside some time to make yourself feel good and make yourself feel beautiful to build into my routine so that I'm always feeling good about myself. From there, all the goodness inside of me is projected out into my work and to the people that I'm impacting.”
"I've learned that I have to water myself so that I have inspiration continuously. It's those little intentional actions of setting aside some time to make yourself feel good and make yourself feel beautiful to build into my routine so that I'm always feeling good about myself."
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
As someone who had successfully transitioned from being a high school art teacher to becoming a full-time artist, Reyna has seen a significant shift in her life from betting on herself and taking a leap of faith to pursue her creative endeavors. A step that she says is marked by self-discovery and self-belief. “There's a lot of internal work that I had to do to be able to believe in myself, take up space authentically, and navigate the uncertainties of being like a freelance artist,” she shares.
"There's a lot of internal work that I had to do to be able to believe in myself, take up space authentically, and navigate the uncertainties of being like a freelance artist."
“Quieting the noise of anything that goes against the vision that I had for myself and anything that goes against filling me up with the confidence to keep going, because there are so many routes you can take to be a full-time artist,” she continues. “But where you have to navigate an industry and make a name for yourself, it takes a lot of work and a lot of confidence. And those are those things that you have to really dig deep for in order to form and solidify yourself.”
Courtesy of Schick Intuition
This process involved understanding one's identity, the factors that shaped them, and surrounding oneself with inspiring individuals who had successfully pursued similar paths. It also involved silencing any negativity or doubt that contradicted one's vision and goals.
For aspiring artists, especially those aiming to create meaningful representations, the advice is to embrace and share their unique stories and perspectives. Recognize the value in your cultural background and personal experiences, and start by identifying the unique story you want to convey and the community you wish to connect with.
“We want to hear your story,” she says, “There’s a certain way that we can each say and show things that are very unique to us. They're unique to our culture and our experiences — start there.”
“Figure out what is the unique story you want to tell and the community that you’re talking to. And just keep making art: keep trying things and fall in love with the process, not the destination. The good things will come, so just fall in love with the process.”
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