The Family Groove "Natural Beauty"

NATURAL BEAUTY

INSPIRATIONAL BEAUTY COACH AND AUTHOR SHELLY BALLESTERO TELLS YOU HOW TO GET GORGEOUS INSIDE AND OUT

Pretty—Easy: Quick Tips for Looking and Feeling Your Best

Wouldn’t it be nice if we always-on-the-go women could look and feel great effortlessly? Imagine: working out a few minutes a day but still seeing results, having beautiful glowing skin minus a ton of expensive products and losing weight without feeling miserable.

Well, look no further, my friends—I am about to reveal the real women’s guide to a no-fail beautiful-from-head-to-toe plan. I’ve made it simple and easy to follow—no fluff—so you can keep this how-to by your side as a quick getting gorgeous go-to guide.

Let’s start with something that you need to remember always:
You are beautiful! You were created for a purpose and you are needed and highly valued!

FOR YOUR BODY

The Workout
T-Tapp is an all-in-one workout that provides strength, body sculpting and cardiac conditioning. Its sequence of non-impact aerobic movements increases muscle strength and flexibility, improves bone density without weights, helps the body balance blood sugar and improves mental clarity. T-Tapp is a progressive workout designed to optimize neurokinetic (mind-to-muscle connection) and lymphatic function, which means that it works at a cellular level to help your body help itself by eliminating toxicity through the lymph system.

Teresa Tapp, creator of the program, spent more than 18 years in the modeling industry as a new-face developer. Part of her job was to help models get fit fast. She was able to utilize her T-Tapp workout for the models to use even when they were traveling because it can be done in as little as four square feet of space. The other really cool thing is that less is more. There’s only one set of eight reps needed for each exercise, and you don’t have to do it every day to achieve results.

You can read more about T-Tapp in Teresa’s book Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minutes or by visiting www.t-tapp.com.

Here is some exciting news: Teresa is giving you a discount of 20 percent off her fitness DVD. Now you can feel good about spending your cash on something that will save you money and time. Please enter GOF20 to receive your 20 percent discount, and hurry—this offer is for the January issue only.

The Shoes
In combination with the T-Tapp plan, wear some body-forming shoes. Believe it or not, you can skip the gym when you have these babies. When you slip them on, you’ll increase strength, lengthen muscles, improve balance, improve core strength and more—visit www.bodyformingshoes.com to get the details.

FOR YOUR SKIN

DIY Dry Brushing
Dry-brush your entire body before you shower—it stimulates the lymph system and helps to get rid of cellulite. Kick it up a notch by taking a supplement such as alfalfa. I swear by it.

Beginning dry-brush technique: Use a natural vegetable-bristle brush; avoid synthetic materials, as they can irritate the skin. The brush should be kept dry and not used for bathing.

Begin by brushing from your feet (bottom and over the top) toward the center of your body. Use sweeping, continuous short strokes. Then brush from your hands toward your chest, again using short sweep strokes. Brush in circular movements for an extra minute on problem areas, such as your thighs (to help minimize cellulite), and then continue with other areas that need help.

A slight flushing of your skin is okay, but if it is red, you may be applying the brush too hard.

Affordable, Natural Skincare
Some skincare lines make promises they can’t fulfill. Here are 10 lines that will give you younger and healthier skin without all the funky fillers.
100% Pure (www.100percentpure.com)
Aubrey Organics (www.aubrey-organics.com)
Coconut Clean (www.coconutclean.com)
Dr. Hauschka (www.drhauschka.com)
John Masters Organics (www.johnmasters.com)
Miessence (www.elyorganics.com)
MyChelle Dermaceuticals (www.mychelleusa.com)
Pangea Organics (www.pangeaorganics.com)
Spa Technologies (www.spatechnologies.com)
Osmosis Pür Medical Skin Care (www.osmosisskincare.com)

DIY Face Mask
Tighten and revitalize, naturally, using everyday foods found in your kitchen or local health food store.\

The ingredients:
4 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 ripe banana
1 egg, beaten

The directions: Blend chickpea flour and banana in a bowl, then add beaten egg. Apply mixture to face and neck. Leave on for 15 minutes, then rinse well with warm water. Pat dry.

The scoop: Chickpea flour is an effective skin-softening exfoliant. It stimulates circulation and rebuilds tissue. Bananas, known as a source of potassium and vitamin A, help reduce redness and puffiness. Eggs tighten pores and leave your skin renewed.

FOR YOUR HAIR

Achieving style quickly is easy. Just spray roots on the top of your head with volumizing spray. Part into sections and blow-dry. Finish with shine serum and let the bottom half of hair air-dry.

DIY Hair Gel
The ingredients:
2 tablespoons flaxseed
1 cup water
Essential oil of your choice

The directions:
Mix flaxseed and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat for 15 minutes and then strain. Add a few drops of your choice of essential oil, then pour mixture into a storage container. Keep uncovered until mixture thickens, then seal tightly.

Tip: My friend Celia, a salon owner, told me, “When you shower and don’t want to get your hair wet, wrap a bandanna around your head and put a shower cap on. The heat of the shower will activate the natural oils in your hair and [you won’t get] frizz.”

FOR YOUR FACE

Easy Makeup
Six steps to a full face of makeup in less than five minutes:
1. For mineral powder foundation, use a Kabuki brush to apply all over face. For liquid, use a sponge to apply over face.
2. Using a camouflage brush, spot-conceal where needed, including on nasal folds and red areas..
3. Apply blush on apples of your cheeks.
4. Line your lashes with a pencil or slanted brush.
5. Curl eyelashes, then apply mascara.
6. Line lips with short dashes, and fill in lip color or gloss.

Well, ladies, I think you are good to go! Remember that good skin comes from the inside out. Whatever you put in your body directly affects how your skin will look on the outside. Eat right, sleep, drink and be merry (with green tea or water, of course)!
Oh, and don’t forget: The best makeup of all is joy!

Ready to look better, feel better and live better? Pick up a copy of Shelly’s book Beauty by God: Inside-Out Secrets for Every Woman ($10.19, www.amazon.com).

Shelly serves as an inspirational beauty coach, esthetician/makeup artist and beauty expert columnist for CBN.com, Beautiful One Magazine, Christian Women Online, Sheer Balance, On Course magazine and author of Beauty by God:Inside Out Secrets for Every Women. Shelly's career has ranged from subtle face makeovers to painting bold murals on buildings. She is a graduate of the prestigious InternationalAcademy. Shelly also holds certifications as a nutritional consultant, Herbalist and graduate of one of the top makeup schools in the industry, Joe Blasco. Shelly lives in Florida with her husband, Angelo Ballestero, and their two sons.