5 Ways To Manage Stress

image by Kelly Cappelli

It's been a week since the election - how stressed out are you?

Everywhere I go it seems that people are majorly stressed out. Trump fans are mad that the haters be hating, Trump haters are stressed out that he even got elected let alone that he is going to take office.

The world is stressed out that God only knows what will happen, and today I even heard Trump voters stressing out that he is putting Steve Bannon, the white supremacist in the White House.

I have been super stressed out that this has happened to my adopted country, meanwhile a massive earthquake hit my home country, which has me beyond stressed out.

Add to the mix working the past 44 days straight, AND having a major flood in my home and frankly it has been a stressful few weeks.

The thing about stress though is that it doesn't achieve anything. Well, nothing positive anyway. The trick is to find ways to manage your stress so that it doesn't manage you.

 5 Ways To Manage Stress

1. Do Yoga

Even if you just do a few sun salutations each day, yoga is a fantastic way to manage stress. The focus on your breath, the stretching, the flow from position to position make yoga the ultimate stress buster.

If you can't get to class just roll out your yoga mat and do some sun salutations with a you tube yoga guru.

Don't have a yoga mat? Check out Manduka.com for all kinds of yoga wear and yoga supplies. I'm ordering a new 5mm Eko mat and a new bolster to replace those that got lost in the flood.

2. Take a walk outdoors.

Fresh air and nature are wonderful stress relievers. A long walk with no distractions, just you and Mother Nature, is food for the soul.

3. Sit and reflect by water.

Looking out over the ocean or watching the waves are instant stress busters.

Watch, breathe, repeat.

4. Meditate.

If you can still your mind meditation is an amazing stress-buster. It calms you, helps you focus, helps you sleep better. Most of the super successful people that I work with in my real life (makeup artist) meditate for 10 to 20 minutes per day. I figure I can find 10 minutes somewhere each day so I just downloaded an app called Headspace that offers 10 minute meditations, but there are plenty of meditations available on You Tube.

5. Get off social media

Social media can be fun, but it can also be a huge source of anxiety. Whether that anxiety comes from comparing your life to others and feeling inadequate (remember no-one's life is as good as it seems on Facebook!) or whether its people being contentious and going all attack-dog over issues (hello Trump) the dark side of social media can be very dark.

Give yourself a two or three day total break from all social media, and then when you go back don't look at any social media in the first 30 minutes after you wake up or the last hour before you go to sleep

Let It Glow, Let It Glow, Let It Glow! 3 Products For Luminous And Radiant Winter Skin

image by Kelly Cappelli

During fall and winter your skin tends to look a little flat and dull.
Bronzers typically look orangey and somewhat odd on winter complexions, and most highlighters look shimmery or glittery and make your winter skin look crazy.

On my speaking tour for Luca Magazine I talked about adding glow to your complexion, and I've had so many messages from ladies in my audience asking me to go back over the products I talked about.

I posted last week about the gel bronzer that I use every single day,
read about it here. Today lets look at the three products I swear by and use both myself and in my pro makeup kit to make the complexion glow:

3 Amazing Products For Luminous And Radiant Winter Skin

Charlotte Tilbury Wonderglow

I'm crazy about this product! When I want an all over glow to the skin, not as a wet look, but a healthy gleam that looks like sunshine beaming out from within, I use Charlotte Tilbury's Wonderglow. 
It doubles up as a pre-makeup primer, or on days when I don't feel like wearing makeup I wear it alone. 
Available online at CharlotteTilbury.com $55

Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Spotlight 700

I love this one for running highlight along cheekbones, collarbones and shoulders. Highlight shouldn't be sparkly, it should illuminate and radiate, and this product makes the skin luminous and glowy.
The stick form makes it easy to swipe it across the skin, but I prefer to use a duo fiber makeup brush. You can apply the Marc Jacobs Glow Stick Spotlight 700 either before foundation or after, (or both!), and can make it a subtle glow or ramp it up to a super sheen - you're in charge!
Available online at MarcJacobsBeauty.com $42

Radiance Glow Hydrating Starter 

At  half the price of the others the Pony Effect Radiance Glow Hydrating Starter brightens and illuminates the skin, giving it a gorgeous glow while hydrating it and minimizing fine lines and wrinkles. It also acts like a primer, smoothing the skin and readying it for foundation. You can wear it alone or under makeup.
This product sells out quickly. If you like it order a second one sooner rather than later.
Available online at Memebox.com $21

11 Things You Must Do In Matera

This past September I took my Glam Italia tour to one of the best places I have ever been. Deep in the heart of Italy's south, in the region of Basilicata there lies one of the three oldest and most continuously inhabited cities in the world, Matera.
Matera has been populated since paleolithic times.

You can read more about Matera here

Matera needs to be on your bucket list, and while there you absolutely MUST do these 11 things:

1. Walk

In order to understand this amazing city you need to walk. And walk and walk. Up and down and around the rabbit warren that is the Sassi. 

When you walk the Sassi you will discover that it is an optical illusion - it's actually quite disorienting! Things look far away, but in fact they are quite close, it's just that the Sassi is so vertical

2. Take a tour of the Sassi

You can't come all the way to Matera and not take a guided tour of the Sassi. On the Glam Italia Tours I use Antonio Manicone from Matera Tour Guide. Antonio is the top rated tour guide on Tripadvisor, and with good reason. He is fantastic! I use him for my Glam Tours and I sincerely recommend you use him too.

No guide book can give you the insight into Sassi life that a guide will give you. Antonio's grandparents lived in the Sassi until they were relocated by the government to the apartments on the other side of Matera. His stories about their life in the Sassi and the social fabric of the community brought an entirely different experience to the tour.

Without a tour it would be incredibly difficult to understand the structure of the homes, and the brilliance of the design of the communities.

You can find Antonio here

3. Visit a Rupestrian church

Santa Maria di Idris, Matera

The Rupestrian cave churches of Matera are sensational, both for their design and for the spectacular frescos inside. In a country overflowing with church art, these take you to an entirely different place. The art is largely Byzantine in style even though much of it was painted in the Middle Ages. The frescos in Santa Maria di Idris and in

will take your breath away

4. Stay in a cave hotel

Staying in a cave hotel was such a fabulous experience! We stayed at the beautiful Le Dodici Lune where the ceilings are high, the decor is beautiful and the service is wonderful.

sitting room area inside our cave hotel in Matera

Hotel specialist Alex Polizzi says that you should always know where you are when you wake in a hotel. Most hotels are very much alike and sitting inside that room you could be anywhere. When you wake in a cave hotel in Matera you know exactly where you are. And it's magical.

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5. Eat in a cave restaurant

Le Dodice Lune has a world class restaurant on the property, in yet another giant cave. The visual is fantastic, second only to the food itself. Local cuisine is fresh and flavorful, and really just sensational! 

The staircase down to the wine cellar at Le Dodici Lune in Matera

Pair it with local wines from the Basilicata for the most perfect experience ever

Book a table at Le Dodici Lune

6. Walk through the Sassi at night

The Sassi is spectacular at night. Take time to stroll through the labyrinth streets after sundown. The city shimmers like a jewelry box, and it's beautiful!

In the 17th century a man of the cloth wrote that every evening it was customary for every home to put a candle in the window. With so many doors and windows it would look like a sea of light reflected in the stars above. Dalle sassi alle stelle / from the stones to the stars

7. Cross to the other side

From the Sassi you can walk down the gorge and cross a bridge to the other side. There are caves to explore, an unobstructed view of the Sassi, and incredible views of the countryside.

8. Go to a cave house

The cave house of Vico solitaire in Sasso Caveoso gives you insight into the life of the average family living in the Sassi. This cave home housed a family of 11 and their animals. See how the cave was set up as a home, where the kitchen was, where everyone slept, where the animals lived - it's fascinating!

Train Tickets and Schedules  

9. Visit the crypt of the original sin

This is one of the best things I have ever done.

Outside of Matera in the middle of nowhere, along the wall of the Gravina di Picciano gorge you will find the Crypt Of The Original Sin, a heavily frescoed cave church that was abandoned in the late 9th century, became overgrown with moss, as was used for centuries as a shelter for shepherds. 

Rediscovered in 1963 this cave church holds a fresco cycle that comprise one of the most important examples of early medieval painting in the Mediterranean. The painter is unknown, simply referred to as the flower painter of Matera, but his work is hauntingly beautiful. 



The apses depict saints, and the entire back wall tells the story of Genesis.

If you are someone to whom art speaks, you will understand me when I tell you that when they slowly raised the light on these paintings I had tears rolling down my cheeks.

Photography is forbidden, so images have been sourced from Google. I will be writing a separate post about the crypt.

10. Explore the art galleries

Matera is a delectably artsy town, and is full of cafes, restaurants and little art shops and galleries. It has been named the European Capital of Culture for 2019. When planning your trip to Matera factor in an afternoon for aimless strolling and wander into as many local haunts as you can.

11. Visit The Palombaro Lungo

One of the things I found incredibly fascinating from Antonio's tours is the Palombaro Lungo, the largest of the sassi' incredibly clever cisterns dug to capture what rain water the area got. An intricate system of tunnels, caves and water channels captured rain water to be drinking water for the locals. Eels kept the water moving so that it didn't become stagnant and lime kept it safe to drink.

You can walk 17 meters deep into the cistern which was dug by hand into the rock.

The Coveted List, November

It's November 9th and you are either elated by the election result or feeling a sense of revulsion.
Whether you are celebrating or commiserating, nothing brings a smile quite like a fabulous shopping excursion (for me that is almost always an online shopping excursion). So for you and for me, here in November's Coveted List.
Enjoy!

So many fabulous things on the November 2016 Coveted List!
Each item on the list makes for a fabulous end of year/holiday/Christmas gift for any fabulous females on your list, including yourself!

Starting top left Nasty Galaxy by Girl Boss author Sophia Amoruso is a lifestyle bible, approaching Sophia's philosophy, music and style, in the same way she approached business in Girl Boss. 

Nasty Galaxy by Sophia Amoruso

This book is super visual, and super cool. 

Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution Lipstick in The Queen 

Charlotte Tilbury The Queen

I'm a huge fan of the Matte Revolution lipsticks. They give you a fabulous matte finish, but are also incredibly hydrating, so your lips don't dry out. This new shade, The Queen, is a bold cerise, the perfect shade for the season!
Available online at Charlotte Tilbury

The Foreo Luna is taking the beauty world by storm. Use it to exfoliate gently (with rubber instead of bristles) while you cleanse each day, and benefit from the anti-aging benefits of  its groundbreaking technology. 

Foreo Luna

The Luna looks cool too, making it a great gift.
Available online at Foreo.com

The Clementine Heel by Joie

Joie Clementine Heel

My favorite Instagram fashionistas all seem to shop at Revolve, which got me excited about the store. Being that I'm in Phoenix I shop online, and that's where I found this killer shoe. The Clementine heel by Joie is a great transitional shoe, taking you through the seasons. Great with dresses, genius with jeans and a white shirt. It is a classic and timeless piece to add to your wardrobe.
Available online at Revolve.com

Jo Malone's Basil and Neroli Candle is absolutely the new scent of the season. I can't get enough of it. 

Jo Malone Basil and Neroli Candle

Read about Jo Malone's Basil and Neroli Candle here

This one makes a fabulous gift for yourself as well as the ideal chic gift for anyone on the list of people you want to impress.

Available online at Nordstrom.

Tiffany's Square Bracelet Super sophisticated, graphic angles and clean lines this bracelet is so chic! I've been coveting it for a while...

Tiffany Square Bracelet

Marc Jacobs Beauty Spotlight 700 Glow Stick

Marc Jacobs highlighter

Love. Love. Love.

The pearly gold and silver pigments in this highlighter give your skin the most gorgeous, luminous glow. The effect is not sparkly or frosty, instead it makes the complexion look radiant. (Think Gigi Hadid's glowing skin) 
Available online at Marc Jacobs

The Chloe Marcie Bag

Chloe Marcie bag

This is the most perfect crossbody bag. Stylish, chic and timeless, this bag looks on point with every outfit and will last forever.
Available online at Nordstrom

How To Give Your Skin The Perfect Bronze Kiss For Fall And Winter

I just got back from teaching my Beauty 101 class at the Pinner's Conference in Utah.
I flew out there in my role of Beauty Director for Luca Magazine 
(a title I am very proud to hold!) 

One of the things I spoke about in Salt Lake City on Friday was the use and abuse of one of the greatest makeup products ever created, bronzer. I've had so many messages from ladies in the audience asking me about the product that I was telling them about that I decided to write a post about it.

Bronzer isn't designed to fix a bad foundation choice, or to contour your face. It is designed to make you look all glowy and warm, as though you were just out in the sun.

The makeup transition from summer to winter can be tricky. As you lose that summer glow a powder bronzer can look manic. The color sits up on top of the skin and can look anywhere from Trump-orange to bogus-tan, and if the particles are large it can create a mad flickering effect to your complexion.
So if you are feeling washed out, what's a girl to do? Don't worry, I have a plan for you.

This is my absolute favorite bronzer. 

 stila Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer, 1 fl. oz.is a bronzing gel from Stila Cosmetics.

I've been using it for ages on myself as well as in my pro makeup kit.

my makeup table at a recent Luca Magazine shoot

close up - Aqua Glow

As we transition through fall I am still using it every day. I like to apply a small amount to my cheekbones and blend it into my skin for a soft glow. On days like today I wear it alone, on days where I'm wearing foundation or BB Cream, I wear it underneath. It gives you a hint of controlled color that stops you from looking pasty or washed out but doesn't look like you're trying to fake out a long weekend in the Bahamas. You can also add a tiny bit to your foundation if you need to warm the color up.

I love it because it looks natural and has a fresh glowy finish that makes your skin look alive. 

I used Aqua Glow Perfecting Gel Bronzer on Ford model Amberly Ray on a shoot for Luca Magazine.
Her skin looks sunkissed yet autumn/winter appropriate

It's super concentrated so you only use a small amount, which makes it great value too! Stila's Aqua Glow Perfecting Bronzer 

I can never find it in stores, so I always order it online.

Free standard shipping for when you spend $50 or more at Stila Cosmetics

How To Spot Bedbugs In Your Hotel Room

I am traumatized by the thought of bedbugs when I travel.
I've had friends get them before, and their stories are like horror movies! The nightmare doesn't stop with a body covered in bites - bedbugs get into your luggage and come home with you. They apparently are really difficult to get rid of too.

I can't stop traveling so instead I have to be proactive (paranoid) about bedding in hotels. I just read this article on Smarter Travel about spotting bedbugs in your hotel room. Make sure you re-read it before you head out of town on your next set of travels.

One Surefire Way To Spot Bedbugs In Your Hotel Room

Written by Caroline Morse

Bedbugs are the ultimate travel nightmare, and you might not know you’ve brought them home with you until it’s too late. Spare yourself the mental and financial anguish of bedbugs by always doing this one thing as soon as you step into your hotel room.

It doesn’t matter if you’re staying in a low-budget hostel or the fanciest hotel in the world. Bedbugs are everywhere. As soon as you arrive in your room, drop your belongings in a safe place like the bathroom—where it’s hard for bedbugs to hide on tile surfaces. Avoid the luggage rack, where the bugs can stay after coming in on another traveler’s bag.

Next, inspect the bed. Start by pulling off all of the bedding until you get to the bare mattress. Use the flashlight app on your smartphone to get a better view as you check around the seams of all four corners. Be sure to check the box spring as well.

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Now here’s the surefire way to spot them: You’re not only looking for the bugs themselves, but for signs that they’ve been there. Small, dark blood from their excrement is a dead giveaway (and super gross, too). Check all the furniture in the room, as well as behind any framed art on the walls, because bugs can lurk there, too.

If you find evidence of bugs, gather your belongings from the bathroom and ask the hotel staff for a new room—one that does not share a wall with the infested room. (Bedbugs can travel between rooms fairly easily.)

Make sure you do not bring the bedbugs home with you by immediately washing all of your clothing in hot water. You’ll need to vacuum out your suitcase as well. And to be extra safe, you should store your suitcase inside a large plastic bag to prevent any hearty bugs from invading your home.

Find more articles like this at SmarterTravel.com