Focus LA October 2016

B E V E R LY H I L L S | B R E N T W O O D | M A L I B U | W E S T H O L LY W O O D | S A N T A M O N I C A

COMMUNITY POWERED

SENIOR PRANIC HEALER

FITNESS EVANGELIST

ALEJANDRA DELUCA

OCTOBER 2016 | FOCUSMAG.US

ANGELA DAVIS

ALCHEMY43 FOUNDER

NICCI LEVY

OJO ELECTRONIC SCOOTER CO-FOUNDER

DALE SEIDEN

WELLNESS ISSUE

ANCHOR | KTLA NEWS

COURTNEY FRIEL

EMPOWERISTA

ALEX WEHRLEY

LISA MANSFIELD

Realtor, NRT’s Top 1,000 Sales Associates

310.481.4313

lisa.mansfield@sothebyshomes.com www.lisamansfield.com

Operated by Sotheby’s International Realty, Inc.

BRENTWOOD BROKERAGE | 11911 SAN VICENTE BLVD SUITE 200 | LOS ANGELES | CA 90049

Top

2%

of Sales Associates Nationwide

TESTIMONIAL

“…I could always count on you and your team to be there…you maintained your enthusiasm for the house and maximized the number of new offers coming in by being very proactive with all your leads. All that effort resulted in multiple offers in excess of the offering price….”

– Sally S.

DID YOU KNOW…?

Whether you are considering the purchase of your first home or trading up to the home your family frequently fantasizes about, there are…

THREE CRUCIAL QUESTIONS YOU MUST KNOW THE ANSWER TO: What is the minimum down payment required to purchase a home? 3% What is the minimum FICO score required to qualify for a mortgage? 620 What is the maximum Back-End DTI Ratio allowed? 45% (up to 50% with compensating factors)

I HAVE IDEAS THAT WILL INCREASE THE VALUE OF YOUR HOME! DIRECT: 310.481.4313

LISA MANSFIELD

EXQUISITE, ELEGANT REMODELED PRIME BW LEASE!

CELL: 310.993.2303

LISA’S RECENT TRANSACTIONS...!!!

CURRENT LISTINGS!!!

160 Beloit Ave. $2,095,000 513 N. Plymouth Blvd. $1,999,999 11863 Texas Ave. 301 $799,000

400 N. Saltair Ave. $19,000/Mo 11345 Waterford St. *In Escrow!!!

11327 Chenault St. *Just Sold!!!

9039 Norma Pl. *Just Sold!!!

10595 Ashton Ave. 301 *Just Sold!!!

441 S.Barrington Ave. 408 *Just Sold!!!

11350 Joffre St.

*Just Leased!!!

400 N. Saltair Avenue Brentwood 3 Beds+2.5 Baths+Family Rm+Office Glorious Yard w/ Pool WLAHomes.com

Offered for: $19,000/Mo

Contact me to hear about my upcoming listings! – Lisa

Focus TV

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Angela Davis

Courtney Friel

Laurel House

Alejandra DeLuca

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Renew Juicery

Daniel Alfonso

Alchemy43

Christine Turner

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Marni Kinrys

Lou Lucido

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The Ranch Laguna

Ojo Electric Scooter

Super Saturday

Pageant Passport

Miss Malibu 2017

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CONTRIBUTORS

Tambi Saffran (Stollman) Tambi grew up in NY. She left a producer job at MTV to start a family. Returning to her passion of producing and music, Tambi is currently producing a documentary called She Rocks! about female guitarists. In her spare time she enjoys being a mom, hiking, boxing and live music. instagram.com/just_tambi

Sande Charles Sande was crowned Ms. California United States 2014. She grew up in Phoenix, Arizona and also covers Football Night in LA for the Examiner. When not in front of the camera, you can find her producing for the MLB Network. On the weekends she is in Studio for Fox Sports. sandecharles.com

Dana Adams Dana Adams has spent her life working on both sides of the lens.

With a few international campaigns running, Adams continues to push the front end of the lens. However, dubbed as a “Photographic Life Coach” her true passion resides in transforming Models into Role Models on the back end. loveinlalaland.com

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Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer Wendy is an editorial producer at CNN but considers her most important job to be raising her 2 girls. Her rare spare time is spent on a multitude of passions including fundraising, cancer awareness, fitness, and her guilty pleasure – Pinterest. instagram.com/wendbrokaw

Michelle Harvey Michelle Harvey is quickly becoming the go-to gal in the world of men’s grooming. She is a licensed barber, specializing in men’s hair, shaving and grooming. Her training, coupled with her constant exposure to the newest trends in men’s grooming, makes her one of the top experts in her field. She is sought after for her experienced and fun advice on all things masculine. Michelle’s blog updated regularly is a site for the well-informed, well-groomed man!

GroomedbyMichelleHarvey.com

Laura Nickerson Laura is the Founder & Editor of MomAngeles, a site she launched because she was planning a lot of playdates and her friends kept asking her where to go and what to do. It seemed easier just to put it all online, in one place. Laura has a delightful, creative daughter who keeps her endlessly entertained and her desire to always be on the go helps fuel this site. MomAngeles is the go to resource to find the latest and greatest services in LA to make your life easier! momangeles.com

Dina Manzo Dina Manzo is an artist first and foremost...an artist, a curator of all things beauty. You may have seen a glimpse of her passionate spiritual force on Bravo’s Real Housewives franchise or HGTV’s Dina’s Party. Wherever you have seen her, it’s only a small window into her world of inspired living. Consider her your guide on your personal path to beauty, wellness, health and joy.

“The simplest ritual of beauty can elevate and transform...”

Suzan Brittan A Southern California resident, but forever native New Yorker, started in Los Angeles as a singer/songwriter/ actress. However, to pay for luxuries like rent, a car and food, she climbed many corporate ladders and climbed right back down. She finally found her niche and outlet as a creative and non-fiction writer. imdb.com/name/nm1483913

Shirin Yadegar Shirin Yadegar is the Founder of LA Mom Magazine. The mission of the magazine is to empower moms to feel self-confident about the decisions they make for their families. lamommagazine.com aims to help thousands of moms find the products and services they need to make motherhood easy and fun. lamommagazine.com

Community powered.

Editor Andrew Waldman andy@focusmag.us Focus TV Editor/Hosts Tambi Saffran Alex Wehrley Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer Michelle Gertz Sande Charles Hillary Gadsby Staff Writer Felicia Waldman Suzan Brittan Sabrina Blatteis Photographers Dalen Muster Ben Shani Dana Adams Videographers Dalen Muster Ben Shani Racquel Levin Publisher + Creative Director Mark Castellino mark@focusmag.us Copyright 2016 by Focus Media Agency.

Focus (ISSN 2328-1359) is published 6 times per year. Please do not to reproduce any of the content without permission.

Subscription and distribution inquiries: promo@focusmag.us

EDITOR LETTER

We are pleased to bring you an issue packed with many doses of health, wellness, peace of mind, and beauty. An issue to inspire you to live well, be well, and give well.

We are thrilled that the inspirational and spiritual phenomenon, groundbreaking fitness guru, Angela Davis, hot on the heels of Oprah’s ‘The Life You Want’ tour, shares her story and newest ventures with us...And, the lovely and resilient Courtney Friel, best known as the talented KTLA News Anchor, stands strong, 7 years sober – a shining example of strength and will, as she counts her blessings.

We bring you some of the best beauty and wellness tips, including Brow Microfeathering, and Cryotherapy.

We continue with our captivating “Empowerista” series of strong and inspirational women; a look at a jewelry line that inspires and gives back, Be R.A.W., Resilient, Aware, Willing; A glimpse into the life of awe-inspiring philanthropist, Louis Lucido... And we’ll teach you how to meditate, reduce stress, and get organized... Oh, and looking for a ‘dating coach’ or a ‘wing woman’ to help you find a date?

Happy Reading and Cheers to our Health and Wellness Focus readers!

The Focus Team

ISSUE 22 Cover photo: Dalen Muster

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Shery Shabani

Making Good Beautiful

BY SUZAN BRITTAN

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t’s a rare occasion when I meet a person whom I expect to be one way, but surprises me and reshapes my preconceived notion of who I thought they were. Usually, the people I meet lack in substance and depth, but if I’m lucky, I meet a person with integrity, authenticity, and generosity.

Shery Shabani: Shery is beautiful. It’s not only because of her pretty face; it’s her heart that makes her so beautiful. It’s her warmth and down to earth manner that is the cause of her success. People want to buy and wear what she crafts, creates, and dreams up. Shabani is the daughter of a diamond manufacturer, so appreciating jewelry is in her blood. She certainly has bejeweled and studded lots of top stars with her stunning jewelry, so she’s no wallflower when it comes to marketing and branding. Sure, I could write all about the massive amount of positive publicity she has received for her jewelry lines “TEASE” and “Shery Shabani Jewelry”, but you can read about that anywhere.

What you can’t read about anywhere is Shery’s moving mission.

Besides being a super-mom to both her children, she feels that it’s her calling to empower those who feel powerless by creating ‘awareness’ jewelry.

The hand crafted cuffs boast words of inspiration by people of influence who have also struggled with addiction, domestic violence, physical distress and other forms of trauma. Shery is also STRONG. It was her sheer strength that got her through a painful, tumultuous divorce. Shabani empathizes, “Don’t ever be ashamed. You can have your story, but – you must be willing to move on.” This is her personal ‘move on’ mantra that she shares with the hope of helping others, as her jewelry not only speaks deep meanings as it’s worn, but gives back to those it represents. “I am R.A.W.” Resilient. Authentic. Willing. Shery is the definition of R.A.W.

be-raw.com #iamrawmovement

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Meditation: A Date With Yourself

BY ALEJANDRA ARMAS DELUCA

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e live in a hectic world where stress has become a way of life. We subject ourselves to great amounts of stimuli and there’s not a sign of change anytime soon. Running from meeting to meeting we forget to detox and reset our mind, emotions, and to promote inner peace. We often set appointments and meetings, but rarely do you have a date with yourself.

Meditation is a precious time to connect with your inner self, and tap into your own inner power. Would you meditate if I tell you that you will rejuvenate and live longer by doing so—and that it’ll calm and upgrade your brain, reshaping the way it’s wired? Would you do it if it would help you increase your energy and improve your health? What if I tell you that it will help you understand yourself, release worries, fears, and stress, change negatives into positives and give you a sense of inner peace? All these benefits and many others are possible through meditation and have been proven by science.

Meditation is a verb, it implies an act, the practice and discipline of meditating.

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Meditation is also an adjective: a state reached through the act of meditating. This state is not day-dreaming, but a state in which your consciousness expands, time and space seems to temporarily disappear, you become present, acutely “aware” or conscious, and experience inner peace.

Through practice, discipline, and stillness, we learn to quiet the mind and aim toward deeper states of relaxation and calmness.

To meditate you may use something specific like an image, a thought, a sound, a word, or just your breathing. But that is just at the most basic levels, there are plenty meditation techniques out there, some are aimed to improve and increase your energy, or de-stress you, some aim to empower the mind, or to empower compassion and empathy, some for healing, etc. Whichever you chose to begin with, make sure you stick to what works best for you, until it becomes a discipline. You will notice results right away, and these will increase as you develop your practice.

Whether you practice mindfulness, mantras, creative visualization, Kriya, Shakti, TM, Twin Hearts Meditation, Arhatic Yoga, or even just breathing exercises, commit to a daily practice of at least 10 to Be Present: Make sure your phone is off and that you will not be disturbed during meditation.

20 minutes a day: It will change your life!

To meditate you need both awareness and concentration. These are your wings to fly. You can’t properly meditate without one of them. Concentration is related to the technique and it’s very focused. When we concentrate, we block out all other thoughts except the thought or the object of our concentration. Awareness is more vast. There’s no blocking or denying. You simply observe your state, the surroundings, your thoughts. You become conscious of what’s happening without engaging on anything specific.

Awareness is like a vast sky where clouds of thoughts come and go, and you are simply aware of them without choosing or concentrating on a particular thought or feeling . Once you’ve reached a state of inner stillness, you let go of the concentration aspect.

In meditation, it’s necessary to let go, not engage with external and internal distractions and let things be. The key is: no judgement, no labeling, no blame. The most difficult part is to grasp the idea that meditation involves not thinking at all. When in reality, thoughts could and will pass by, you just need to observe them without engaging, noticing and then coming back to your technique.

SIMPLE STEPS FOR THE BEST DATE EVER:

Start and Commit to 10 minutes a day minimum.

Relax and Be Comfortable: Proper position is important but better to meditate sitting straight allowing more blood flow to your brain and better Prana or Qi circulation. You may sit on a chair or on the floor using some cushions or backjacks. Laying down interferes with the proper movement of subtle energies or Qi in your body, and you run the chance of falling sleep.

Be Receptive: Your hands should rest comfortably on your lap, palms facing up.

Ambiance: Meditate in a clean space. You may use a calming music, incense, candles, and essences.

Be Prepared: If you are planning to do longer or more serious meditations, stretch your body and do a few simple warm up exercises (like rotating your joints) to allow for better flow of energy and to prepare your body to handle more energy.

Be Still, Relax and Let Go. A simple technique: Start by simply becoming aware of your breathing. Following your breathing without changing the breathing pattern. Observe your breathing with no judgement.

Your mind will tend to drift away, don’t fight it! Observe,notice and come back to your breathing once and again. You may choose to count your breathing cycles from 1 to 9, and start all over.

Or to use your breathing as a mini detox formula by exhaling negativities and inhaling good vibes; or inhaling “love” and “happiness” and exhaling love and happiness to those you love.

A date with yourself takes practice, time and effort but remember, there’s no better date than a DATE WITH YOURSELF! About Alejandra Armas DeLuca: Senior Pranic Healer 1998 | Meditating since 1992 Alejandra has taught hundreds of self-help, meditation, healing lectures and classes. She has practiced Master Choa Kok Sui’s Pranic Healing, and Twin Hearts Meditation since 1993. She started Arhatic Yoga Practice on 1996 and has been a transformational coach since 2000.

Complimentary classes every Wednesday 6pm | Malibu Health Club.

Alejandra is available for private or group sessions.

ManifestingSuccess.com IG: @DakiniDesigns | #MalibuMeditations

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Enhance your Eyebrows Micro-Feathering can give you those thicker, fuller eyebrows you’ve always wanted

BY SABRINA BLATTEIS INTERVIEW BY DINA MANZO PHOTOGRAPHY BY DALEN MUSTER

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any women struggle to create the perfect eyebrows they’ve always dreamed of. Thick, full, maybe even a little darker.

From tweezing at home to waxing at a salon, people have struggled to find the ideal techniques to change the embodiment of their eyebrows while simultaneously keeping a natural look.

However, no matter how many different techniques attempted, there tends to be a flaw found in either the short-term or long-term results. Tweezing may sting and can easily be done incorrectly.

Threading and waxing may cause future hair growth to slow as the hair follicles are pulled at repetitively. Brow extensions are very high maintenance, as they must be done every few weeks and generally apply to special occasions alone. So, this results with individuals asking themselves, “What do I do next?”

The answer is Micro-Feathering, offered by Christine Turner, manager and artist at Vanity Cosmetics. Micro-Feathering, also known as 3-D eyebrows, creates thick, full eyebrows with an astounding, realistic appearance. Lasting about eight to ten months, the results are semi-permanent. The procedure involves using a vegetable pigment on the eyebrows that penetrate only the surface of the skin. They start by sitting you down on a comfortable, reclined chair and put a bit of Emla, a numbing cream, on the skin. Then, they meticulously measure each eyebrow, assuring that they are symmetrical on the face and even to one another. Next, they make a slight outline of the brow with a vegetable pigment offered in many different shades to fit each customer’s desires. Lastly, they use an instrument similar to a tattoo gun to make gentle, fine scratches of a feathering stroke on the bare or discolored areas of the brow. The feathering strokes give an authentic and beautiful appearance of real brow hair for each customer.

For the first seven to ten days after the procedure, the brows will be a bit dark, however, the color fades nicely into each individual’s desired look. There is also a two-week touchup period offered after the procedure, where customers may return to the salon to have their eyebrows checked for even distribution and correct coloring, and will be corrected or enhanced if need be. Those who return are satisfied knowing their eyebrows are or will be exactly as they desired.

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After the procedure, Ms. Turner suggests that clients keep their eyebrows moistened for a couple of weeks for optimal results. She recommends using tea tree or coconut oil and says, “Castor Oil is phenomenal in both healing and natural growth. You can take Castor Oil, mix it with a little aloe vera gel, and then take a mascara brush and apply it on your eyebrows and eyelashes at night. I would say, in about 3-4 weeks you notice a difference. It’s perfect to use after the procedure and even on an every-day basis to thicken your eyelashes and/or eyebrows.” Besides Castor Oil, Christine also suggests using Latisse as another natural remedy to make the eyebrows and eyelashes fuller.

Alongside the shops and restaurants of Ventura Boulevard, Vanity Cosmetics sits in the heart of Sherman Oaks. This chic and contemporary salon is a comfortable oasis where clients relax and enjoy their appointments, and leave pleased with the results.

Christine Turner opened Vanity Cosmetics after working diligently with skincare, eyebrows, and eyelashes for over 13 years. Christine has managed the studio for over 5 years, keeping her principles for beauty a relevant strategy for her and her employees: “When I opened Vanity, I kept my beliefs about beauty foremost in my mind – beauty can be simple, provided that the right tools and skills are accessible.” Christine strives to keep each client satisfied with his or her service by showing focus and attention to detail through each appointment. Whether a haircut and blow-dry or a tweezing of the eyebrows, the employees at Vanity Cosmetics apply themselves with meticulous detail with every service they perform.

Christine’s passion for making her clients look and feel beautiful is represented by her techniques which she has trained her trusted and devoted employees to perform. She is especially proud of her Micro-Feathering brow technique, and her ability to gently create gorgeous and perfect brows for her ever growing list of devotees. By following her passion for beauty and keeping her principles in mind, Christine’s Vanity Cosmetics is a a solid and successful studio where beauty always looks and feels great. thevanitystudio.com

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Daniel Alfonso This ain’t your Grandpa’s barber shop

BY SUZAN BRITTAN INTERVIEW BY MICHELLE HARVEY

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f Benjamin Bratt and Johnny Depp had a mancrush love child… Daniel Alfonso would be that baby. His talent and movie star looks help to create movie star looks. Hailing from the city of our friends up North, no not Vancouver… San Francisco, Alfonso started his creative cuts twenty plus years ago in his parent’s garage while studying for his cosmetology license charging about two to three bucks each. Basically his buds would line up on the sidewalk and throw him their lunch money to get their wild manes tamed by him. Alfonso has come a long way from the surroundings of his garage to his newly opened, uniquely detailed gothic cowboy throne room he rightly titled, Daniel Alfonso Men’s Salon.

His partner in men’s hair care and customer service for the salon is his girlfriend and “sweetheart” Christina whom he met when he first moved to Los Angeles. He gushes, “We’ve been an awesome team, and doing this together, and I couldn’t do it without her.” I’m clearing my throat as I mention his matchless and rare, barbershop chairs that ran him a cool twenty K each.

Eh-hem - thrones indeed. The salon space looks like a retro speakeasy had sex with a gastro-pub inside a gothic nightclub from the late 1800’s in the Wild West. Seriously… it’s ri-dic-u-

lous-ly cool. But, the one of a kind find of a lifetime is the salon’s mascot, a Buffalo head he found while shopping, which visually greets you as you enter. Alfonso reminisces, “The big Buffalo Head... I was shopping with Christina in Old Sacramento – in an old native Indian store and picked it up. (It symbolizes) Strength, prosperity, strong individual.” Clearly he’s the artist; she’s the business boss lady.

Still, he’s the one in charge when it comes to precision cuts and care for some of Hollywood’s elite hunks, VIP business men and just the average trendy hipster wanting to freshly tailor and blend his lumberjack beard. Services of this men’s salon are bar none, on-point and timely: Ombre, Brazilian blow-out, Beard trims, Chemical Relaxers, Shave and a haircut (Not 2 pence), Blends, hair coloring, highlighting, grey coverage and all while you gel and chill-ax with a gratis bourbon on ice or a glass of vino. You can see him ‘hairstyle’ in action on his insanely popular and well music scored YouTube channel - www.youtube. com/user/danielalfonsotv of which he has well over 18 million views. So, I’m in good company with the millions who got lost in the thought of being the one running fingers through some of the male models hair he’s actually making look even better.

Besides Daniel Alfonso’s perfect smile and sexy warm kind eyes, you can’t help but notice the massive tattooed word, “CALIFORNIA” on his right forearm as he sweeps his scissors across his lucky clients heads of hair. His invested ink includes the salon’s rustic styled American Indian Steer skull and scissors logo, some classic Asian themed artwork, a few religious signs, symbols and the words, “Passion” and “Vision” blazed in ink running up toward his left thumb as if it were a life line of daily affirmation adhering to the Laws of Attraction. Clear as day… the letters L-O-V-E are written permanently just below his knuckles on each of his left hand’s fingers and 1979 inked on his right hand’s fingers. It’s a mystery why. But, the pair of scissors tattooed just below his right ear on his neck makes total sense and oddly whimsical amongst the rest. It’s fun to watch him work like Edward Scissor Hands, and almost dance around his clients wielding his sharp as heck Ginsu type Knife scissors, which could carve a dining room table for eight from a Pine Tree in under an hour.

With a namesake salon - must come namesake products.

FOCUS MAGAZINE’S Michelle Harvey had the pleasure of interviewing Alfonso and asked, “If you were to only use one product on a deserted island, what would that product be and why?” His answer might surprise you; “Coconut oil… you can put it on your face, in your hair, drink it… It’s all purpose.”

Harvey follows up, “When can we expect a product line from you and will there be coconut oil in it?” Daniel answered, “There probably will be coconut oil… we are shooting for September 1s t (2016). With this beautiful salon, you need to have your own product line… it’s all about branding and climbing up that ladder.” Harvey inquired about his future plans for his brand and salon for which he mentions hope for opening up in New York City and expanding from there.

Michelle wanted to know what makes the DANIEL ALFONSO MEN’S SALON different from all others. He boasts, “There are so many barber shops in the world; I always wanted to take a step above and take the next step. You can unwind. We have

alcohol. It’s a place you can literally have the ultimate experience.

I cut everyone’s hair like I’m cutting my own hair. My business card is on their head. A compliment to him is a compliment to me.” Plus, how many hair stylists have his good looks, personality, the mind of a marketing maven and great taste in atmosphere and personal fashion. Speaking of, this fashionist-o digs the duds dudes wear and likes to talk about it on his YouTube channel.

Go see.

Gosh, if I were a man right about now, I’d call tomorrow, make an appointment and not blink. As I’m waiting my turn to get coiffed, sitting under the Buffalo head on a plush throne, I’ll sip a low ball of whiskey, look cool and contemplate what I’d look like with a fade and some Ombre tips. When it’s my time in Daniel Alfonso’s twenty thousand dollar horned leather chair, I’ll tell him exactly what I want to look like. Then, he’ll tell me what he would like me to look like and I’ll listen. Do you know why?

Because… he knows better and I’m told I’ll enter as a man and leave feeling and looking like a King. But, since I am a woman who doesn’t get pampered by a famous celebrity hair stylist for men, the best I can do is get my man a gift certificate and treat him like my King.

Daniel Alfonso Men’s Salon 7465 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 323 424-3725 DanielAlfonsoMensSalon.com

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Alchemy 43.

In Your Face Place

BY SUZAN BRITTAN INTERVIEW BY DINA MANZO

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he second you enter into the Alchemy 43 website a pop up window greets you with, “Hello, Gorgeous!”, before continuing to request your email for the latest deals and news on their “Beauty Lab” in Beverly Hills.

Well, ya had me at “Gorgeous”!

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ina Manzo sat down to interview Alchemy 43 founder, Nicci Levy about how her business of BOTOX® and fillers shouldn’t make her clients feel like they are getting filled and filed like most plastic surgeons offices do, but rather have a thorough, comfortable and caring session with one of the licensed injection professionals aka an “Alchemist”. Ms. Levy explains, “I feel like an opportunity was truly being missed in the market to give clients a really wonderful comprehensive experience around getting these treatments. Truthfully, I feel they are being treated like an afterthought everywhere else.” This luxurious environment caters to everyone from soccer moms (and dads), busy executives to High Def scene celebrities.

But don’t worry if you’re in the public eye you won’t be eyed by TMZ when you enter through the Alchemy 43 private back entrance.

Let’s talk about how this name of the storefront came to be.

Levy saw a social media quote from the book, The Alchemist, which sparked an idea for the name of her business. She said, “I researched where the name “Alchemy” came from…

It had a few different ways that it was defined and all of them had so much application to what we do here…

‘A seemingly magical process of transformation combination and creation’… If you think about what we are doing here, we are really trying to restore, rejuvenate really bring people back to a feeling of beauty about themselves - we want people to leave feeling like a better version of themselves.” Oh, and the “43” in the title of the boutique is the number of muscles we have in our face. Great, now I have to go to a gym just for my face.

Has anyone invented that yet…?

Did you know the word “Alchemy” was derived from Old French “alchemist” and Medieval Latin “alchemist” and some other old places with languages that are Greek to me? Basically, alchemy is the ancient practice of mixing metal components into liquid gold, then infusing the gold into drinkable beverages creating the Elixir of Immortality (Yeah, it’s a thing) to enhance life, prolong it - like drinking from a fountain of youth. Well, I’m not going to say that alchemist’s of old had this prophetic concept of using their knowledge to create BOTOX® and Fillers, but they certainly shared the same vision as Allergan, the company who invented this magical wrinkle and age eraser.

Ms. Levy is a highly qualified and knowledgeable owner who’s been in the beauty business since she was nineteen years old. She’s beautified thousands starting as a make-up artist and working her way up through corporate cosmetics at MAC, Nordstrom and at Calvin Klein where she was the Director of Global Sales and Education. When she moved up to injectables, Allergan had a star sales woman with Levy. She was the number one sales rep for BOTOX® and mentions, “It’s the absolute mecca and not surprisingly the highest volume territory (in the United States) for BOTOX®.

My territory was six blocks and saturated and I was personally responsible for (making) over one million in sales quarterly - just in 90210.” Talk about a BOTOX® boom! Think about it - six blocks of women showing no emotions.

Manzo expressed, “Your face is the first thing people see. I have to say, ya know - moving here from the East Coast to Beverly Hills

- for me personally my experience with any kind of plastic surgery has been completely different, there’s really a different vibe out here.

I’m kinda loving what you do, you’re taking away the anxiety behind the overwhelming Beverly Hills plastic surgery - A lot of people are intimidated to go to a Plastic surgeons office, so I love that you’re offering this in a beautiful environment. What makes me so comfortable about you is you know the products inside and out, sold it - trained on this product and (trained) everybody else and know it inside and out. That’s a real comforting feeling you know the inside and out of every product going into the most precious part of your body.” Although Levy isn’t an Alchemy 43 Alchemist, she builds on Manzo’s thought; “I was trained by the people who make the product and know what’s happening in the market.

I don’t inject people myself. It’s a very unique situation to be in... It gives me an advantage, because I’m able to view it objectively, not being the one to actually do the treatments. I can be the one who can focus on the client experience. I’m a user of the products, of course.”

Alchemy 43 isn’t in the business of doing business as usual. It’s a people industry. Levy spells it out, “One of the great things about these huge companies is they spend millions on consumer research. They (the clients) don’t want their faces to freeze… (Where) you can’t tell emotions. BOTOX® relaxes muscle that it’s injected into (it’s not a filler). BOTOX® is far and away the most common aesthetic treatment in the world. Last year alone there were 6.8 million BOTOX® procedures - cosmetic only - in the United States. BOTOX® is one of the most studied drugs in the world for a variety of therapeutic uses. Migraines, sweating, we don’t do that here, even children with cerebral palsy receive this drug receive thousands and thousands of units. The face only gets a few hundred or so. We are strictly beauty, not therapeutic - upper face, around the eyes, forehead lines.

Preventative measure.”

Text focus to 313131 to watch this Ya know what else is cool? At focusmag.us/tv/alchemy43 Alchemy 43, after sitting in a peaceful private waiting room to fill out your intake forms, they escort you into a secluded high-tech treatment room where they take pictures of your face and use 3-D imaging software to show you what your face will look like after your treatments. Those images are thoroughly reviewed and with your very own Alchemist continue to create an exclusive plan and treatment. After your injectables are injected, you are placed in another fabulous room to receive ice and oxygen therapy to calm your skin. The staff even does a follow up email to check on your healing status. I can’t imagine why you’d ever want to visit a sterile surgeons office again after experiencing the pampering and privacy of Alchemy 43. Nicci Levy thought of everything, well, except for a Face Gym… I’m sure that’s in the works too. alchemy43.com @alchemy43

focusmag.us 19

Blossom Atelier Brings Unique Boutique Concept To LA Beauty Meets Art, Fashion and Home Decor in this One-of-a-Kind Community Collective

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S

anta Monica’s Main Street is no stranger to fashion boutiques, beauty salons or art galleries, but never has the popular Westside shopping destination seen a storefront that brings all of these elements, and much more, together under one roof until now.

Blossom, located at 2823 Main Street in Santa Monica, is a curated bohemian atelier where boho meets vintage chic in a unique blend of art, beauty, fashion and home decor that satiates the savviest of eclectic shoppers and creatives alike. Founded by two local artists who wanted to curate a space that inspires creativity and community, Blossom is also an artist’s collective that hosts capsule shows and workshops at little or no charge.

Jaime Leonard, a fashion designer and high profile hair and makeup artist who has worked with Sienna Miller, Matt Damon, Charlie Rose, Mark Zuckerberg and many more, shared the Blossom concept just this Spring with her friend and fellow

artist, Gilena Simons. Gilena, a contemporary art collector and MOCA committee member, whose creative passions lie in vintage assemblages and textiles, knew the minute Jamie explained it, that Blossom was her dream realized, too.

“Our vision was to meld all of our interests into one concept, bringing people together not just to shop, but to allow their passions and creativity to be invigorated,” says Gilena. “It’s so important to us that each client leave feeling inspired and like the best version of him or herself...if they’re rocking some vintage jeans and a kimono on the way out, that’s just the icing on the cake,” adds Jamie.

Accommodations include an impeccable vintage shop carefully curated with fashion and home decor from Jamie and Gilena’s personal collections and a loft space for community events and workshops. The single chair beauty studio is fit for a queen (or king), complete with a mirrored wall, vintage hair accessories and helmed by Jamie, who invites her clients to select the kimono robe of their choice.

Blossom’s interiors are constructed of reclaimed wood from a burning Korean ship (representing success) and an

opposing wall featuring contemporary stone tile, the vision being a juxtaposition of past and future. An art wall is constantly evolving with thematic décor and inspiration.

Clients are welcome to browse the bevy of beauty brands on hand, shop Blossom’s vintage collectables for the perfect gift complete with gratis vintage ribbon and bow wrapping, or even treat themselves to a fashion styling consultation by Jamie and Gilena.

Blossom 2823 Main Street in Santa Monica Twitter: @BlossomAtelier Instagram: @BlossomAtelier Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlossomAtelier focusmag.us 21

trussedfun’d babies

U

pon first glance, Aleia Ramsey and Effie Tanji appear like total opposites.

Aleia is a towering five feet eleven and a half inches tall with an unapologetic afro and Caribbean good looks that would make Billy Ocean swoon. She’s a self-proclaimed valley girl, having spent most of her life in the shadows of the Santa Monica Mountains. She has an easy way of disarming men, women, and children with her infectious laugh. And, oh yeah, she does a mean Kanye impression.

For real.

Effie hails from the east. She has an air of puritan reserve in her demeanor that shocks the onlooker the minute she opens her mouth and reveals what’s really on her mind: she loves her children, worries about the state of education in America and believes whole heartedly that moms do not have to succumb to mom jeans and mom brains. Born and bred on a tiny parcel of land in Pennsylvania that included a bank, an elementary school, a dairy farm, a cement plant, a nuclear power plant, and a strip club, Effie never quite felt like she belonged. Just shy of

22 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2 0 1 6

her twentieth birthday, she went as far away from home as she could get without having to use her passport.

LOS ANGELES This is where trussedfun’d begins. Some how, some way two struggling actresses found themselves working at the Grove in Anthropologie and it was friend at first sight. They gushed over each other’s unconventional style.

They talked shop: Chekov, Ibsen, Marni, Lagerfeld.

They were sisters from another mister and they knew they had to collaborate.

It would take almost a decade for that collaboration to see the light of day. In 2014, just after Effie’s second child Niko was born, the two women decided to take matters into their own hands. Upon the urging of a friend, they decided to get into the jewelry biz. And trussedfun’d was born. The women behind trussedfun’d started out wanting to create affordable jewelry that wears like luxury. A brand that is design-centric, handmade, and authentic. They never set out to reinvent the wheel. But in staying true to their mission, they have stumbled upon endless opportunities to take jewelry beyond just a pretty face and give it some depth. It isn’t a religion, it isn’t even a philosophy. It’s a verb that’s a noun that’s a movement: its love.

The basis for the entire company. trussedfun’d is coming upon it’s first birthday and this unlikely pair couldn’t be more proud of their baby. Aleia approaches design from an organic, avant garde bohemian aesthetic while Effie spends countless hours studying the inherent symmetry in nature and its stunning effects. The result: design that is precisely skewed with an unwavering message of love; and if you look closely, an easy sense of style that doesn’t take itself too seriously. trussedfun’d have pledged a commitment to community service. Meaning the community that surrounds their Los Angeles studio as well as the community at large. They support local public schools, Alex’s Lemonade Stand and Makeovers That Matter. Their latest efforts will see a portion of their profits going to A Place Called Home, a non-profit in south central LA dedicated to empowering children to develop the tools they need to have fulfilling successful lives. trussedfun’d feels that’s a compelling enough reason to keep creating, if only to support such a worthy cause.

So what does the future look like for this fledgling company?

A revamp of their website, the launch of their exciting fall collection, a collaboration with power players in the world of mommy and me custom jewelry, and a strengthening partnership that feels more like an adventure every day! trussedfund.com @trussedfund instagram

“My click through rate on print ads is approximately 100%.”

– Barry Sullivan, CNBC

ADVERTISE IN FOCUS MAGAZINE Transparent pricing. No long term commitments, and no pressure. To reserve a space, email: sales@focusmag.us

focusmag.us 23

The Best-Kept Celebrity Beauty Secret Resides In Brentwood LISA GOODMAN of GoodSkin LA is changing the

game as one of the new stars in anti-aging.

BY SABRINA BLATTEIS

M

ost man-made alterations (celebrity or not) are often equated with overly obvious, plain and simply put, “bad work.” Adding to any further reservations, there’s also a lion’s share of celebrated experts in the field of aesthetics who claim to be all about a more “natural approach” yet look rather questionable themselves?

However, for each walking episode of Botched is another side of the coin. Someone who's invested thousands of dollars to medically enhance their face and skin, except your brain subconsciously scans them as seemingly “natural beauties.”

But how is that possible given today’s scrutinizing terminator style detection process that continues to wage the war of “real” versus “fake?”

To every one starlet that’s predictably replied “diet, exercise, and a good moisturizer” as some sort of anti-aging "secret" explained away a "Japanese potato" or cited a different makeup artist’s technique for their new found attractiveness, there still remains that special sect of woman (and men!) who manage to completely fly under the radar.

The frustrating fact remains, many of those who HAVE really good work done, won’t cop to getting anything done at all, and a celebrity crediting someone in his or her fountain of youth rolodex (other than their favorite facialist or “go-to” hair colorist) is not going to happen either.

Well, consider this your golden ticket…. One of the gatekeepers to this never-never-land community is named Lisa Goodman, and her practice goes by the moniker GoodSkin LA. Inside a glass-windowed office building located on Brentwood’s bustling stretch of San Vicente Blvd, GoodSkin LA would be accurately described as intimate and personal. There’s no sprawling sitting area with infinity marble floors as one might expect and to this effect Lisa Goodman says, “The concept of getting work done is intimidating and frightening enough as it is, at the very least, I want people to experience complete and utter privacy, which is why I only book one client at a time.”

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Back in 2015, Lisa Goodman opened the doors of GoodSkin LA after serving as the lead P.A for 9 years at the office of the notoriously respected Doctor Shamban in Santa Monica, (she even had a rumored segue over to Dr. Lancer in Beverly Hills, however she declined to confirm or discuss). Goodman unassumingly admits to having no expectations when creating her own beauty destination, which has evolved into a cult following grown from a very anti-publicized and organic timeline.

“I’d prefer to let my work speak for itself, and if I’m lucky, someone will, a) be brave enough to admit that they had work done, and b) mention that I’m the one who did it. I’ve been very lucky in that sense”, says Goodman. Very lucky indeed, since plastic surgery of any kind is still not widely embraced, let alone spoken about. “There’s still this veil of secrecy, some people really want to take it to the grave. I have patients that don’t even tell their husbands or best friends that they’ve gotten anything done, and they get away with it!”

Born to a mother with Vitiligo, a disease causing the loss of skin pigment in certain areas of the body, and citing her own physical insecurities as a sort of “guiding light”, she found herself drawn to the human exterior from a young age.

Goodman’s approach to turning back the hands of time is refreshingly thorough with her in-depth evaluations and initial $350 consultation sessions for new clients, typically lasting around 90 minutes.

You're asked to bring in pictures of your younger self, parents, and grandparents for Goodman to study. Faces, necks, décolletages, and hands then get examined from a genetic perspective of aging and become immortalized with "before" photos via a multitude of unrealized angles.

Then, Goodman directs you into performing an infinite amount of exaggerated expressions while she tugs, pokes, and pulls you in various directions to see what your current visage can endure, and how it individually reacts to her touch.

After an in-person inquisition of lifestyle habits and a medicine cabinet raid, Goodman goes through a step by step process of exactly how you’re going to age, why, and the age you’re going to be when the fault lines start to crack and sag. Then, together, you concoct a realistic plan and a personalized formula that serves as the blueprint for your beautification preservation.

Her unorthodox approach began studying alongside some of most illustrious European surgeons in the world, in which she still continues to study under. “It’s an ever evolving industry, and you have to stay on the cutting edge.” Says Goodman. “The French are the real pioneers of anti-aging treatments, and their results are based on being natural and subtle looking. Woman over there who are 40 are happy to be their age, they don’t want to look like young girls, they just want to look like the best version of 40. They’re not into a trout-pouts or botox induced startled expressions”.

Focus LA

The App

On how much she actually alters people’s physical characteristics? Goodman answers, “The golden ratio of bigger eyes, smaller nose, bigger lips, a more narrow jawline (on a female, for men it’s the exact opposite) is a mathematical proportion and scale of desirability, but I don’t want to take away someone’s individual beauty identity, and what makes them unique. When you start eliminating that, you end up with this whole new identifiable sub-culture of woman, who end up baring a striking resemblance to one another, although they’re not actually genetically related. It’s unsettling and it’s a disservice to the industry itself. Unfortunately it serves as the “poster-child” for most procedures. It’s not fair to see work before the person, ever” says Goodman.

One thing that’s evident is that she’s adopted her very own stepby-step process, “I put my own spin on it. My patients tell me that’s one of the reasons they love my work: the “secret sauce” so to speak. The pillar of my practice is all about customization and treating patients as a whole, and when I say ‘whole’ I mean: upper face, lower face, mid face, neck, chest and hands. It all has to blend together for that highly coveted untouched look. It’s a very “model off duty” result, effortlessly stunning. Great work is the new “no-makeup” makeup and trust me, it’s not remotely possible no matter how many scrubs and rubs and eyebrows shaping’s you get to not age. It’s all about getting good work, and yes, good work is hard to find.”

11980 San Vicente Blvd | Suite 621 310 400-6534 goodskin.la focusmag.us 25

<<FOCUS REWIND First published – June 2014

Unplug Meditation SUZE YALOF SCHWARTZ has taken the mystery, (and the mysticism), out of meditation. She believes that

everyone needs a quiet space to unwind for a few minutes, before they rejoin their hectic schedules.

BY KALEIGH WALKER

You were referred to as “The Fairy Godmother of Makeovers” by the New York Times, and worked for some of the trendiest fashion magazines on newsstands today. How did you get from fashion to owning your own meditation studio?

I was doing makeovers for Suze Yalof Schwartz Glamour for about 14 years and I loved my job. My husband wanted to move to California, so he dared me, and I said yes.

I was going back and forth to New York doing fashion and I was stressed! My mother-in-law suggested that I meditate. I went to try to find a place to meditate and I could not find one that wasn’t a huge commitment, that fit my schedule, or that was “chic” in a way. So I thought “I need to do this! I need to build this!” I started taking all of these classes, and the more classes I took, the more I realized there was a real need for Unplug Meditation.

Browse through the artfully curated selection, just outside the mediation studio, with trainer’s book choices, specially crafted handmade mugs and tshirts. It’s an ideal way to continue the process of unwinding.

What is a typical class like?

It’s always a different experience depending on which class type you take and that’s the beauty of meditation. I’m really fortunate that I have instructors that are holding the bar at a high level.

But we’re not bringing Buddhists into the room, we’re not bringing Sanskrit into the room. We’re trying to make it accessible, relatable, and affordable for as many people as possible.

and you will learn so much. The more I just went for it and did it, the more I realized it’s really not that hard.

What were some of the difficulties you faced when opening Unplug Meditation?

When I filed my LLC, it was “Unplug Meditation,” but the company that filed it for me wrote “Unplug Mediation.” I waited six months to find out that I had to re-file the whole thing. So what I’ve learned, the What is something you can hard way, is to pay attention to share with those people that all of the details. Listen to your are skeptical about trying out gut and take the time to stop and meditation? focus on what you are doing, Meditation has taught me how to because when you glaze over press the pause button internally. everything, a lot of mistakes can A lot of people are living in the happen. future and it stresses them out, or they are living in the past and What are some inspirational they get a little bit depressed. words you would give someone But when you are in the present who is interested in opening up moment, you are in the zone. their own business?

And getting in the zone is when Ask yourself, would you rather you are at your best. The truth say “Oh well” or “What if?” is, the present is all we have. So Because for me “Oh well” is How did you come up with the meditation has taught me to much better than “What if.” aesthetic of Unplug? make the most of right now. And I’m living it, I’m breathing it, I started looking at pictures the more you meditate, the more I’m doing it. I came up with an on Pinterest and through that, you realize just how limitless idea and I’m executing it. There I really came up with a game you are. will be zero regrets. The trick plan and strategy. I went to is to not be overwhelmed by IKEA and a lot of the stuff that You were so successful in your everything you have to do, but to you are seeing is from there. fashion career, but you didn’t say to yourself “I get to do it.” Do For instance, the front desk is have a lot of experience opening not be afraid, put fear away and actually a kitchen cabinet but we up your own business, right? just go forward. created the front panel to make I had zero experience opening up it look more like a desk. I was my own business, all I had was also inspired by James Turrell, an idea. But someone said to me, an artist who deals with light, so the way to learn about business is the room has a purple hue that to just learn as you go along. And automatically just makes you feel opening up your own business relaxed. is like going to business school

Watch the full video interview at focusmag.us/unplug

unplug meditation 12401 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 101, Los Angeles, CA 90025 T: (310) 826-8899 unplugmeditation.com

focusmag.us 27

Master of The Universe Mr Universe CALUM VON MOGER broadens his world, and makes the move from a small town in Australia to join the stars in Los Angeles.

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<<FOCUS REWIND First published – June 2015

A

s the current Mr. Universe title holder, Calum von Moger hit the world stage upon winning the title in June of 2014. Calum hails from Australia, is 24 years old, and is being touted as the next Arnold. With a goal to build his physique in the style of the greats from the 60’s and 70’s, Calum is charting his own path and is quickly becoming an international fan favorite in the fitness and bodybuilding industry.

As you may guess, choosing apparel for Calum is not a simple task. He is 6’2”, weighs 245 pounds, his bicep measures 20 inches, and his thigh measures in at 26 inches.

Yet, Calum loves fashion and is always on the look out for just the perfect apparel line that will fit his superman sized body. Calum’s daily attire is typically fitness apparel, however often you will see Calum out in a french cuff shirt with Versace cuff links or his custom designed blazer with Mr. Universe stitched under the collar. Calum has already been the cover model for several fitness magazines. Having the ultimate dream physique and looks that will make you blush, the fashion industry is calling!

In the fall of 2014, Calum moved to Los Angeles to pursue various business prospects and expand his ever growing global brand. He is staying busy training to defend his title this upcoming June at the Mr. Universe competition in Marseille, France. You may catch him training down at Muscle Beach in Venice or at one of the gyms on the West side.

Los Angeles is the place where dreams come true, and Calum is taking it all in just as fast as he can. Not only does Calum spend time at the beach or hiking in the Santa Monica mountains, Calum is studying acting and ideally would love to play a role that features action heroes, Vikings and big battle scenes. With a sincere charisma and natural swagger that intoxicates, Calum is pure gold! He criss-crosses between the entertainment and fitness industries flawlessly and creates a buzz anywhere he goes.

Calum has developed one of the fastest growing apps in the fitness industry –Calum von Moger Fitness – and he is working as a brand ambassador for several corporate campaigns. He regularly makes appearances at fitness events around the world and is invited to speak to young people about health and fitness while encouraging them to dream big, work hard, stay disciplined.

Growing up on a small hobby farm outside of Melbourne, Australia, Calum’s family grew most of the foods they ate. This undoubtedly helped build his physique into what we see today. He continues to eat clean and realizes this is what helps him keep the edge. Occasionally, you will see Calum with a pizza or burger, but with a fast metabolism and maintaining a 3500-5000 calorie per day diet, he can afford a treat now and then.

Calum often shares his golden rule about training and fitness. He is quoted saying “Above all, if you want to stand out you have to put in the hard yards. Don’t be afraid to push yourself beyond your physical limits, don’t be afraid to fail as long as you’re willing to get back up and have another go. Challenge yourself mentally as much as you do physically. Your mind will always give up before your muscles. Tell yourself when you’ve had enough, that you’re not finished yet! Never worry about what anyone else is doing, focus on yourself and your goals. Lastly, whatever you do, do it with CONFIDENCE. Be happy, be positive and smile”.

Be on the look out for this rising star!

CALUM’S TRAINING TIPS • Consistency is key - schedule your trainings and make them a priority.

• Set goals, write them down, keep them in front of you every day.

• Always push until muscle fatigue, that is where you start to see the results.

• When training be sure to always stretch, keep good form, use full range of motion.

•

It’s best to start with compound exercises – exercises which target multiple areas of the body at the same time, rather than just isolating one zone.

•

Barbell curls are a great exercise to start an arms workout – you have to employ coordination and balance. It helps you develop your core and overall strength.

•

To build a stellar back, it’s essential that you flex and squeeze each muscle. at the peak of every rep. Isometric exercise – like flexing a muscle. for a count of 5 before releasing – helps activate and fatigue the muscle.

That builds mass and definition.

• Always finish your training strong.

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/tv/mruniverse

calumvonmoger.com @calumvonmoger focusmag.us 29

Heather McDonald and Alex Wehrley

Kim Rocco Shields and Alex Wehrley

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#Empowerista

Showcasing ambitious, confident and inspiring women, their journeys and life’s work.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DALEN MUSTER

I

n a society which tells women who they should be, we want to celebrate women who dare to be who they want to be. These are women who have broken barriers, stereotypes and even their own limitations. And in return, they’re inspiring other women to do the same.

Each week #Empowerista by Alex Wehrley and Focus Magazine bring you video interviews with empowered women. Now together on Thursday, October 27th, we will celebrate them at the 2016 Empowerista Awards, broadcasted live on FilmOn TV from the Hologram USA Theater in Hollywood.

Here is a small sample of the empowered women we feature weekly (FocusMag.us/Empowerista) and will celebrate at the #Empowerista Awards: You probably saw Heather McDonald on E!’s Chelsea Lately, and now you can find her doing stand-up around the country and bringing you weekly giggles on her podcast, Juicy Scoop.

Heather says despite being in a male dominated industry, it’s never been a better time to be a female comic.

Lauryn Evarts, the influencer behind The Skinny Confidential says it was the pursuit of fulfillment and freedom that made her ditch her bartending life to start building an online empire. She is happy she started with the narrow niche of fitness and added more lifestyle categories to her blog as it grew. This confident bombshell isn’t afraid to show her authentic struggles, like the pressure that comes with being in the public eye and having boundaries with her fiance who also doubles as her business partner. Being you and staying in your own lane are two of the mottos she lives by.

Nia Sanchez, Miss USA 2014, co-founder of Universal Confidence and an ambassador for taekwondo, tells us about her early pageant years when she wasn’t being true to her authentic self. The influence of others negatively impacted her performance. After taking a year off to focus on self-discovery and inner confidence, Nia came back to the pageant world, won Miss Nevada USA and Miss USA and placed 1st runner-up at Miss Universe.

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/empowerista

Laurel House, a dating coach seen on E!’s Famously Single, empowers women to date in an empowered way. In her interview, she explains every woman needs to feel safe, sexy and seen. She also breaks down the difference between your wants and your needs, so you can “date on purpose” -- or in other words, communicate who you are and what you’re looking for.

When it comes to a first date, she says the goal is to create a connection (not necessarily chemistry!) by being yourself.

Despite being a young, female, first-time founder in the male dominated tech industry, Tiffany Hakimianpour had the passion, perseverance and patience to bring her revolutionary fitness app into fruition. The idea of on-demand technology for personal trainers was born when she paid thousands of dollars for a personal trainer only to find out her trainer was only making $20 per session. Because fitness training changed her life, she wanted to make it more accessible and affordable for customers and more lucrative for the trainers.

Kim Rocco Shields changes the way we view the LGBT community through her film Love Is All You Need? The awardwinning feature film started out as a short. Many people told her a dramatic film about straight people living in a gay world wouldn’t work, but after it got over 20 million hits and went viral in many countries, Kim knew she was on to something, inspiring her to make the full feature. Rocco says empathy is the most powerful tool to drive the message of abolishing prejudice and bullying.

A bit more about the woman behind Empowerista...

The founder of Empowerista, Alex Wehrley, is a TV host seen co-hosting for E!, ABC red carpets and the Miss USA telecast. Los Angeles Business Journal honored Alex on their “20 in their Twenties” list of most successful entrepreneurs for Empowerista, her media movement and mentorship program to empower women to embrace their individuality, discover their purpose, speak up, take action, and ultimately, tell their best and truest story.

http://focusmag.us/empowerista

focusmag.us 31

Laurel House and Alex Wehrley

Lauryn Evarts and Alex Wehrley

Nia Sanchez and Alex Wehrley

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PRESENTS

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Alex Wehrley

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Eden Sasso on focusmag.us 33

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FOCUS ON: CALIFORNIA’S BEST BOUTIQUE HOTELS

A New Hidden Gem in Southern Cali: The Ranch at Laguna Beach STORY AND IMAGES BY WENDY BROKAW KRETCHMER

W

ho doesn’t love staying at a magnificent five-star hotel when they travel? We are all enamored with the grandiosity of it all, including the stellar atmosphere, the service, and the amenities. In all honestly, I also crave a one-of-a kind experience when I travel. In my new column, “Focus On: California’s Best Boutique Hotels”, I have decided to focus on amazing boutique hotels that bring you luxury yet with a more personal experience.

on the property is the TreeHouse, which is a special, one-of-akind accommodation. This 1600 square foot home consists of two bedrooms and three bathrooms all beautifully put together with an abundance of space. There is a gourmet kitchen and several entertaining spaces including a wrap-around patio with unforgettable views.

The grounds are gorgeous and newly landscaped with a historic nine-hole golf course. Overlooking the course is a casual outdoor restaurant, The Harvest Patio, serving incredibly delicious meals.

The exceptional food combined with the jaw-dropping views of the canyon and golf course makes for a miraculous atmosphere. There In this issue, I explore a new boutique hotel located in the seaside are several banquet-facilities and a main dining room that also resort area of Laguna Beach. Although Laguna has The Montage, I offer these stunning views. searched for something a little more personal, yet still special and Laguna is always buzzing with certainly luxurious. Despite what you may think, it’s not that easy tons to do such as tanning to find a five-star level, luxury boutique hotel in the area. Laguna’s on the beaches, dining at the answer to this problem is The Ranch at Laguna Beach. This newly restaurants, shopping on the renovated “nature meets resort” hotel is truly a hidden gem! This bustling streets, hiking down place is rustic yet gorgeous and chic. The hotel is situated at the the long trails and much more. beach yet tucked into the beautiful Aliso Canyon, surrounded You can enjoy the actions and by mountains on three sides. The incredible scenery gives you a activities of Laguna and then feeling of serenity and privacy and certainly endless natural beauty. retreat to the comfort and Text focus to 313131 to watch this As such, you may see an occasional deer or two roaming the tranquility at The Ranch. This focusmag.us/tv/ranchlaguna property. is truly a unique property.

The atmosphere in the rooms feels similar to a beach cottage. You feel like you are walking into someone’s opulent guest room or guesthouse. The spacious rooms with vaulted ceilings are a perfect mixture of luxury and comfort. Upstairs, there are two private bedrooms, one with a king size bed and the other with a queen, plus a grand, luxurious bathroom. Downstairs is a kitchen/dining room, half bathroom, and large living room with a queen-sized pullout bed! The bed and comforter are incredibly soft and cozy.

It’s nearly impossible to find a luxury hotel that can accommodate a large family in one space. The two-bedroom cottage feels like a home away from home! Of course there are one-bedroom options available on the property too, however, the pièce de résistance

Wendy Brokaw Kretchmer is Sr. Editor + Travel Editor at Focus Magazine who loves getting lost and exploring the world to bring her discoveries to you. Have a travel destination, hotel, activity, service or product you would like us to promote??

Where to find Wendy: Wendy@focusmag.us | Instagram: @wendbrokaw

theranchlb.com (800) 223-3309 focusmag.us 35

Focus TV Shows

Content Served Focus TV is looking for outgoing, interesting presenters to create 5-10 minute weekly shows for our Focus TV network. The subjects can range from current affairs, to fitness, healthy lifestyle topics, design and sports.

If you have an idea for a show, please email editor@focusmag.us and we will get in touch with you.

These are some of the shows that we currently produce.

Empowerista Each week #Empowerista by Alex Wehrley brings you interviews with empowered women around Los Angeles from a wide range of industries, talking about their unique journey and success secrets.

What they all have in common is: ambition, purpose, confidence and empowerment.

Guests include, among others, Eden Sassoon, Heather McDonald, Lauren Gores-Ireland, Lauryn Evarts and Danielle Cuccio.

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Focus Events Each week there are dozens of newsworthy events, either for charities, store openings or high profile gatherings. Focus Events aims to cover these events with enthusiastic presenters and interviewers. Please let us know if you wish to be considered.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Good Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Good is a weekly show hosted by Amy Paffrath and Justin Walter. Each week, they talk about feel good news stories, positive vibes, world changers and good samaritans. Recent guest stars included Kristin Brockman from Hollywood Today Live and Laura Linda Bradley from The Laura Show.

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Through the Looking Glass of Philanthropy Louis C. Lucido’s passion for philanthropy is inspirational and admirable as he continues his never-ending journey to support others.

BY SABRINA BLATTEIS INTERVIEW BY TAMBI SAFFRAN

Philanthropy: “The altruistic concern for human welfare and advancement.”

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he definition of philanthropy is a parallel to the goals and principles of Louis Lucido. Born in Brooklyn, Louis (Lou) learned of the hardships endured by his father when immigrating to America. His father struggled with the English dialect and with the prejudice against his Italian descent, so when Louis and his siblings were born, his parents decided to only teach the children English. His mother, whose parents were French-Canadians, and Italian father refused to speak their native languages in the household, hoping to steer their children away from the hardships they experienced.

Understanding his parents’ grievances, he can identify with his father’s former pain, allowing him to connect with those less fortunate and anyone struggling to succeed. His relentless and magnanimous empathy for all has inspired his devotion to philanthropy.

While his father’s strain from discrimination led Lou to philanthropic works, a strong education made Lou’s journey to financial success a reality. Lou stated: “In my personal opinion, education is the great barrier changer and has the single most impact in changing the outcome of a person’s life. To be involved with philanthropic organizations involved in teaching kids how to balance their life or how to understand financial responsibility is empowering.”

After starting his career in finance, he could understand the necessity of an education at a whole new level. At this point in his life, Lou’s desire to cultivate and teach the less fortunate inevitably advanced.

Before becoming involved in philanthropy, though, Lou had been in New York when his cousin was diagnosed with Lupus disease. Seeing Lou’s potential greatness and empathy for others, his cousin encouraged him to pursue the field of finance. Lou subsequently received his MBA in Management and Finance from New York University and became a member of the Dean’s Executive Board of the N.Y.U. Stern School of Business. Receiving this additional education in business and finance helped Lou further his career and enabled him to take

his knowledge and use it for something admirable, something creative, something helpful.

He began his career in 1969 at the First National City Bank in the Trust Department, where he was taught a diligent work ethic and the two most critical elements to becoming successful.

According to Louis, it is essential to have an “inquisitive mind and a big imagination.” After discovering these two elements, Lou was led down a journey of prosperity, ultimately extending through his philanthropic efforts.

After working in New York for about 32 years, Louis relocated to Los Angeles. He joined an investment firm in 2001 and subsequently became a founding member in 2009 of the successful investment company, DoubleLine Capital, L.P. Once established in Los Angeles, Louis became enraptured in bettering the community in which he worked and lived.

His first foray in LA was to help promote and undertake the renovation of a home for the Habitat for Humanity, based upon a commitment made to one of his employees, Allyson Pfeifer, who went on to manage the project. The second area of involvement was to sponsor an inner-city school for a Junior Achievement (JA) Southern California education program.

JA’s mission is to “inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy.” The organization teaches entrepreneurship, financial credibility, and diligent work ethics necessary to thrive in a global economy. Louis and the mentors at JA teach young

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people the necessity for an education. By participating and contributing to the leadership within Junior Achievement, Lou works to establish a foundation for the children’s long-term success. In June of 2013 Louis was elected to the board of JA. In December of 2012, a colleague of his, Paul Deitch, introduced him to CASA LA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) by having him attend a session in the Edelman Childen’s Court, at which time he saw how the CASA volunteers represented the foster care children in the dependency system. CASA promotes volunteer advocacy, & helps represent the approximate 32,000 children within the foster care system within LA County. Since February of 2013, Lou has served as a member of the Board of Directors and today is the chairman of the organization.

In 2013, Louis became a board member at 826 LA, teaching creative writing and personal expression. The non-profit writing and tutoring organization supports students between the ages of 6 and 18 and helps teachers inspire the creative and expository writing skills of their students.

After being introduced to the leadership of the Alliance for Lupus Research (ALR) , which has subsequently evolved into the Lupus Research Alliance (LRA), Lou became an active fundraiser for their research efforts by co-chairing their Annual Walk to Cure Lupus. Lou’s inspiration for becoming involved, and has recently become a national board member for LRA, was the tragic passing of his cousin, Louis LaBruzzo, who succumbed to Lupus. He was elected to the national board of the organization based upon his developing longstanding relationships with the researchers and helping to create an atmosphere eager to learn and understand more about the disease and its treatments.

By participating and assisting in these non-profit organizations, Lou was inspired to create an event to advance children’s educational foundation. Lou and his partners have spent a significant amount of time meticulously planning and executing each detail of the event. Lou postured that if several individual charities came together then “the charities would work together in harmony, potentially raising more money than one organization could do on its own.”

The “We Are LA Family Music Festival” takes place September 17th, 2016 and includes CASA Los Angeles, 826 Los Angeles, Junior Achievement, and many more charitable organizations.

The Festival is a day of music and interactive, educational

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activities as Rhythm Child, The Family Jam Band, and Lucky Diaz are just a few bands performing at the event. Other events like exploring The National Park Service, face-painting with makeup artists, playing field-games, and visiting animals from Star Eco Station are also available to afford children the fun they deserve.

Louis C. Lucido has taken his incredible passion for philanthropy a step further with this enjoyable, fund-raising event. Through his selfless and powerful desire to help others and his grand devotion to educating the less fortunate, Lou is society’s philanthropic model of 2016.

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/loulucido

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Health and Happiness to a Whole New Level The RENEW JUICERY WELLNESS CENTER promotes a healthy lifestyle through juice, cleanses, and cryotherapy.

BY SABRINA BLATTEIS INTERVIEW BY DINA MANZO

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inding that perfect balance between health and happiness can be challenging as individuals search for new and unique ways to live a healthy lifestyle. The good news is that the Renew Juicery Wellness Center is now open and located on Washington Boulevard in Los Angeles. The Wellness Center not only offers organic, cold-pressed juices and raw handmade almond “mylk”, but also offers cryotherapy to promote a more wholesome, happy life.

The Center uses a hydraulic press to apply 4000 tons of pressure onto the fresh fruit and vegetables to extract the delicious juice with all its nutrients. The staff of the Wellness Center ensures that each and every juice contains the maximum amount of nutrition possible through this technique. No additional heat or oxygen is used throughout the process so no nutrients are lost through heat or oxidation. The juice itself contains particular roots and medicinal herbs, making the cold drinks both unique and delicious. Carrot root, turmeric root, and astragalus root are just three of the many nutritional herbs found in the juices. The herbs can lower cortisol levels (also known as the stress hormone), boost your immune system, fight infections and diseases, reduce inflammation, and much more. One of my favorites is the Heart Happy juice, which includes beet roots, known to lower blood pressure, increase blood flow, and improve athletic performance; however, there are many selections, each of which have different nutritional and emotional benefits. You will definitely want to try them all.

After tasting the juices, you’ll be ready for a real detox and cleanse. Renew Juicery proudly features both the Renew Cleanse and the Beauty Cleanse, each offering im-mediate and longterm beneficiaries through all preselected juices. There is a 3-Day, 5-Day, and 7-Day cleanse available, allowing customers to choose the specific cleanse that feels just right for them.

Each day of the cleanse consists of about 6 juices. It is advised to start each morning with warm water and lemon to serve as an alkaline, balancing the body’s pH levels. The cleanse then offers an organic, cold-pressed juice, a vegan raw lunch, and a “superfood milkshake”. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and even desserts are offered for each day on the cleanse, providing each customer the satisfaction and the happy, healthy feeling he or she deserves. Each cleanse has impressive results such as promoting skincare, boosting collagen production, speeding metabolisms, reducing inflammation, increasing energy, and

ensuring a stable sleep-cycle. Not only do the cleanses have incredible affects on health but the Wellness Center also offers medical therapy to further the happiness of each customer.

The cryotherapy cold ‘sauna’ offered here set this juicery miles apart from all other juice companies. The sauna uses extremely low temperatures, about -240 degrees Celsius, for medical therapy. From reducing inflammation to healing chronic pains, the immediate benefits that come from just three minutes in the sauna are astonishing. Cryotherapy can boost one’s sleep cycle, boost collagen production, and instantly boost energy levels.

This cold sauna is a perfect place to step into after a delicious sip of cold-pressed juice at the Renew Juicery Wellness Center.

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/renewjuicery

renewjuicery.com

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EXCLUSIVE FEATURE

Really Real with Courtney Friel

BY SUZAN BRITTAN INTERVIEW BY ALEX WEHRLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY DANA ADAMS

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emember when your mother warned you, “You can’t judge a book by its cover?” This statement never rang truer I found out as I dove into the world of COURTNEY FRIEL. To look at this fantastic picture of a successful American beauty, KTLA News anchor, journalist and reporter, you’d never guess how much pain she held on to for most of her life. And it wasn’t the pain that hurt her the most, but the way she swallowed it with drugs and alcohol. There’s a certain type of woman who can carry that amount of personal stress, ache and static and still deliver flawlessly on a professional performance and promise. She’s driven and dedicated. But, when it all got to be too much to handle by herself, she did the responsible thing to save her own life.

alcohol together as a lethal mix such as, Anna Nicole Smith, Heath Ledger, DJ AM, Amy Winehouse and Whitney Houston. She didn’t want to be on that list, or a statistic. Friel warned her future self; “I’m just not gonna wake up one day. I was thinking I would get caught if I bought coke on the street and lose my job and the New York Post rips those people (public figures) apart.”

FOCUS MAGAZINE was granted an exclusive on-camera interview regarding Friel’s drug and alcohol abuse and almost seven-year sobriety. Let’s go back. In her own words, “I grew up, really, really shy and people took that as being snooty. People are mean. I was bullied. Alcoholism runs in my family. When I discovered alcohol I got to ‘numb that out’ and become this really funny and out going person. I didn’t understand the point of having one glass of vodka… you drank to get drunk.” She kept it going. As long as there was pain, there was vodka to self medicate.

Her children, 5 ½ year old son Cash and 4 year old daughter Cameron were also life saving factors, which help her stick to her promise of sobriety. Friel says, “Eight months into my sobriety I got pregnant with my son after I had him I was ‘accidentally’ pregnant with my daughter and they are blessings. They helped me get through the first couple years of that (sobriety). I can’t imagine being hung over on the couch and my kids yelling – ‘Mommy! Mommy!

I need this.’ It becomes a habit of ‘not doing’.” Now, she’s a single mom and sharing a friendly 50/50 custody with her ex husband, and fellow news journalist, Carter Evans. After fifteen years plus of being in a relationship, Friel admits, “The dating world has been a challenge, I’m done figuring that out… the right person is going to like me for me.”

Her career took her to New York City to a high-pressure position working as a FOX NEWS entertainment reporter. There, she met with very social people after work and mingled in drug infused atmospheres in clubs open until 4 a.m. willing to look the other way when cocaine was introduced. She describes her reputation, “I was a work hard, play hard person. I had a fifteen-year successful party career that involved being the wasted ‘fun chick’, out of control.

Adderall, Xanax and Ambien came on the scene. It was a mess. I was getting older and it wasn’t cool being ‘that girl’ who was blacking out all the time.” Back in 2007 to 2012 when Friel was working for FOX there were numerous stars falling from the sky from drugs and

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“Anyone who gets an intervention is blessed.” She advocates and was lucky to have friends and family rally around her to support her sobriety. But, if it wasn’t for an ultimatum given by her now ex husband and seven other caring people imploring her one holiday weekend to seek help, she might not be here now. Even though to the majority rehab has a horrible stigma attached to its services and most addicts are forced to participate, she knew it was the only option. So, she checked herself into voluntary rehab for 28 days and finished the program like the stellar, straight ‘A’ student she is. She was fully devout, “I’m gonna sit at the front of the class and take notes - be the best and when I got out did everything they told me to do. I got a sponsor and was doing it (working the program). It was a very scary and vulnerable time and I hope to never experience that again.”

Her true passion besides her career and kids is meditation and yoga.

About Meditation she explains, “I’ve been doing it for over a year, and it’s not something I ever thought I would do. I was like, I’m not gonna pay a baby sitter to go sit on a floor somewhere in silence. I need to be burning calories. But, I just started doing it. The number

one thing is - just being present, being very mindful and focused on what you’re doing not worrying about the future. Meditation

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extends the time. Time seems to move slower. I go to meditation and go to classes and it’s almost like a natural high. Meditation keeps me sane. This career in the News business - everything is so uncertain. I’m dealing with all of the horrible stories - I’ll cry with people on stories. I keep going. I’m in a great place, but it’s very busy…sometimes the more you have to do - the more you do.”

As for the pain of Friel’s past, she deals with it through meditation and yoga and helping others by donating her time, public stature and money to charitable organizations. Just today, July 14th, 2016 she was in the news making headlines, which read, “KTLA reporter Courtney Friel and News Director Jason Ball rappelled down a 26-story building in downtown Los Angeles Thursday to benefit ‘Shatterproof,’ an organization that is trying to change how people think about addicts. It’s time to end the stigma.” For all the horrific stories she has to report and endure, there are the ones that touch your heart and make her want to get involved.

One heart-wrenching story she took on is of a three-year old little girl named Finley Smallwood who has dreams of being a dancer, but is stricken with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy.

Her story reported on KTLA moved Friel enough to start her own “Dare to Dance” campaign to raise money for this baby’s $60,000 surgery. After reporting the story the KTLA news crew, they were happy to “Dare to Dance” on camera and help spread awareness of this disease and get audiences to donate. You don’t have to dance to donate at www.doyoudaretodance.com.

Courtney Friel has a lot to dance about. She has an incredible career with KTLA, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award, a great family, kids, supportive friends and keeps herself on a healthy and clean living sober path. She is a certain type of woman, one of strength, determination, heart, and obvious beauty inside and out. I’d watch her “Friel-ality” show any time, any day.

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/courtneyfriel

courtneyfriel.com @courtneyfriel

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Angela Davis

Angel-A the Empowerist-A and Fitness Evangelist-A

BY SUZAN BRITTAN INTERVIEW BY ALEX WEHRLEY PHOTOGRAPHY BY DALEN MUSTER

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hen you are in the presence of divine greatness you feel it, know it, and it sends chills up and down your spine instantly, like a match lighting a firecracker. There’s a profound depth and heavenly height behind the eyes of one ANGELA DAVIS. It’s no coincidence that her first name is such. You can almost taste her passion for arousing your spirituality and empowerment, starting from your inner soul making its way through your body to your mouth, and manifesting into an utterance of “Wow,” as if you just sampled the best dessert of your life.

Davis gives animation and energy to significant words through movement via her newly created fitness project “AMDIO” (Angela Manuel Davis Inspiring change from the Inside Out) launching, September 2016. She’s a grounded goddess, with many loyal and faithful followers who have reaped the rewards of her physical and verbal authenticity. focusmag.us 49

I know she has ka-trillions of followers, because if you Google her name one of the top 624,000 plus hits is, “SoulCycle” – a more than adrenalin infused spin class she conducts in Los Angeles. Uh, yeah – so, what is the proper name for followers of this mega SoulCycle spin guru-ette? How about “SoulLests” maybe, “SoulLeys” or could be “SoulSters”… definitely not “SpinSters”. Speaking of followers, you can shadow her around the country in the BELONG TOUR 2016, August 19th to November 19th (belongtour.com/belongevents). She was also one of a few choice guest motivational speakers hand-picked, (in 2014), by OPRAH herself to set off on, “Oprah’s - The Life You Want Weekend Tour” (tour’s over – sorry). Of course, she feels honored and humbled to be chosen by the Queen of all Media who not only branded her the “Fitness Evangelist” but, also put Angela’s new method of fitness on her website, (oprah.com/ app/21-days-of-motivation-and-movement.html), as a featured inspirational fitness instructor.

The “21 Days of Motivation and Movement” is a platform for fitness videos. Each of the 21, (one per day), videos features a unique movement for the empowering word of the day. The word announced inside the inspirational video for DAY 1 is “Accountability” where she lets you know she’s an “accountability partner” for you throughout the 21 Days, but honey – you’re accountable for the three minute plus motivational workout attached, and the Sliding Squat (I tried this, nice burn and sweet message). So, for the sake of time and words, I skipped the rest of the videos and went to the 21st DAY and achieved instant (undeserved), “VICTORY” with Plié Pops (phew, that was ouchie and awesome). Angela Davis understands the science behind this program in that it takes 21 days to break a habit, both mentally and physically. This seems more than do-able.

firm believer that it’s not all us… There’s something greater than us, so stay on purpose.” Being a “Spiritual Athlete” was a calling and natural transition. On her social media pages, she talks all about her mission to uplift the weighted down – facebook. com/shapewithangela - Twitter and Instagram both equal @ shapewithangela. But, can I just mention Angela’s arms, please?

I mean even Michelle Obama is salivating over those ripped huggers!

Mrs. Angela Davis is raising two beautiful boys with her supportive and likeminded husband, Track and Field Hall of Famer, Jerome Davis. This determined married couple organizes speed clinics and holds motivational forums all around the country and fully believes, “If it doesn’t challenge you, then it doesn’t change you.” If you’re ready for a massive change, then you are ready for the affirmation-instilled workouts she’s been developing and fine-tuning over the last twenty years as a fitness trainer professional. Athletics was as important as her faith growing up in a family where her father, Jerry Manuel was enveloped in Major League Baseball as a player, coach and manager.

When FOCUS asked Angela her definition of “Empowerment”, she answered, “Empowerment… getting to a place where you don’t need an external stimulant to turn you on, ignite you, motivate you and inspire you – but you already have it on the inside.” As Angela sparks her inner fuse, lights her fire and fans her flames higher and higher, she’s doing exactly the same for others around her. Her mission is so noticeable that Oprah once again called Angela to share and join her “SuperSoul 100” Teacher’s team in good company with Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra, Dr. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Jack Canfield and Iyanla Vanzant, to name a well rounded famous few. However, none of these motivational speakers have her athletic background or have Awarded one of the top sixteen trainers in Los Angeles for 2015 approached anywhere near her physical fitness accomplishments.

Even amongst 100 super souls, Angela Davis’ soul stands out and is just one of her many accomplishments being fabulously fit.

This true blue American is a member of the USA Track and Field is genuinely in a spiritual and motivational league all her own.

Team and was sponsored by Nike to run professionally. Angela was an Olympic trials finalist, on the World Championship team and a five-time world ranking All-American track athlete. When she’s not busting her own body on the track or in the gym, she’s kicking other people’s butts.

Angela’s classes are a collective group spotted with celebrities, amongst other worshipers, getting happily wrecked, (including our beloved Oprah), but she fills her flock with encouragement and drive to keep moving forward, cycle through it and stay in your lane. FOCUS was granted exclusive access to visit Angela’s video set and location for a face-to-face chat where her AMDIO method is filming (amdiomethod.com – also available on her app). She shared her secret, “That’s where the grace is…when I’m staying in my lane, ‘his’ grace is on me. You be in your lane. Don’t look toward the past. You can’t move forward if you’re looking behind you.” Can you tell she was raised in the church? She mentions, “Spirituality was an anchor and I’m a

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Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/angeladavis

facebook.com/shapewithangela @shapewithangela

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Locations 109 North La Cienega Blvd.

Beverly Hills, CA 90211 310 855-1059

2924 Beverly Glen Circle Los Angeles, CA 90077 424 832 3056

Giving Tough Love to Get True Love with International Dating Coach, Laurel House

BY SUZAN BRITTAN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DALEN MUSTER

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/laurelhouse

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f you’re sick of dating, most likely you’re doing it all wrong. It’s not you doll, it’s how you’re dating. It’s a sign of the times mainly. Dating women in 2016 is more difficult for men since women started making their own comparable salary. The Ladies don’t need men these days like we were taught growing up, how “the men” will handle the money, pay for each date and pick us up at our doorstep. Oh no sweetie, today we fry up the bacon that we’re makin’, bringing home the dough and baking it into a nice pie of selfsufficiency. Need a loan for a home, don’t need a man for that or a car lease, nope - no man needed.

You need sperm… there’s a bank for that too. The poor male species have lost their footing when it comes to climbing the ladder of dating and mating.

And women - they aren’t making it any easier for themselves – nor are they holding the ladder steady. The dating rules keep changing.

Have no fear (part of her advice), Dating and Love Expert Extraordinaire is here; Laurel House of E! Entertainment’s TV show, “Famously Single” sat down with FOCUS MAGAZINE for an indepth interview. Her tough love to love approach got her noticed and guest spots on: KTLA Morning News, E! News, Good Morning America, Nightline, Glamour, AskMen, Brides.com, Thrillist.com, and a variety of print. She can go deep because she’s written five books on dating and lifestyle. Her 5th book, “Screwing The Rules: The No-Games Guide to Love” was published in December 2014 with Running Press, which lines up with one of her numerous articles on YourTango.com about saying “yes” to coitus on the first date - gasp. (http://www.yourtango.com/experts/laurel-house/howmany-dates-should-you-go-having-sex) Hey, it’s not your mother’s dating rules any longer… it’s all about your comfort level now and getting what you want. House permits; “In fact, no one should have power or influence over your decision as to whether or not you should have sex on the first date, fifth date, or wedding day — not your best friend, your mom, your mentor, or the person you are going to have sex with. Only you can make a decision as to when the time is right for you.” If you can’t get enough of reading her advice, you can see her lovely face delivering bold and boundless dating and lifestyle coaching on her YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/ ScrewDatingRules

manipulative, just for fun and often fake.” A planned strategy will most likely give you a better outcome like with anything else in your life. Most daters have more strategy buying a car or a new cell phone plan than they do looking for a life partner for which they’re going to have small human’s with and make into healthy people.

Part of the issue as I touched on earlier, is women don’t know how to date like women any longer; they are dating like men. Women are doing all the hunting and all the gathering, so what’s a man to do? Laurel explains this dilemma perfectly, “The problem is that many career women become so used to making all of their own decisions that they find ‘letting go’ quite difficult. They simply don’t have confidence in their ability to love.” Newly single singing sensation, Idina Menzel should find this much easier since recording the mantra hit song, “Let it Go” after divorcing from Taye Diggs.

However, no matter how wealthy a massive hit Disney song makes you or how easy the split - there’s still the ominous ritual of dating (in your mid 40’s no less).

Perspective – right? By the way, this strategy works from the male POV too. Bottom line, communication is the key to everything and every relationship. (“Honesty”? … Should be a different article.)

House says, “Another fear besides voicing your needs, is dropping your facade and being authentic, particularly in L.A. People are so afraid of allowing people to see them…this need to look perfect all the time. But, perfect is boring, forgettable and not ‘Sticky.’”

Being “sticky” sounds oddly sexy, but it’s more about the ability to be memorable and sticking in a person’s memory and leaving them wanting more just being authentically you. You need to be real, raw and vulnerable. It’s not suggested that you reveal TMI or emotionally explode all over your date’s dinner plate. Allow someone to see you for who you are now, not for who you were in a past, flawed relationship. Thus, authentic = memorable = sticky.

Let’s say you’re not a mega star or a famous single person trying to date, which by the way seems a whole lot easier; House’s advice still stands; “Stop going into the dating world with the expectation that you’ll be controlled or hurt. Really think about your core values and needs, and identify what you can bring to the table. Get yourself into a place where you feel dateable. A confident career woman who has a life, interests and depth? Now that’s what I call sexy!” We all know dating in our twenties is light years different than dating while juggling the Louis Vuitton of past relationship luggage in our forties, which will cost you that extra $50 at the airport of life (per bag). Still, the most important message House can recite is, “A date is not a therapy session! It’s a date!” When you speak about your experiences to your date, she talks about using the “U” method, which means explaining what you’ve been through with a positive spin then dropping down to how it makes you vulnerable and bringing the subject back up again ending on a positive note.

House defines another dating tactic; “I’ll show you mine, now you show me yours. I’m going to be the example of my expectation of you. I’m going to tell you a story, which shows you a little bit of vulnerability of me, and then you’re going to tell me a similar story. I’m gonna ask you questions that allow you to go deep.”

Basically, this is how to extract information from your date without sounding like he’s facing a Jewish Mother’s Q&A session. House continues to stress that, “Dating is a strategy, not a game. Games are

House asks, “Do you date on purpose?” Well, ya should. There are 3 purposes one should have while on a date and this is part of the dating strategy House is referring to: 1. Fun 2. Self-Exploration 3.

Being in a committed relationship. Okay, fine…wait what? Aren’t we already doing these things as daters? It’s all about perspective. Let’s break it down: 1. What is my style of dating fun? Maybe I like quiet evenings with a glass of wine and table for two, or loud sporting events with hot dogs and beer.

2. Does my date make me feel safe, sexy and seen? Is he chivalrous, concerned about my comfort level? Do I feel beautiful when I’m with him? Besides having sexual chemistry, do we connect? Does he hear my needs and opinions and like me for who I am?

3. Does my date want a committed relationship? If he likes me, will he put a ring on it?

Regardless of how amazing a man communicates, there are still those dates with no connection. You know the ones - where you call your best friend from the trendiest gastro pub co-ed bathroom and say, “Please call me in ten minutes with an emergency about my dog that ate a chocolate bar, or a water pipe bursting in my house. He’s not the one.” Sound all too familiar? Chemistry is chemical and easy.

It’s the connection that’s difficult to achieve with another human, especially one of the opposite sex. Ms. House knows; “Chemistry is nice and important but the most important thing on a date is connection and talking about what makes you feel.” Well, if you’re not feeling it, but instead experiencing feelings of dating failure and fatigue, Laurel House is your prescription to breathing new life and energy into your dating do’s and do not’s. And, don’t let her big blue eyes and gorgeous smile fool you into thinking she’s gonna be nice about your dating habits. Pull up your big person panties, she’s gonna give you the what-what on what you’re not doing right!

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How to Get The Girl!

The story of a professional Wing Girl and how it transformed her life

BY MARNI KINRYS

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Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/tv/marnikinrys

waited back stage at the Renaissance Hotel ballroom, where the 2016 Pick Up Artist, SUMMIT, was in full swing, and I was the next scheduled speaker. A Pick Up Artist refers to a man considered to be skilled at meeting, attracting, and seducing women.

Typically Pick Up Artists, or PUA’s, are associated with the seduction community, a heterosexual male subculture based on improving sexual and romantic abilities with women. For years this world has been kept a secret but with the success of VH1’s show “The Pick Up Artist” and Neil Strauss’ best selling book “The Game”, it‘s not so secret anymore. In fact, it’s become a big business, particularly at the PUA Summit where the world’s top PUAs gathered to expertly teach successful methods on how to get the girl!

Now, I want to tell you, these men aren’t the nerds you may be picturing. They are solid men: good looking, great personalities, professionally successful. But when it came to women, they were bumbling fools with fears, frustrations, and negative beliefs. Take, for example, Randy a 33-year-old virgin. Super cute, has his own business, totally fun but absolutely no clue how to interact with women. Fast-forward 3 sessions with me and another 2 years and I am at his wedding watching him walk down the aisle with a fabulous woman.

The business was taken to a whole new level when we met David DeAngelo. David invited us to speak at one of his PUA events called “Mastering The Art of Approaching Women”. But what we didn’t know, was that David was a master online marketer who distributed his DVDs to thousands of men globally. So, our world quickly shifted into the world of Pick Up, and next thing I knew, men who had seen the video began recognizing me everywhere I went, approaching me for advice. It was great to get that kind of feed back from the guys.

Now, let me give a quick description of my job: I pick up About 6 months later, my best friend decided that the business women for men. Men pay me to help them pick-up, attract, and was not for her, so I moved forward solo. Since then, the business date women. In short, I’m a professional WING GIRL. has shifted and morphed. Instead of taking men out and picking So how did a nice, Jewish girl like me get into this profession? up women for them, I sell products online and hold global Well, it started the same way most do: drunk and by accident. On Skype sessions. I run a successful and productive website, www. a Friday night, my best friend and I attended a Shabbat dinner, winggirlmethod.com, and have a weekly podcast called “The which also happened to be a singles mixer.

Ask Women Podcast”, which was recently acquired by Playboy.

The matchmaking soirée felt more like a junior high dance Additionally, I have received “The World’s Best Female PUA of the than a singles mixer as boys sat on one side of the room, and Year” award and have successfully helped 100’s of thousands of girls on the other. NO ONE WAS INTERACTING. So I started men. grabbing men and pushing them (sometimes literally) to talk to Through the successes I have been lucky to obtain, the greatest women. After interacting, I would give them feedback on their one has actually been myself. The truth is that I was so intrigued technique, make tweaks, and send them out again. By the end of by this world of women because I myself couldn’t connect with the night, people were exchanging numbers and having a great them or understand them at all. Through all my teachings, I have time. learned to open up to women and realize their…. OUR value.

My friend and I went home later that night and started Recognizing the value of women and hearing the stories of complaining about our jobs. I was in PR at the time and hating it. thousands of men impacted me in an unexpected way. In the past I said, “What if we could do what we did tonight… but for money? 2 years, I noticed my advice to women about men shift. Instead of What if we were Wing Girls?” My roommate (a guy) piped in consoling them, as I did in the past, I was saying, “that’s not how saying “there is no way guys would pay for a service like that men work” a hell of a lot. unless you threw in a hand job and a case of beer.” I disagreed with Consequently, I created a program for women titled “That’s him and quickly put an ad up on Craig’s List. It read, “What better Not How Men Work”, which has now sold over 10,000 copies way to attract bees than with honey...” By the next morning we had around the world. Helping men be the man they want to be has over 75 responses and the start of a business! been an experience like no other. I have had the ability to change The first few months were kind of odd as the media pounced lives and in the process, I have watched my own life change as on us and a pimp asked me to join his ring. Inevitably, my family well. This business has opened my eyes to understand men and became concerned. The man I was dating questioned me as well women on a whole new level and to see for myself what I have the and was not the happiest of campers when he learned of my new ability to do in the world. Who knows where this journey will take business. But like it or not, he supported me, and I gave him a lot me next. of credit for that. (It’s one of the reasons I ended up marrying the guy 6 years later). Soon after, my family and friends followed suit winggirlmethod.com and grew more comfortable with the business.

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58 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2 0 1 6

Finally, Face and Body in Harmony Kayo, Better Body Care® keeps your skin youthful, smooth, and rejuvenated.

BY SABRINA BLATTEIS

H

ave you ever wondered why the thousands of skin products available seem to only focus on facial care? How could they forget the other 95% of your body? Well, Christine Bullock and Carrington Snyder have found your solution.

Sitting at lunch, asking themselves these same questions, the two women decided to combine their professional knowledge for skin and wellness to ultimately create Kayo, Better Body Care®.

Their goal was to use the highest quality plant extracts and natural oils and turn them into luxurious skincare products for your whole body. The Face Grade® ingredients used are delicate enough for facial skin but the products are actually formulated for body care. Now, customers are able to bring their face and body into harmony through Kayo’s crèmes, serums, vitamin boosts, and repairing oils. Each ingredient within the products is carefully selected and deliberately added in order to maximize the incredible anti-aging, rejuvenating results. It is through these natural serums and purifying vitamin boosts that Kayo’s ultimate body-repairing products wereas created.

Kayo, Better Body Care® would not be what it is today without the skincare experts, Christine and Carrington. Growing up as a ballerina, Christine Bullock knew her passion for fitness and nutrition from a young age. In college, she continued to follow her passion, becoming a yoga instructor and then a sales woman at Sephora.

Afterward, she gained profuse knowledge while working with top fitness trainers, plastic surgeons, and skincare leaders. By simply following a path of what she loves most, Christine became a certified Pilates and yoga instructor, a personal trainer, and a nutritionist.. As the experienced and knowledgeable Wellness Expert she is, Christine has been featured on NBC, Bravo, E! News, VH-1, PopSugar and several other television shows. She is also a contributor to popular publications including Oxygen Magazine, Yahoo Health, Women’s Health Magazine and several others, revealing her tips, secrets, and programs for fitness and nutrition. After 20 years of working with health and skincare, Christine recognized the necessity for Kayo, Better Body Care®.

But Christine could not have created Kayo without her partner and co-founder, Carrington Snyder. Immersed in the beauty industry throughout her childhood, Carrington was instantly drawn to skincare. Her mother, a founder of several skincare lines, taught Carrington the importance of purity and safety for skin products. Carrington took this knowledge to law school

and worked her way up, becoming a managing attorney of a firm that protects consumers from toxin exposures. Today, each product made for Kayo, Better Body Care® is created in Carrington’s family’s labs under the same principles she learned at a young age.

Combining Christine and Carrington’s knowledge has ultimately revolutionized the beauty industry in body care. The all-natural ingredients and pure serums layered together in each product have maximized the skincare results, giving you the ultimate products to enhance your body’s beauty. From repairing signs of aging to creating that silky, smooth skin you’ve always dreamed of, Kayo’s products have finally brought body care and skin care in sync.

kayobetterbodycare.com focusmag.us 59

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64 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2 0 1 6

On the Verge of Stardom Photo: Linda Bradley

Season 2, “I will say this much, I’ve had the most fun of my career writing this Season, I think the fans are going to LOVE it!!”

Bradley’s acting career as a comedian is just one of her many talents. By changing the sound and tone of her voice, Laura is able to transform into characters of all ages and personalities. Besides acting, writing and directing The Laura Show, Bradley is also a singer/songwriter, and world-class choreographer. She trained at NCSA, The Governor’s School for the Arts, and at USC Columbia to become the dancer and choreographer she is today.

She said: “I’ve danced through my entire life and never been able to sit still when there was music hrough hard work and a deep passion for playing. After discovering the theater, Laura Linda Bradley created “The world of choreography through Laura Show”, making her dream of stardom a mentor that had blind faith in into a reality! my passion for the art form, I fell hopelessly down the rabbit When lounging on the couch in the comfort of your own living hole into the limitless world of room, eagerly watching your new favorite TV show, oftentimes choreography. Being able to take we become so caught up in the show itself, that we over-look the the ideas in my head and place courage, inspiration and confidence necessary to create the show. them on dancers is a beautiful However, Laura Linda Bradley, creator and star of “The Laura Show”, gift I’ve been given. I think that’s recognizes these leaders and creators, the ones behind-the-scenes. one of the reasons my work is so She created “The Laura Show” by committing her time and attention personal to me; there’s a small to what she loves most, consequently transforming her dreams of piece of me in every one of my success into a reality! projects.”

What makes a successful show? The answer is simple, it’s equal Although Laura’s life may seem parts original ideas and characters the viewer loves. The Laura Show jam-packed and overwhelming to some, she still makes time to give brings to vivid life, Laura’s world; is a modern, romantic comedy. back. Laura is fully immersed in her work as an environmentalist Striving to Empower young women, the female driven cast, and an animal rights activist; she has been a proud member of the storyline and humor, build women up. The show focuses on strong WildAid Gala committee for the last five years. Laura is also an female friendships, women succeeding in a male driven world, active supporter of Habitat for Humanity LA, she and The Laura and healthy relationship goals. The female driven series is funny, Show cast participated in two build projects this Summer. Bradley is relatable, and honest as Bradley brings her sharp-witted sense of also an avid supporter of UNICEF, and Global Green USA. Bradley humor and personality to the show. was quoted: “My definition of success is doing what I love, and With a wildly successful freshman season, Bradley has already getting to a place in my career that I can do something positive. received prolific reviews that praise the show and it’s talented Change things for the better; leave the world better than I found cast. THR called it “the breakout hit of the summer,” and LA Talk it. To me that’s success, and what more of us should aspire to! I’m Radio said the show was “the next Friends”. Backstage called it so honored to be a part of charities like WildAid and Habitat for “Outrageously funny,” and AfterBuzzTV called it “The voice of a Humanity, and consider it a privilege to work with them.” generation, everyone needs to be watching The Laura Show!” Critics Laura Linda Bradley has admirably followed her passion for and fans alike have been raving about the show, and are anxiously the preforming arts through dancing, singing, and acting and anticipating Season 2’s release! even continues to do the charity work she loves so dearly. Laura’s Season 2 promises to deliver even more of what the fans and devotion to chasing stardom and creating a fulfilled and happy life critics have fallen in love with! From strong female friendships has consequently created “The Laura Show”. However, the show is to hilarious classic, character driven comedy, The Laura Show just another step in her journey as she continues to dedicate herself is modern, fresh and unlike anything on TV. While Bradley is toward what she wants for her future. staying mum on many details of Season 2, she did tell us, that she intends to expand on what she learned in Season 1 and push herself much further out of her comfort zone as an artist! Bradley said everything in Season 2 will be even bigger, funnier, sexier and more vibrant. Bradley leaves us with one last sneak peak regarding thelaurashow.net

T

Photo: Rodin Eckenroth

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Simply Organized

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/amysuddleson

“By starting with one project, you can begin to build on your expertise and skills.”

A

nyone who knows me will tell you, “The Container Store is Amy’s home away from home!” Truth is, they are right! It is my house of worship - my happy place. The environment is calming and makes me feel Zen. But for many, my clients included, it can feel overwhelming to navigate this organizing mecca.

Getting organized can be as simple as making a new recipe. You open up a book, you see a perfectly photographed picture of something delicious, and you break down the steps to cook or bake it. First you review the recipe and list of ingredients. You then assess what you already have in your kitchen. Finally, you make that anticipated trip to the supermarket, list in hand, and you shop accordingly.

Shopping at The Container Store is the same. Most of my clients call me with an issue. Whether it is an overall feeling of disorganization or a specific area, each person has a goal in mind. The best way to begin is to start small. Pick one area that needs attention, and ask yourself these important questions...

What is not working? Take a mental and physical picture of the space. #ClosetSelfie. Think about why this space is not suiting your needs; maybe it is too cluttered, perhaps you have mismatched hangers, or you simply can not find anything.

What can I purge or get rid of? Assess the essentials of the space. This is where the important “purge process” comes into play. For a closet, ask yourself: “Have I worn it in the last six months? Does it fit? Do I feel my personal best in it?” If the answers are yes, these items should remain in your “keep” pile.

If not, you might want to move them into a “donate” box.

What visual images motivate me?

With the internet and new technology, we have access to so many visual platforms. Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr allow users to find the most up to date photos and images of well designed and organized spaces. Create your own vision board to accumulate organizing solutions. Pinpoint images that solve your areas of crisis. This can be as simple as velvet hangers-which keep clothing from falling-- or a laundry basket to group darks and lights. These photos should motivate you and get you excited for your upcoming trip to the store.

What items do I already have? Before you run out and purchase your ingredients, look around your home to see if you already have any of the items.

What do I need to buy? This is where The Container Store is your best friend and most useful resource. I always advise to “Purchase with Purpose.” Shop with intention. Either you have extracted a list based on your findings and can shop on your own, or you can simply provide your #ClosetSelfie to a wonderful Container Store associate who can assist in executing your vision and solving your project goals. An organizing professional can provide the list as well.

By starting with one project, you can begin to build on your expertise and skills. Navigating a vast amount of inventory with a list allows you to stay focused on your target area of organization. Going to The Container Store with a vision and inspiration can truly be a game changer. Happy organizing!

Amy Suddleson, NAPO Member Organizer & Designer

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ESSENTIAL BEAUTY TIPS

Our local experts give us their Top 5 Beauty and Wellness secrets COMPILED BY TAMBI SAFFRAN

ANNIE TEVELIN Founder of Skin Owl

GINA MARI Celebrity Esthetician

1. Save your face cleansers for nighttime: My skin has dramatically improved since I started using my face cleanser at night. In the morning, splash your face with water a few times, dry your skin with a towel, and apply a balancing and nurturing facial oil in place of your moisturizer. This will help lock in the moisture while also limiting the effects of any harsh or dehydrating cleansers.

2. Keep your eye cream in the fridge: I love using my aloebased eye cream fresh out of the fridge! The uber-cool application instantly de-puffs and illuminates sleepy eyes. It’s also super refreshing during the hot summer months. The perfect look good, feel great tip!

3. Steam your skin with your favorite tea: When it comes to using skincare as an opportunity for self-care, facial steaming is at the top of my list. Cut open a few teabags and let them steep in a mediumsized pot filled with warm water. Place your face six inches from the water and allow the steam to penetrate the skin. The flora and herbs will decongest the pores, alleviate sinus pressure, clear the mind, and give your skin a “post-facial” glow for the rest of the day.

4. Feed Your Beauty: I’ve always loved how healthy and nutrientrich foods affect my skin. Vegetables too tough to digest? Get the vitamins in juice form! Fruit always going bad? Throw the excess fruit into a blender with a cup of almond milk. Salads too bland?

Add some skin-smoothing avocados, lycopene-rich tomatoes, and alkaline sunflower seeds. Your skin will thank you!

5. Switch out pore-clogging creams for fast absorbing oils: As someone who suffered from cystic acne for years, the thought of putting oil on my skin was extremely counterintuitive. When I decided to give it a try, my skin changed. The large molecules of lipid-based creams cannot penetrate as deep as oils. Oils can travel deeper into the skin, allowing greater exfoliation and superior cleansing. My inflammation went down. My acne began to go away.

The results were astonishing. Try it for a week and see how your skin responds - it’s worth it!

SkinOwl.com

68 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2 0 1 6

1. Lower stress levels equal better skin! Stress stimulates high cortisol levels, which can wreak havoc on complexions.

Our goal is to stop clients from obsessing over their skincare and to instead relax. Giving this responsibility to professionals will relieve the individual, thus reducing stress levels and achieving the desired results more quickly.

2. Wash your face before heading to bed. Properly cleansing your skin at night will allow the natural renewal process to occur, leaving the skin bright and hydrated while also preventing breakouts and signs of aging.

3. Ditch the magnifying mirror! Looking in a magnifying mirror provokes us to pick at our skin and pores, ultimately leaving the skin aggravated.

4. Staying active is incredibly important, however, it can take a toll on our skin if we are not careful. After workouts, make sure to wash your face and rinse your body to prevent face and body breakouts.

5. SPF application. Everywhere! – not just your face, but your ears, neck, and lips too!

GinaMari.com

HEATHER NICOLE – Master Esthetician

NICOLE GRANATO Health Expert

1. Supplementing – Taking the proper supplements is very important. A daily tonic may be your ticket to healthy bowel movements. Try taking a shot of aloe vera juice (full leaf) first thing in the morning. This will not only help with bowel movement, but also break up any stagnation in the body that may contribute to fatigue and moodiness.

1. Guard Your Skin With Vitamin C Take 2000 - 5000 mg of Vitamin C daily.

Vitamin C fights the radical damage to our cells, including signs of aging. Emergen C is a great product that has your B vitamins (great for metabolism, burning fat, regulating hormones, and building muscle) and bioflavonoid (skin savers), as well as 32 mineral absorbents. Add to water for a tasty skin hydrator.

2. Drink Your Greens Wheat grass, barley grass, or spirulina green drinks are essential for cellular health and clear skin. My favorite is Vibrant Health Green Vibrance with probiotics (beneficial bacteria). This can be purchased at Whole Foods. You should take 1-2 servings a day! I like to mix my green drink with antioxidants. Try mixing the new super berry drinks with Gogi, Noni, Mangosteen, and Acai. As with all juices, less is more.

3. Supplement Your Minerals Most of us are deficient in Zinc (20-50 mg daily) Magnesium (800-1000 mg) and Calcium (500 mg), which are all essential for clear skin and a balanced body. Consider supplementing these minerals for overall health, vitality and beauty. I recommend taking them in the evening. Check with your doctor if you are under medical supervision.

4. Eat Close To The Earth Lean, organic proteins, green leafy vegetables, fresh fruits, cultured natural yogurts, essential fatty acids found in cold pressed oils, fiber rich foods, and clean, purified water are needed daily to keep a strong, healthy body. We truly are what we eat! If you want beautiful skin, cut out the refined flour, sugar, processed carbohydrates, and meat or dairy.containing antibiotics, chlorinated water, and preservatives. Stick to the outer edges of the grocery store. That is where the REAL food is. Forget the packaged junk! It causes so much cellular waste, and it will show all over your face!

2. Move – Working out is important, but can also put a lot stress on our bodies. High intensity running and exercising can do more harm than good as it strains the body and intestinal track! Try adding more exercises like yoga, stretching, Pilates or barre classes to hydrate and nourish the digestive organs and skin!

3. Noni Juice is commonly referred to as nature’s greatest super food! For thousands of years Noni juice has been known as the goddess of all fruits. The juice helps prevent cancer, support liver and cardiovascular functions, relax muscles, and prevent memory loss. Noni is an antioxidant that is also an anti-fungal, antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, which has been known in treating arthritis and nervous system disorders. Take one shot daily from the bottle or dilute in a glass of water.

4. Apple Cider Vinegar - I refer to this as “the miracle tonic”. Apple Cider Vinegar is one of nature’s greatest super foods! It is essential to buy the product containing “the mother”, this is where all of the essential nutrients lay. This super drink will increase energy, clear skin, fight digestive issues, manage weight, cut cravings, fight fungus and yeast residing in the body, balance your pH, promote healthy cellular growth, balance hormones, promote female fertility and give you an overall feeling of well-being.

5. Nourish your skin a couple times a week with a natural mask! I like to make a nourishing mask at home with avocado and honey!

NicoleGranato.com

5. Use Natural Vitamin A Most Retinol products on the market are synthetic forms of Vitamin A. Vitamin A reduces the depth of wrinkles, fades dark spots, lightens age spots, reduces blemishes and improves overall skin texture. To increase turn-over and boost the growth rate of new cells and collagen production, I highly recommend a natural form rather than a synthetic one. Natural sources have a better efficacy rate with reduced photosensitivity and also avoid transdermal toxicity when used properly. This is why I have created my ATRA oil, which is my personal favorite.

HeatherNicoleSkincare.com

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70 FOCUS | OCTOBER 2 0 1 6

Mmmm–OJO The New Commuter Scooter with Mojo

BY SUZAN BRITTAN INTERVIEW BY TAMBI SAFFRAN

Text focus to 313131 to watch this focusmag.us/tv/ojo

W

atch any grown man or woman turn into a giddy kid right in front of your eyes as their eyes get as big a pies and light up like a Vegas sign when they see this modernized version of a scooter. “I. Want. One.” will be all they can mutter while drooling as they drive by the new OjO ELECTRIC SCOOTER whizzing along in the bike lane, sidewalks and city streets. Ladies, I’m sure they will have one in a pretty color, cuz this is a gender equal ride after all.

(Bedazzle to taste).

FOCUS MAGAZINE’S host with the most, Tambi Saffran was given an exclusive, first time face to face on camera interview with Dale Seiden, of eUrban in Santa Monica, California and the co-founder and co-creator of the OjO. Tambi asked Seiden why he and his partners (Don Ratner and Alan Shapiro) decided on inventing this smart, sleek and fun first of its kind commuter scooter.

Seiden answered, “We were bored, so we wanted to come up with something that was fun, that we could enjoy. We really didn’t think about building a big business out of it… here it’s morphed into something huge.”

They wanted to move into the next coolest gadget for personal transport - like the “iPOD-ization” of some kind of “personal E-transport” with “integrated high-fidelity and waterproof Bluetooth speakers,” “zero emission” scooter. Let me explain the genius geek language for you: it took almost three years for these cool as heck dudes to make a stealthy “Tesla-ish” like smart scooter that doesn’t kill our planet and can connect or sync with your cell phone.

Seiden remarks, “It’s all about the cool factor… we think we nailed it, that high-end luxury look.” It looks a bit retro in design - like a 1960’s, midcentury sleek logo on wheels with a high tech interface.

How many scooters in the store have you seen with an onboard charger, retractable cord, touch pad controls, a key fob, USB port, dual waterproof Bluetooth speakers and removable accessories - that also talks to you? The answer is, none. There aren’t any. This is the first of its kind. OjO is made for adults, and although Seiden sidenoted that it’s safe enough for thirteen year olds, it’s not a toy - really for men and women eighteen and over. Safety was the first concern in designing the scooter with its owner coined, “Wing-Technology”. eUrban’s own powerful electric HYPERGEAR© hub motor powerfully propels the OjO, making for a fun, comfortable, stable personal commuter vehicle, which can legally be surfed in the bike lanes. The beaches will be buzzing with these beauties. Seiden and his partners truly conquered new ground with their OjO. What’s in a name? After mulling it over, Googling, brainstorming tons of names that were already taken or too close for creative comfort for this new invention, finally “OjO” was an off the cuff remark made by his, “very creative” partner Don Ratner. Ratner looked at the scooter who said, “It looks like a ‘J’ with two ‘O’s on either side.” Thus, the OjO name was birthed along side their website. Amazon already scooped up their scooter and it will be sold in retail stores too. It does remind me of a premium item you’d find in the yearly Neiman Marcus extravagant Holiday gift catalogue pictured along side their ninety-five thousand dollar store logo Mustang or a four hundred thousand dollar trip to India offered in 2015. Although priced competitively, there’s nothing to really compare the OjO to. eUrban has created a new category in transportation and fun. It won’t matter – you will want one if you have to beg (not beneath me), steal (could be worth jail time) or borrow (it’s only stealing if you don’t pay it back) to get one!

Their original plan was to sell to the Millennial and a bit younger demo (18-33). We all know men and women alike in their 40’s and 50’s won’t be able to keep their feet to themselves when they find out the seat can be removed and give you the feeling of surfing; carving on a snowboard freely down a city street. Did I mention… no helmet required (17 and over - yes, they designed one too). While whooshing around town with the wind rushing through loose man buns, trendy haircuts and chiseled beards, they can also enjoy their SoundCloud playlists. Dolls, you know this scooter will be lined up next to the other fifty outside any Power Yoga studio as we park and ride that last mile to hit the mat. The OjO brand name will soon become a commonly used verb, “I’m gonna OjO to work” “Did you OjO here?” or “Gotta OjO to the store”. You can OjO all places with ease and store your briefcase, yoga accouterments or groceries in the attachable, “Junk Trunk” pod, which is perfectly designed to fit and eurban.com lightweight.

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The Pie Life How to create that wholesome, stress-free life youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been waiting for.

BOOK REVIEW BY SABRINA BLATTEIS

76 FOCUS | O C T O BE R 2 0 1 6

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ll across the nation women are struggling to find the perfect balance in their lives. Striving to be that perfect mom, that perfect wife, that perfect friend or perfecting any part of one’s life. Having a career while still maintaining a social life can be overwhelming. People of all ages struggle to find this balance throughout their lives; however, Samantha Ettus, successful businesswomen and a work-life balance expert, has found a solution. She has discovered a way to change anyone’s life from hectic and stressful to organized and overall happier.

By working with thousands of CEOs, celebrities, and professionals, Samantha has changed the lives of many by maximizing their health, happiness, and success. After experiencing the demands of an over-burdensome and enervating life as a teenager, Sam created the concept of a “Pie Life.” She divided her life into sections, such as Sports, Academics, Family, Friends, and Health. Through each section, she would focus diligently and solely on that category until the next one came into play. By making the more important categories in her life bigger, Sam was able to find her balance in an effective way. She recognized that throughout her life, the categories changed sizes as some were exchanged for others, added, or even deleted. Learning from her own experiences and creating this original idea of a Pie Life, Sam has become a national bestselling author, a writer, a speaker, a TV contributor, and a host of a national radio show.

In her new book, The Pie Life, Samantha describes personal and objective examples where stress can be rather burdensome.

Through each chapter, Samantha explains the tweaks one can make to transform those negative and overwhelming experiences into a stress-free, positive one. Splitting the book into three chapters, “Prep”, “Tools”, and “Slices”, Samantha first explores the journey in finding a more exciting, enjoyable life.

She then discusses her idea of the Pie Life itself, describing how each Pie is created differently for each person and should allow room for tweaks and changes throughout one’s life. The last chapter goes into further details of each category of the Pie Life, making it comprehensive and educational for all ages.

For example, she explains how “Small Changes Make Big Results” in savingtime. Her nine tips for this helpful strategy allow the readers to pick and choose which tips make the most sense for them. Samantha gives a wide variety of strategies like these to allow readers to find the enjoyable life suitable to them.

Throughout the book, Samantha provides several quizzes to allow readers to test the different categories of their lives. By starting the book with the first quiz acquiring the Pie Life, readers can get a general sense of the amount of balance they have in their life. However, during the book, new and more specified quizzes appear, allowing the reader to learn more about his or her life in a new light. Additionally, Samantha has provided several areas for writing throughout almost every chapter. The narrator of the book, Samantha Ettus herself, asks specific questions based on the chapter just read, which gives the reader even further knowledge on that section of his or her life. For example, in the “Slicing Your Pie” chapter, under a subchapter discussing Goals, there are empty lines provided, under directions that read, “Write your goals below:”. The reader then has the space to write his or her goals under “Health”, “Career”, Relationship”, etc.

Samantha Ettus has provided the world with an alternative way to live life, making it easier to find happiness and balance. By giving this detailed plan for success, Samantha explains how to slightly tweak one’s life, creating a whole new world for her readers. So if you are struggling to find this balance and are generally unhappy with the overwhelming tasks of life, the answers The Pie Life is “A Guilt-Free Recipe For Success and Satisfaction.” to your callings exist within The Pie Life After using the Pie Chart as a life-guide, the wholesome life

by Samantha Ettus. that comes together in perfect unity is generally split into categories consisting of Career, Health, Relationship, Children, Community, Friends, and Hobbies; however, Samantha describes the necessity to change these categories in order to acquire each individual’s unique life. The detailed plan discusses strategies and compromises to make in order to bake one’s perfect pie life. samanthaettus.com focusmag.us 77

AVAILABLE NOW AT BARNES & NOBLE AND ONLINE AT AMAZON

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Bucket List Travel ~ Destination: Taormina, Italy!

STORY AND IMAGES BY WENDY BROKAW KRETCHMER

I

just returned from a family trip to Sicily. It certainly wasn't high on places to check off my travel bucket list, but with my daughters doing community service trips in Italy, one in Sicily, and needing to explore someplace off the beaten path for Focus Magazine, I seized the opportunity to explore some uncharted (by me) territory. My husband was away on location working, so I enlisted my sister, Lauren, to join me. We spent 2 glorious weeks discovering all parts of Sicily and the Aeolian islands before meeting up with my daughters and their best friends for what would be the highlight of the trip! Our last and best destination was Taormina, a breathtaking & magical resort town.

There we stayed at arguably the most beautiful, opulent and well-run hotels in the entire world: The Belmond Villa Sant’ Andrea.The hotel’s stunning beauty is only matched the hotel staff ’s extreme care and attention to service and detail. The food is excellent. Set on the most picturesque and private stretch of beach, my photos (taken by iPhone) could not possible illustrate its true beauty. Since Sicily is less traveled by us West-coasters, I think it’s well worth sharing this gem, and recommend that it be added to everyone’s bucket list!

Wendy Brokaw is Sr. Editor + Travel Editor at Focus Magazine who loves getting lost and exploring the world to bring her discoveries to you. If you like your property featured, please contact Wendy directly.

Where to find Wendy: Wendy@focusmag.us Instagram: @wendbrokaw

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Happenings MISS MALIBU | MISS BEVERLY HILLS 2017 Aug 21, 2016, Loews Hotel, Santa Monica Focus Events was on the red carpet covering all the action as the winners were crowned.

Carolina Urrea @carolinaaurrea is our New Miss Malibu USA and Victoria Olona @victoriabriele is the new Miss Beverly Hills USA. Capturing the teen crowns are Miss Beverly Hills Teen USA Linnea Visbal @_linnea_4 and Miss Malibu Teen USA is Alyena Jaye @alyenajaye.

Congratulations to all the winners from your hometown Focus Magazine.

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Happenings SUPER SATURDAY JUNE 11, Barker Hangar, Santa Monica Rachel Zoe and Rodger Berman with Molly Sims and Scott Stuber return to host Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance’s 3rd Annual Super Saturday Los Angeles. Described as “the Rolls-Royce of Garage Sales” by the New York Times, Super Saturday raised $3.5 million and featured vendors in high fashion, accessories, beauty, children’s wear, and home goods selling products for discounted prices, all in support of ovarian cancer research. ocrf.org

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Happenings PAGEANT PASSPORT LAUNCH EVENT 4 June, 2016, Las Vegas Focus Magazine hosts the launch event for Pageant Passport, an exclusive community and social group for women from around the world. The only requirement to join is having been a pageant competitor on any level (local, regional, state, national, international). Membership is for those that enjoy participating in pageants and want to continue being a part of the sisterhood year-round. pageantpassport.com

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Happenings BBQ WITH A VIEW! The Roof Garden restaurant atop The Peninsula Hotel Beverly Hills takes BBQ to new heights. Executive Chef David Codney elegantly executes his take on traditional barbecued specialties and tempting desserts. Sample dishes straight off the grill as you sit among the lush rooftop greenery with stunning views. It’s a reason to wish summer will never end…

Available: Saturdays and Sundays through September.

When: 5:00 - 9:00pm Highlights from this year’s menu include: • Pabst Blue Ribbon ® Beer Can Chicken with cabbage cilantro slaw • Grass-Fed Beef Brisket with buttermilk tobacco onions • Charred Whole Branzino with housegrown radish, lemon and dill • 28-Day Dry-Aged Rib Eye served with Chef Codney’s acclaimed barrel-aged house steak sauce beverlyhills.peninsula.com

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Who, What,

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A HAPPY PLACE THE SENSORY WONDERLAND THAT IS HAVEN & Co.

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