Why Treating Your Birthday Suit As The First Step To Your Best Style Is Key

12.26.

On this day, I’ll be 30. It’s important because 3 days before that, I’ll have had been diagnosed with Lupus for 13 years. That is important. For a little less than half my lifetime, I’ve had a disease which has made most of my decisions as it pertains to my body. Weight loss, skin discoloration, weight gain, hair loss, fatigue and much more. How does one travel in style when at any moment, you experience symptoms that make traveling to a remote community in Zambia a bit more difficult, or not checking a bag becomes a decision of whether you can bring sneakers + a cute pair of heels + flats – just to make sure you are prepared under any circumstance for when your arthritis shows up to the party.

Style is not just about impressing the person in the mirror, or those you are with. It’s about putting your armor on for the day. It can be sneakers, a jacket, luggage, or comfortable heels but the most important element of your style is your body, your birthday suit, pun intended.

In preparation for my impending milestone birthday, I decided to make significant investments in me, specifically my skin. I wanted to wake up on the big day having already put the work in. I approached it with many, many, did I say many, preconceived notions of what I wanted. It started with needing more mineral powder, said no one ever, or buying the best extractor to get the nasty’s out. I was frustrated with my skin discoloration, I needed high pigmentation, products that don’t just claim to have great SPF, but like, do, and it’s over 15 – what a joke. I needed products that came in travel size, I travel for work enough to know that if I just use some garbage twice a month, I’ll regret it by the end of the year.

I decided to wait for an upcoming trip to LA, the land of upright tits and tight skin. Made the decision to stroll The Grove with @hertravelstyle’s founder, Taryn Weitzman. Now, Taryn is a very good friend of mine. She once cleaned out my closet, I vividly remember her asking me why I had so many college t-shirts; I had graduated 4 years ago. I didn’t have an answer other than a pout and “I’ll make a quilt with it”. Never made that fucking quilt, but I digress…

On this day, at The Grove, I learned two valuable lessons from Taryn:

If you’re ready to spend money, find an enthusiastic employee (we went to Fresh and Sephora), and squeeze out all the “complimentary” shit you can.

It started with samples, lots of samples, at Sephora. Walked outta there with the most beat of faces. Moved to fresh and ended with a mini-facial. They call it a demonstration, however, if the seat could recline to a bed, I would have paid that woman. I got the full effect of how great their products are. California tax is stupid, so fresh offered to ship it to me in MD and I paid ZERO taxes; used the $20 in tax to buy macarons. Thanks @laduvere (another courtesy of @hertravelstyle).

Over budget, and then spend more than your budget.

Don’t walk in on your Suzie Orman tip, you’ll regret it. Give yourself the liberty to explore without checking price tags. If you need to put money aside for a few weeks, it’s worth it. Beauty trends are always changing. Most importantly, you take more risks on a product you may have not considered because of the price tag. Prevent and avoid limitations – you’ll walk away empowered and a step closer to the most beautiful skin you’ve ever had.

And remember, if it’s a store that prides themselves in good customer service, you can just return it. Like use it at home, break up with it, and then return it and get your dollars back.