16 minute read
Ceremonial Grade Matcha + 4 Beauty Must
CEREMONIAL GRADE MATCHA + 4 Beauty Must-Haves
Enjoy summer with these great finds from Blissful Life Co, Thrive, August + MONROE, Beia & TAOS aer
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BY BRANDY EDWARDS
Matcha has so many healthy benefits, but it can certainly be an acquired taste. Several years ago I tried a matcha latte from a popular cafe and immediately thought “This tastes like I am drinking grass.” However, despite not being a huge fan initially, I continued to try matcha lattes at different places because I wanted to reduce my caffeine intake while also receiving the amazing benefits that matcha provides. After significantly reducing my caffeine intake, which has been a process over the years, I feel amazing. I also sleep better and feel less anxious. After trying several matcha brands and sampling various matcha lattes at different cafes, I assumed all matcha tasted the same and was very bitter. Fortunately, I was wrong. I recently discovered ceremonial grade matcha by Blissful Life Co™, which is made from high quality organic tea leaves and is pesticide free. It is so smooth and tastes delicious! Whether you are looking for a healthier alternative to coffee, or already drink matcha but desperately desire a matcha that is not bitter, Blissful Life Co™ is what you have been looking for. Their ceremonial matcha is naturally floral, sweet and creamy. It also has no sugar, additives or preservatives, and it is hands down the best matcha I have ever tasted. Interestly, I can easily drink it with water for the perfect afternoon pick me up.
The founder of Blissful Life Co™, Julie Marcus, has eliminated the middleman and works directly with sustainable Single Estate Farmers in Japan, which helps the company deliver a better price point to their customers. Julie, also known as the Chief Blissful Officer, wants to reduce the carbon footprint and plants trees for every product sold from her website, www.BlissfulLifeCo.com. The amazing thing about the founder is that she is an Australian based attorney who has prioritized her passion and dreams about seeing more people drink luxury quality matcha for a healthier sustainable lifestyle. In her own words, Julie says: “I can feel a sustained increase in energy and mental sharpness after my morning matcha ritual. I love that it doesn’t make me feel jittery like coffee does, just energised and more effective as I start my day. I’ve spent over two years in search of this high quality matcha. I know I have found a great product and can’t wait to share it with the world.” The ceremonial grade matcha tastes great made with just warm water, or made into a latte with your favorite plant-based milk. The Iced Strawberry Matcha Latte recipe on the website is simple, delicious and perfect for a refreshing drink during the summer heat. Simply prepare the ceremonial matcha per the instructions, then blend with ½ cup strawberries (fresh or frozen) with 1 cup of plant-based milk. In a glass, add ice, pour in your strawberry mix, then top with your prepared matcha. Check out the company website for more delicious recipes, including a DIY matcha clay face mask.
4 New Beauty Products For Your Summer List
Thrive
The Bodyshield 50 is a mineral sunscreen that is water resistant and packaged in a plant-based plastic, recyclable tube. With a SPF 50 level protection against the sun and 23.5% Zinc Oxide, this sunscreen is a great way to protect your beautiful skin from harmful sun damage. The sunscreen blends into your skin easily without leaving a white or greasy residue, and it has a light and clean scent. Bodyshield 50 is made with botanicals from Costa Rica, including Fierrillo, Juanilama, and Coralillo. Thrive® prides itself on its regenerative farming and each product purchased helps support rural farmers and restores degraded lands in Costa Rica.
August + MONROE
The Blemish Camouflage is a unique 3-in-1 treatment that is really impressive. It primes, conceals, and heals skin blemishes with patented colour-changing technology that utilizes pigment-bursting beads to best match the pigment of your skin. The product comes in a tube that looks like a lip gloss container. Interestingly, while the product is a solid white color when applied to the skin, after you blend it in with the backside of the silicone tip the color changes to blend in with your skin and camouflage your blemishes. The clean formula includes Vitamin C to brighten your skin, Squalane Oil to prevent blemishes, Aloe to calm your skin, Bakuchiol to restore your skin, and Arnica to heal your skin, which all aim to hydrate, nourish, and heal your skin for a radiant, blemish-free appearance.
Beia
The Daily Hydrating and Setting Mist is a great setting spray to use after your makeup application, but it also works well on your bare-skin for a quick pick me up and fresh flow. The Daily Hydrating and Setting Mist is in a chic glass bottle with a gold top that provides even product distribution with every single spritz. The mist is very light and contains Aloe Vera, Hyaluronic Acid, Squalane, and Green Tea. The founder, Brittany Lo, draws on her Chinese heritage to shatter the concept that self-care and indulging in yourself is a taboo or selfish. The Beia website provides, in part, that “it’s no coincidence that our name resembles the Chinese word bao bei, or treasure; the “me moments” that our products empower are completely priceless.” I was able to meet Brittany in person at the Dallas launch of Beia and loved her vibrant New York energy. Brittany launched Beia with a mission to empower others to indulge in self-care with her wellness brand, so stay tuned for future product launches as the Daily Hydrating and Setting Mist is just the beginning of what is yet to come.
TAOS aer
The deodorants from this brand are very concentrated and are uniquely designed without water, and a little product goes a long way. The Palo Santo Blood Orange, Lavender Myrrh, and Ginger Grapefruit deodorants all smell amazing and are made with 100% naturally-derived ingredients sourced from plants, minerals and high-quality essential oils. Most importantly, the products are formulated without parabens, phthalates, sulfates, silicones or known toxic ingredients. Toas, New Mexico is the inspiration for the TAOS aer brand, particularly its wild spirit, rolling landscape and health-conscious lifestyle. Interestly, the concentrated formula creates a gel-to-powder deodorant that glides on easily without leaving a sticky residue. The product soaks into your skin quickly and the mineral powders help to neutralize odor-causing bacteria and absorb excess moisture.
FEATURE JUSTINA ADORNO IS
ROOTED IN COMPASSION
BY COURTNEY GARZA
Puerto Rican Actress and Vegan/Animal Rights Activist Justina Adorno has introduced a new challenging role to her career by playing an edgier role on the gritty drama FX’s Mayans M.C. She plays the role of ‘Nails,’ in the show’s third season, alongside JD Pardo, Clayton Cardenas and Edward James Olmos.
With a majority Latinx cast, crew and writers, Mayans M.C. is a spin-off of Sons of Anarchy and is set in a post-Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) world. The show follows the life of Ezekiel “EZ” Reyes (JD Pardo), a newly patched member of the Mayans M.C. charter on the Cali/Mexi border. Once the golden boy with the American Dream in his grasp, EZ and his brother Angel (Clayton Cardenas) are closer than ever after uncovering the truth behind their mother’s murder while their father Felipe (Edward James Olmos) struggles to reconcile the choices he and his sons have made.
Justina has starred in a wide range of roles including the Netflix series, based on the Russian film The Major, “Seven Seconds,” where she played ‘Jasmine.’ In 2019, she joined the Eva Longoria produced provocative drama, “Grand Hotel” which aired that summer on ABC. While being a short-lived show, Justina enjoyed playing the role of ‘Yoli,’ a character discovering her sexuality and coming into her own by being comfortable in her skin despite the constant comments about her weight. In early 2020, Justina played the part of ‘Steph’ in The CW’s sci-fi TV drama “Roswell: New Mexico.” Born in the Bronx, NY to Puerto Rican parents, Adorno fell in love with acting when she was attending a magnet school program for acting called PCA (Palmetto Center for the Arts) in South Carolina. She later auditioned and attended South Carolina Governor School for the Arts and Humanities to fully begin her pursuit in acting. She attended Coastal Carolina University, graduated with her BFA in Acting and moved back to NYC. While in NYC, Justina booked a couple of national commercials and appeared in NBCs 2016 Diversity Showcase. Having a passion for animal rights, Justina lives a vegan lifestyle, is adamant about using only vegan makeup on set and educates her followers across her social platforms on the abuse that animals endure. She has supported many animal organizations such as PETA, Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, Little Wanderers NYC and Animal Lighthouse Rescue NYC. She rescued two cats Catsby and Penni and believes every pet should have a safe home.
We had the chance to sit down (via Zoom) with Justina to chat with her about her acting, activism, and inclusivity.
When you’re on set, what is it like to be the only vegan?
I am so grateful that the industry is moving in that direction in general to have more vegan options. As artists, especially those that are in front of the camera, we are always concerned about what we look like. Everyone’s instinct is thinking that being vegan is healthy, but all us “real vegans” know that that doesn’t always mean that it’s healthy! But it certainly a great start and you can be super healthy being vegan. I have been fortunate the past few sets that I’ve worked on have had vegan options, especially when I worked on Grand Hotel and Mayans that had the same chef on staff that worked with a lot of whole foods with a full vegan menu. Even down to the snacks! A few of the other cast members were vegan too, so I was thankful to not be the only one! Identifying as vegan in my career helps me ground myself and know what I truly believe in as it has such an impact on my career from the hair and makeup products I use to the food I eat.
Have you found any difficulty with the makeup artists you’ve had on set to provide vegan options?
Yes and no. I think as we are with anything with things we’re not completely aware of, we don’t necessarily come out with the same passion as someone who is fully aware.
I had a few moments with the hair and makeup team that asked questions about what’s vegan and they actually realized that they already have a lot of vegan options! There are so many vegan and cruelty free
I WANT TO BE GENUINE IN EVERYTHING I DO.
hair and makeup lines that are already out there, so it is my mission to just bring them up more whenever I can for those that aren’t aware.
Staying committed to what you believe in is so important to me. I see too often that people don’t want to step on other people’s toes and simply say “it’s okay, don’t worry about it”, when really they should be standing up for themselves to make a change.
Being a part of a LatinX community, what have you seen as a barrier for introducing a vegan lifestyle?
I don’t think anyone is necessarily pushing it away. Within the food industry, a lot of vegan restaurants that I’ve found are Latino! I feel it’s one of the easiest cuisines to adjust to. A lot of people in my family and community do support me in my vegan lifestyle and I see the interest they have to make the switch themselves, even if they don’t go for it overnight. I remember Eva Longoria messaged me one night to ask, “hey are these vegan?” and that made me so happy to see her or anyone try to accommodate and even try the lifestyle for themselves! It has been hard with more traditional dishes, like from my grandmother. She once made our family a dish where she said she only put a little bit of pork in the rice and she was so disappointed when I told her I wouldn’t eat that. I had to tell her it wasn’t her, but just not something I wanted to ingest.
So it can be difficult to say no to our family in those matters, but I feel it’s important to still bond and make new memories with outside of those recipes. Even by veganizing the old recipes to show them that we can still enjoy them!
You are very involved in animal activism outside of just your food choices. Can you explain your involvement there?
I love to advocate for the great work that PETA, Best Friends Animal Society, ASPCA, Little Wanderers NYC and Animal Lighthouse Rescue NYC are doing.
I found a few cats outside of my neighborhood and not knowing what to do with them, since I had already rescued two cats and didn’t have any more room to take them in, I discovered Little Wanderers to team up with. They helped me bring the cats to foster homes and even helped the cats and animals they bring recover from any injuries or illnesses they have.
At the heart of every organization that I look into working with, I always ensure that their main mission is truly helping animals.
I want to be genuine in everything I do. I feel like I see too many companies have representatives that aren’t vegan, which is okay if they’re not, but I find it to be such a missed opportunity. Veganism isn’t a fad. This is a full lifestyle rooted in compassion to give voice to these animals. I certainly don’t take it lightly and want to showcase that it emcompasses my whole life. I am always striving to be better and learn how I can do more to help.
I want to encourage everyone to not be afraid of change and to research vegan options to make positive change to help save animals and make the world a better place.
FEATURE
WHAT’S MISSING FROM MEDICINE
There is something missing from medicine. I know exactly what it is.
BY SARAY STANCIC, MD, FACLM
Few want to believe that the solution to the complicated chronic disease epidemic could be so simple. The truth is that the very ordinary, seemingly mundane decisions you make each day play the most influential role. What you choose to eat is a big one. Did you know that the number one contributor to premature death is our diet? It used to be smoking. The surgeon general produced a report in 1964 enumerating all the deleterious health effects of smoking. Despite this warning, it took time for the public to finally kick that bad habit. The good news is today only 14% of Americans choose to smoke, a sharp contrast from a peak of ~42% decades earlier. That’s meaningful progress. Today our food choices are the modern-day cigarette. We commonly consume processed foods, laden with sugar, salt, and fat, accompanied by fiber deficient animal products. Only a small percentage of our diet is composed of the foods that serve to preserve our health and reduce risk of disease. If only we chose to eat more microbiome enriching whole
plants like fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains- the miraculous public health strides that could be achieved would be undeniably monumental. Maybe the surgeon general needs to start working on a new report.
To add insult to injury, we are sedentary, spending more time sitting behind computer screens, frantically meeting deadlines, responding to an overflowing inbox, and signing on to yet another ZOOM meeting. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic has shed light on our fragility as a community living largely compromised by chronic disease. Early in the COVID-19 crisis we learned that those living with a chronic disease and then infected with SARSCOV2 were six times more likely to be hospitalized and twelve times more likely to die compared to healthy individuals.
COVID has highlighted our vulnerability. Might this be the silver lining of this painful pandemic? Could it be the catalyst that awakened us leading to a shift in culture? I pray it is.
In medical school we train under the model of pathogenesis which is the study of illness. Physicians become disease experts, who then treat with pharmaceuticals, procedures, and surgical interventions. All of this is invaluable, but what is regrettable is we only teach half of the human health continuum. The opposite of pathogenesis is salutogenesis, which is the study of wellness. These lessons would prepare the physician to understand and value the importance of our diets, movement, stress, sleep, etc. in maintaining health and preventing disease. This is
important because scientific evidence tells us that by addressing these, we can prevent 80% of chronic disease. This is the failure of our academic institutions and a convoluted healthcare empire that has lost its fundamental primary purpose- Prevent disease whenever you can, as prevention is preferable to cure… (excerpt for the Hippocratic oath) The solution, or what’s missing really is this simple, and ought to be accessible to all, regardless of age, race, income level, gender, ethnicity, or zip code. Tending to all aspects of lifestyle is the key to living the best version of ourselves. When we adopt the following optimal lifestyle choices we can prevent, heal, and even reverse chronic disease.
• Food—eat more plants • Exercise—play more • Stress—stay present • Sleep—rest well • Substances—thrive without • Connection—grow love
Finally, I wish you a joy-filled life, free of chronic disease. May your last day on earth come at a ripe old age, having fulfilled your glorious purpose, and may you peacefully pass, surrounded by those you love, with dignity and tranquility.
A life well lived.
Food is really and truly the most effective medicine.
- Dr. Joel Fuhrman
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