The Actors Image-For your Closet!

As Actors the way we look will often define us, especially if  it is to people in the professional world we do not yet know. This can be said for literally every career-your first impression is everything. As Artists though, we need to have a fairly vast closet, filled with lots of different looks that work well together. If you are like me and love fashion you might also want to stay on top of trends and be able to present yourself as the fashion creative you are! If the audition room is filled with all black outfits, or versions of blue tops and khaki and/or black pants-trust me the casting directors appreciate having something different to look at!!!

You will not scare them with something classy yet on trend with a pop of color to it.

This doesn't mean you need to have a massive closet filled with a million different things. In fact I encourage closet purging every 6 month to a year! Personally for me all of my fall/winter and Spring Summer clothing fit into the same large plastic bin that I change out of my small closet twice a year!!

That might sound crazy to some people reading this, but if you work your clothing right it should be able to happen easily. 

Men do not be afraid to SHOP and live outside of your what you have been wearing for the past 5 years. You might think that mens fashion stays the same but I assure you it does not! 

Don’t be afraid to shop online.  I find all of my best deals this way. I don’t have the money, (nor the time with 2 busy kids) to go into boutiques and buy one of a kind items, or shop name brand without a care in the world for what it cost. However, I  found ways to look like I do.

I am going to share how I do this with you today!

Ebay is your friend.  I am a small woman. I have to get everything altered, and I know my seamstress Jenny very well! Sometimes the "petite sections" in the department stores do not carry the styles that I like. It is up to me to figure it out!  I read one time in a fashion magazine that Jennifer Anisten gets even her white t-shirts altered to fit her perfect. As women we all must work. it. out. honey!  First go into a store and try on some things from your favorite name brands you cannot afford so you know what size you are in everything from those brands. Next get on ebay, and really take your time looking through the prices on those brands, and peoples stores. You want to make sure you do your homework on ebay. For example, I love clothing from “BeBe”, I have a seller I always work with I found a couple years ago. Her and I have a great relationship. She knows my sizing, what I like, and I can trust her. She has 100% customer rating, and I get all my Bebe clothing from her.  That is important. Look through reviews. I have another girl I buy preowned designer jeans from. She is the same size as me, and I don’t ever have to get them hemmed-bonus!

 If I find something I really love that is a crazy good deal but a little off in the sizing-I will buy it anyway and have it taken in here and there so it fits me perfect. Buy things a little bit bigger on ebay and have them taken in so they fit you perfect. You can use this same trick in the stores! I only use stores on ebay that allow returns or exchanges. This makes things really easy!

All online stores offer very easy returns. Most of them free. Online shopping is so easy, and allows you to get so much more done with your day! PLUS your able to find better deal and more unique clothing.

Preaching to the choir? Already do all your shopping online- Cool!!

Ok then here are some of my favorite finds for the Men and women to Check out!!

If you have some great online shopping to share with me, please do….

Men-www.jackthreads.com

http://sneakoutfitters.com

http://www.boohoo.com

http://www.uniqlo.com

http://fourpins.com/features/the-25-best-online-shops-for-men/yoox-2

https://www.jackthreads.com/jtedit/jtedit/15-different-ways-to-wear-1-suit-with-photos-a-suit-style-guide-for-men-suits-online

women

http://www.modcloth.com

stylewe.com

www.uniqlo.com

stitchfix.com

www.shoptiques.com

Both-

http://www.ln-cc.com/en/home

High Fashion. This is a perfect website/store for learning about the current most on point trends happening NOW.  LN-CC is fantastic website too buy yourself something really unique if you have the funds to do it. They even offer free shipping over $100 , and 10% for first time customers! When I want to know what is truly in style, on trend and going on NOW in the fashion world, I look to europe. LN-CC's Online store is perfect for spending some time "researching" what is on trend for wearable high end fashion if you are a woman or a man! They have everything.

I like to use websites and fashion magazines like this to get ideas and inspiration to put together outfits that are similar for less money! My own creative Juices get flowing and I want to push my own fashion boundaries, after I have read through the latest Vogue, or browsing through LN-CC.

Did I mention they are also use a lot of recycled materials, have a record store, a gallery, and a library? whaaa?!!- clearly they have created something that houses a list of pretty much all the coolest things EVER. 

I really need to get over the pond. For now, dreaming online will have to do.... 

find out more here about LN-CC

http://www.ln-cc.com/en/home

For the Soul: Keeping those Creative Juices flowing when our Anxiety Levels Start to Take Over

It is no big secret we live in a stressful world. We all feel there is not enough time in the day. How often does the exchange "things are crazy right now!" pass between people, either over conversation, text or email?! In general, people never feel that they have enough time to get things done.
For creative types this often leads us to become so overwhelmed it starts to hurt our artistic flow.
Whether you are an actor, dancer, singer, director, musician-any artist finds it hard to get over creative hurdles.
I recently found a great super helpful, read !!

Author: Eric Maisel
Book: Mastering Creative Anxiety: 24 Lessons, for Writers, Painters, Musicians & Actors from Americas's for most Creativity Coach.

Maisel's book is a gift. In it he talks about "Creative Anxiety".  He uses his background as a psychotherapist to explain why creative people get it, and how it can get so bad it sometimes has put a complete stop to careers, yikes! I found it to be a quick read, and super easy to follow. Some of the subjects he writes about using I already practice regularly like mindfulness, and guided imagery, and deep breathing. I found his take on these subjects to be accurate, and easy to follow for a beginner. I also loved all of the stories he uses along with the lessons. In addition to being an extremely helpful tool, it is fun to read! You will find yourself wanting to share it with a fellow artist.

Maisel actually is the author of 10 other books which speak about the mind, being a creativity coach, depression, and achieving goals.
Great Book selection for the actor looking for something new, that is not another method/scene/or monologue book!!

Remember, it is important to take care of yourself! No one does it for you.

It's amazing what happens when you Wash Your Face!

WASH YOUR FACE- sound simple?

Well you wouldn't believe just how hard this actually is for people to comply too..it needs to be as natural as eating. Washing your face needs to happen every single night before you go to bed, and then when you wake up before you start your step by step product routine. Ideally, I prefer to tell people to exfoliate with a scrub in the mornings, but washing or toning will work too.

When people tell me my skin is nice, I am always truly grateful for the compliment. I work hard at it.
I am a licensed esthetician. I no longer "work" in that field serving clients. I did own my own business for a long time mixing custom masks, and giving one of a kind facials with ingredients that the clients skin told me it needed.

I still do this for myself.

I always get asked what skincare line I use.

Answer: for the most part "ARCONA" www.arcona.com

I have used this line daily and nightly for 12 yrs. I also always get asked "what can I do thats simple to change my skin?"

Something else I ALWAYS DO, no matter how tired....no matter how late, no matter what the situation around me might be-is wash my face before I go to bed. Oh, and yes...this goes for the days, I have only put on my sunscreen and no makeup on too!

The reason is, that when you don't wash dirt from the day, and makeup off your face it sits there overnight opening up and stretching out your pores. Stretching out your pores over time, leads to aging, large pores, and tired saggy skin.  Leaving dirt, debris, and makeup on your face will create what we call uneven skin tone.  Uneven skin tone can be redness, specific spots on the face that are flaky, blackheads/whiteheads, bumps, and premature wrinkles (yikes!) Seriously if you could avoid all of this by washing your face at night, then quickly going through a couple other steps (depending on the product line) wouldn't you do it??

For you Actors and Models out there, you want to make sure you look exactly like those gorgeous pictures you have, right?! 

Some people wash their face TOO MUCH. This creates an environment where your skin's natural oil barrier has been stripped away. Depending on the person's skin type one of 2 things will happen.

1. if the person has oily skin, the skin will work overtime to put that oil back, leading to a horrible cycle where the person who is over washing their face, is trying to keep oil away. The BEST thing in this situation is to use a face wash appropriate for YOUR skin type.  Their are literally hundreds to choose from. Finding the one thats right for you is what is important. You want to make sure it is PH balanced, has a nice short list of active ingredients. Look for a product line that is serum based, and make sure you are moisturizing! It is important that your cleanser not strip away that barrier, so your already oily skin doesn't go into overdrive.

2. if the person has dry skin, the skin will start to crack, get flaky and feel so tight that it hurts to move from over washing. Finding a face wash that has soothing ingredients to it, is key. It also needs to be PH balanced. You should never feel like you need to slap on your moisturizer 10 seconds after washing, because your face feels so tight, its as if you just spent the last hour hanging out outside in the tundra. Look for products with little too no preservatives. The list of ingredients should be simple, and include extracts that are both moisturizing and full of antioxidants. Dry skin needs to be exfoliated more than people realize.  Using something every single night that gives a gentle exfoliation, I find works best. This way there is always a gentle turn over of cells happening.

Many product lines offer nightly exfoliating serums. The reason that serums work better on the face is because the size of the molecule can penetrate into the skin, and the pore easier. Heavy creams tend to do nothing more than sit on top of the skin stretching it out , enlarging pores, and eventually leading to... you got it saggy, droopy, big ol' pores, wrinkles, and all the things we DONT WANT!
See how simple this all is?

For my at home care I use the Arcona skincare line because it is serum based. I have used it since 2005. They really were the leaders in the serum revolution. Now you can find serums in tons of product lines.

For skin that is not sensitive and/or more on the oily side here are just a few examples of some ingredients to look for when selecting a night serum

• Gycolic
• Alpha or Beta hydroxy Acids aka AHA or BHA
• Salicylic acid
• Malic acid

For skin that tends to be sensitive, dry, or mature look for night serums with these ingredients
• Lactic acid
• Vitamin c
• Papain and Bromelian

Ok-I don't want to overwhelm right out of the gate. Its really easy to book an image appointment with me if you live in Chicago and your an actor. Not only do we get to work on acting, but we get to talk about awesome stuff like this.

For the rest of you-email me, and I can help with basic questions! Sign up for my Blog, lets have some fun!

Basic thing to remember from this Post- WASH YOUR DAMN FACE. I don't care if your with a new date and its going great and you don't want too.  I don't care if your too wasted-make your way to that sink before you pass out!  I don't care if you worked 14 hrs. I don't care if the baby had you up all night and you don't have any makeup on anyway.  I don't care if your a dude and you think thats for girls....4 weeks from now you will thank me!!! You will LOOK BETTER.

I swear.

2 years from now, you will be singing my praises,  and 5 yrs from now, the name Elisabeth with an "s" might be more popular than Elizabeth with a "z" based on all the non aging people naming their children after me...

Ok, well that last one probably not.

Until next time

Yours in Beauty,
Elisabeth