When I’m dancing. I’m a competitive ballroom dancer, which means I spend a whole lot of time practicing—practicing technique, working on the perfect placement of my feet, legs, trying to get my body to go faster, more effortlessly (or at least more effortless looking), etc. I do all this for those mere moments of transcendence (which, I have to admit I’ve only ever experienced once so far) when I feel like I’m flying, like I don’t even have a body anymore. So it’s really much more than beauty and perfection. Just like anything, dance is about passion and connection. There’s nothing like clean sheets! After my nightly ritual I love getting into a freshly made bed. To me, there’s nothing like crisp fresh, soft cotton sheets in the summer and super soft comfy flannel sheets in the winter to make you feel sensuous and luxurious. Getting older. Every year I get older since I turned 40, and I’m 46 now, makes me feel more and more beautiful. The concerns of youth, especially about how other people feel or think about me, lessen with each passing year, which is incredibly freeing, and I become more confident. I embrace more of what life truly has to offer, I grow more as a person and find that I have more compassion for other people and more love to give. I wouldn’t go back to a younger age for anything. Putting on something silky. Wearing silky things under my daily clothes makes me feel extra special and beautiful every day, no matter how mundane my daily tasks might be—grocery shopping, picking up the dry cleaning, working on the computer, in a business meeting. The feeling of soft silk and lace against the skin is a little elevation of reality. My nightly ritual. First, I scrub any dry patches and smooth my skin with my exfoliating foaming body and facial cleansers, which leave my skin totally smooth and soft. Then, I tone and moisturize my face and spend extra time applying my lotions (or, at times a fragrant lotion like diptyque’s Tam Dao) all over my body, paying special attention to my elbows, feet, legs and back. This nightly ritual is not only great for my skin and the reason I make it through every winter without a dry patch in sight, but makes me feel like I’m really taking care of myself. Just a little ritual like that, giving yourself 5-10 minutes a day for yourself can do wonders to erase some of the stresses of the day and make you feel beautiful!
