As we set up for our 4th event at Vi at La Jolla Village, I was arranging all the baubles and jewels as I was tapped on the shoulder ever so excitedly....
"Hi, I'm your 10 o'clock!"
I looked up and saw the most stunning woman. Her hair silver, her eyes bright and a smile on her face that was incredibly contagious - those were my first impressions of Celia. As I sat her down in the makeup chair, I started asking questions about her vision for makeup.
Her response was perfect: "Do whatever you want, I want to wear it ALL!"
With that, I pulled out all the stops: full face foundation, highlighting, contouring, glitter eyeshadow and of course, a super bold lip.
As we applied, Celia was asking all the right questions and wanted to know if we sold all of our makeup (which we don't) but I offered to take her to Sephora one day. < I hope to work with her home to provide a shuttle service for all the ladies to partake in a "Glama Gear" shopping day soon! >
At this point, I had been focusing on Celia's face for some time and I couldn't get over the fact that she had the most gorgeous + flawless skin. In my head I was thinking she was perhaps in her early 70's so when I asked her age and she said "91" - myself and the whole Glama Crew sat there shocked....
What on earth was this woman's secret? What does she know that we don't?
It was here, I started to put the puzzle pieces together.
Celia told me growing up that her mother, on a daily basis, gave her a face massage. She had a disease at a young age (forgive me, I can't remember the name) so the massage itself was a form of a soothing + relaxation method that her mom gave her to help ease any pain. As she grew older and well, she always dabbled in self care. Her looks eventually deemed her a modeling career (she said, a small one) and she's always been very mindful of taking care of herself both inside and out. To this day, she eats healthy and stays on top of her fitness and exercise.
However, as I spent more time with Celia....I began to question if this was really the secret?!
I noticed as Kim shot photo after photo, Celia had a much different approach to the shoot as most.
She threw tradition out the window and asked us "Do I have to sit in this chair? Can we go outside?" With that, we entered the gardens and Celia began to throw poses around a mile a minute. One second she was "hailing a cab" - the next she was throwing us a "peace sign" the next she asked if she could give us a "serious look"... the next a "funny face". You could tell she really took a lighthearted approach to the entire day and really was in it to have a blast and at times, poke fun at herself.
It was in that moment, that I realized something even more important about Celia and her attitude towards life - she didn't take it too seriously.
There is a quote I've always liked and it seems appropriate to re-iterate for this post. It reads; "Don't take life too seriously, or you'll never get out alive." Watching Celia enjoy her shoot as much as she did - throwing caution to the wind - I felt like she really embodied this saying and perhaps here lies the greater lesson.
There is a time and place when it’s imperative to take things seriously - aka times that involve compassion, empathy, analysis, soul-searching, or that very important work project you have to get "just right". However, the majority of situations we find ourselves in on a day-to-day basis are actually NOT worth stressing over. Aka - forgetting to take the trash out, being 5 mins late to an appointment, being frustrated you're stuck in traffic, not getting your kid to bed on time, having a pimple pop up at the worst time possible - any of these sound familiar? I encourage you to think that maybe, just maybe, these are the very moments in life that you could take that same "Celia light-hearted approach"?
So if you haven't figured it out by now, let me put two and two together using another favorite quote of mine from one of my all time favorite movies, The Holiday:
"I need to get out of town. You know, I think I need some peace and quiet... or whatever it is people go away for. You know what I really want to do? I want to eat carbs without wanting to kill myself. You know, I want to read a book! Not just a magazine, an actual book. For years I read this reviews, I buy the books but I never read them. Did you read that article in the New York Times last Sunday? Severe stress makes women age prematurely because stress causes the DNA in our cells to shrink until they can no longer replicate. So when we're stressed we look haggard." - Amanda (Cameron Diaz)
So with that said, here is what Celia inadvertently taught me about stress:
Stop making mountains out of mole hills: Validate your feelings Ask yourself, is what I am stressing over really worth this specific amount of stress, anxiety, or frustration I am feeling?
Don't sweat the small stuff: If what I am stressing about is deemed small, like the Frozen song says, LET IT GO!
Smile more, frown less: I think it's safe to say that Celia has proven this with 91 years of research... smiling must use all the right muscles to tighten the face. If done often, it will do your mind, body and soul some good. Choose to frown, well that would lead to the opposite wouldn't it and will probably lead us all to having a few more wrinkles....
To view Celia's full GLAMA Gallery click here.
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