I don’t think I’ve ever been as scared as I am writing this post. I’ve edited it like 12 bagillion times…but I’m just gonna go ahead and hit publish. *breathes* This is part two of two and is a bit of a continuation of the conversation I started in my last One Mind Challenge post about Finding Flow.
By now, you’ve probably noticed a pretty significant shift in some of what I’ve been doing with my blog, my life and my mission. I have been feeling the urge to make big changes – maybe not on the outside so much as on the inside. I’m feeling the urge to surround myself with positive energy, tap into my true beliefs and passions and build something I can be proud of. For whatever reason, my intuition has been speaking very loudly to me lately. It’s telling me to stop holding back.
It’s telling me to LEAN IN. It’s telling me that if I do, if I listen, listen, listen and then act from a place of honesty and joy – great things will come. (Also, if you make it to the end of this post I’ve got a bit of a different type ‘giveaway’… you’ll see what I mean!)
In the past few months, my intuition has lead me to take on a larger role with East Coast Mom Media – a community of local bloggers, many of whom have become dear, dear friends. It has lead me to in-person events I never thought I’d have the courage to attend. It has lead me to open up on the blog about topics I thought would be taboo – like family finance and mindfulness.
And you know what? Every time I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone like that – the response has been amazing. Sometimes as bloggers, we get caught up in the numbers and the stats. I was there for a while. But lately, I’m drilling down and focusing on my actual PEOPLE… and in so doing – focusing back on building a BETTER ME (because Me is People, right? <–Cookie Monster voice). I’d rather have 50 followers on this blog who totally dig and love what I’m doing, than 50,000 who couldn’t care less, ya know?
So I’m throwing caution to the wind and I’m LEANING IN with everything I have.
It has occurred to me that I’ve been blogging about DIYs for so long that I kinda forgot that I AM the biggest and most important DIY of all. So today, I want to tell you about a new adventure I am on that I TRULY BELIEVE is integral to me becoming my BEST SELF. (And no, I am not abandoning traditional DIYs. Fear not – I’ve got a room makeover coming in July lol)
Behind the scenes for the past three years or so, I’ve been struggling with a particular aspect of me that I have never mentioned or blogged about. I was scared. I was ashamed. It was a part of me that I really REALLY didn’t like. (It also has nothing to do with DIYs and I was afraid to blog about it because I thought it would mean people wouldn’t like me… I know. The stories we tell ourselves are often the dumbest… anyway.)
I’m talking about my skin.
Some of you will know that three years ago, I actually made a LIVING on camera. Outwardly, I was confident and assured. But inside? I was tortured by what I feared people were saying about me behind my back.
My skin has always been problematic – patchy, itchy, red, irritated. I’d get breakouts and scarring and products would work for a while and then I’d just end up with clogged pores or over-stripped skin and I’d cake makeup on to cover things up. At some point, my friend Fiona and I were chatting and she suggested I take a leap and try something else.
GUYS – I WAS SOOOOOO FREAKING SKEPTICAL. Why? Because I had tried absolutely EVERYTHING. (Or so I thought) Like I had tried almost every drug store brand and department store brand. I had tried stuff from the natural food store and the naturopathic doctor. I honestly thought I had tried everything.
But she insisted and kept telling me that these products were different and that they could help me regain control over my skin.
So- I made my very first Arbonne purchase.
*Gulp* I know what you’re thinking. You’re like ‘Seriously, Erin? THIS is what you were afraid to blog about?” Yes. Yes, I was.
I definitely started small because “ME = skeptical” haha…but once I saw how my skin responded and how often I felt confident enough to leave the house without makeup or wear less makeup, I started to think there might be something to this. Gradually, over time – I switched completely. I can’t tell you the last time I made a skin care purchase in a drug store. I honestly can’t.
Pregnancy threw my skin for a loop again and brought back the dry, scaly, painful skin with an absolute vengeance. I couldn’t even pat my skin with a damp washcloth without wincing. And yes, I did try some of the cheaper drug store brands first… because I am both SKEPTICAL and STUBBORN. (Those products actually stung and I ended up tossing them almost immediately.)
I called Fiona and told her what I was going through. Well, didn’t she make a house call with her own personal stash of products to help me find a way to calm my preggo skin down? She did. I cried happy pregnant tears. Two days later, I bought the Calm line which is for super sensitive skin and it really helped reduce the redness and dryness. I used it until LB was about four months old.
There was another HUGE transition again after the baby was born. My hair and my skin were all kinds of ‘what just happened?!’ and I really was down on myself. I was too tired to deal with it, even though I knew in my heart it that Arbonne would have a solution for my new-to-me-skin. So around the five month mark I moved onto the anti-aging skin care line called RE9 Advanced … AND ZOMG – it’s like I have a new face. A new glowing TIRED-but-HAPPY MAMMA FACE. 😀
Why am I telling you this?
I’m not telling you this so that you think I’ve all of a sudden become a beauty blogger. Obvs, I have not (and will not…lol)
I’m telling you this because Arbonne has become a major part of my life. The philosophy of the company and its people (especially SAINT Fiona!) really matches what I want to do with my time and energy and, to a certain extent, with my blog. I believe in building success and building ourselves honestly and with pure intent. I started DIY Passion to inspire YOU,my readers and friends, to be inspired to make positive, simple changes in your home. And I feel as if I’m at a natural transition where I can now share and inspire small, positive changes in LIFE. Small changes add up… this small change has been SO significant for me…
Over the course of about a year, I’ve been able to whittle my daily make-up down to one small pouch of products I adore. I actually look forward to washing my face each morning and night. I get WAY too excited to drink my daily smoothie and try new and fun recipes. And most importantly, I’m not afraid to use the products on the baby. Fiona even convinced me to become and Independent Consultant – whoa. <<—Things I never thought would happen.
DIY Passion is about Do-It-Yourself decor, home AND LIFE…. which is a side of me that I just haven’t shared much about… But I’m LEANING IN….and I’M DOING IT because it MEANS SOMETHING to me. And I’m hoping it will mean something to you too – even just in knowing more about the struggles I face behind the digital face of this blog and my social channels. I am not perfect. I screw up all the time. I have break downs and things are messy… and this is me saying…
I’m just so flipping ready to BE REAL with you all.
Since regaining control over my skin (and my nutrition), I’ve had the confidence to get back to being the ‘me’ I always loved – doing my new Moms in the Morning Facebook Live show on the YMC Facebook Fan Page and hopping on Facebook Live and InstaStories almost daily over at DIY Passion. I have even shared a few #NoFilter selfies on social media lately. The old me would NEVER have done that!
I am NO LONGER controlled by my fears of what people are thinking or saying about me, or my skin. I am in the driver’s seat!… I am leaning in…going with the flow… vibrating at a new and simpler frequency…
And you know what?!
It. FEELS. INCREDIBLE.
How to Join My Exclusive Arbonne Club & A Mini-Giveaway
I am setting up a SPECIAL list JUST for those of you interested in taking this journey with me. (If you’re already on my DIY Passion email list, you’ll need to sign-up separately for this one). I’ll be sharing everything about my skin care challenges and solutions and also Healthy Living – with my best tips for getting energized and nourished every day. Want my best Smoothie recipes? I’ll be sharing those for sure!
I have FIVE Arbonne Gift Packs I’d LOVE to send out! So by filling out the form and joining my Arbonne List, you are entering to receive
- A selection of Arbonne caffeine-free Herbal Teas
- An Energy Fizz Stick
- A set of RE9 Advanced Samples (this is what I use and I LOVE IT)
- A one-on-one consultation CALL WITH ME so we can talk about your challenges and so that I might be able to help you make that ‘simple’ change you need!!
And of course, if you have any questions or want to know more about my skin and what worked for me – just ASK! Or if you’re too shy, drop me an email or send me a DM through the FB page. Now that I’ve got this off my chest, I’m okay to talk about it openly… I think 🙂
Sign-up using the form below. I will be contacting the winners via personal email in the coming days. And no matter what, if you sign up – you’ll start to see inbox goodies roll in soon!
-E xoxo
