BY SIMONE
‘We learned the nature of beauty both on the outside and from within, and came away with a very strong, powerful message on how to keep positive through hardship.’
On Friday a few of us girls in year 10-12 took part in the ‘Nourish You’ workshop. We were fortunate enough to meet and talk with two inspiring women. We began by meeting Janet from Headspace Brookvale who spoke to us about the Headspace organisation; learning information about what they do, how to access their services, when you can use them and who is part of the organisation plus so much more. The remainder of the workshop involved meeting Taleen Young founder of The Cosmetic Kitchen, a business producing certified vegan, cruelty-free and natural cosmetics.
We learned about Taleen’s career journey, involving her many hardships but also her positive mindset to keep moving forward. During this talk, Taleen focused greatly on the importance of staying positive when times are tough, sharing with us her motivational motto “it’s going to get better.” After this, we then delved into learning about natural cosmetics and how to keep your body in the best shape for optimal skin and overall health. This included learning about ingredients and their affect upon the body, both positive and negative, from both natural and unnatural products. Taleen’s expertise and knowledge made us all very interested in these areas, as we discussed not only what ingredients suit which people but also background information behind different make-up products and the nature of the ingredients that go into these. We concluded the last half hour or so getting our hands dirty and making some of The Cosmetic Kitchen’s products, including an Orange & Cacao Bath Salt and an Avocado Clay mask; both went down very well!
By the end of the night we were all buzzing with excitement from what we had learned and our skin was smooth from the clay. Overall the workshop was a wonderful experience where we learned the nature of beauty both on the outside and from within, and came away with a very strong, powerful message on how to keep positive through hardship. We can’t wait for what the next workshop has to offer!
Tips On “Self Positivity”, Cleanliness & Health
- Don’t bottle up your feelings – bottling up your feelings leads to increased stress on the issue and can often make it worse. Find someone you can talk to, for example, family, friends or even an organisation like Headpsace. Headspace facilities cater for all kinds of people and preferences, whether you want to talk face to face, keep anonymous, go online or talk on the phone. They have it all available for you and it is for anyone, there are no requirements or cost to use Headspace.
- Don’t get caught in the past, think brightly of the future – “Things will get better” – if you get caught up in the past or get yourself stuck in a negative spiral of thoughts, it can be really hard to get back out again and leave you feeling horrible. By keeping a positive mind during tough times, it helps you get through the times and often more quickly as you are more productive; it can also prevent you feeling upset and down.
- What you eat plays a big role in your skin and bodily functions, remember to nourish yourself – how your body works both internally and externally is mainly influenced by your diet. This is not to say you need to go on a radical diet but it is important to eat a wholesome (the less processed the better!), well rounded, diverse diet that would provide you with optimal health and would also contribute positively to your physical aspects.
- Avoid unnatural cosmetics – cosmetics with chemical ingredients often use ingredients that block up pores, which can overall negatively affect your skin in the short and long term. If you are going to use cosmetics I recommend you aim to try to find as natural products as possible.
- No need for teeth bleaching when you can do it cheaper & natural yourself! – The act of oil pulling is a great technique for naturally whitening your teeth. Simply use a large dollop of coconut oil, put it in your mouth and move around your mouth (similar to mouthwash) for up to 30 minutes once a day for as long you like to get great results (just do not swallow the coconut oil!).
Check out some of the pics!
