Returning Seasons

Photo by: Rory M.

In beauty may I walk
All day long may I walk
Through the returning seasons may I walk
Beautifully I will possess again
Beautifully birds
Beautifully joyful birds
On the trail marked with pollen may I walk
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk
With dew about my feet may I walk
With beauty may I walk
With beauty before me may I walk
With beauty behind me may I walk
With beauty above me may I walk
With beauty all around me may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty,
lively, may I walk
In old age, wandering on a trail of beauty,
living again, may I walk
It is finished in beauty
It is finished in beauty

-Anonymous, "The Navajo Night Way Ceremony"

I found this online, and what I liked about it is that its focus on beauty seems not in what the speaker wears or does to him/herself. The beauty they speak of comes from what and with whom they choose to surround themself. It's a lovely reminder that with a new season, and new routines, come new beauties to inspire us if we choose them.


Happy Friday! 

Rory 

Looking for More?

Photo by: Rory M. 

It's been about six months since we've launched Eye of the Beholder in February, and we couldn't be having any more fun! Thanks to the awesome people who've read, commented, encouraged, and critiqued, this journey for us has been both educational and exhilarating. 

About a month ago, we got this nagging little feeling like we had more we wanted to express that we couldn't via Eye of the Beholder. Although we love all things beauty-related, there are also other things that light our fire that we'd love to share! 

We've recently launched our own personal blogs: 
5x5 (Alysha Marie)
Creatively Me (Rory)

These differ from Eye of the Beholder in that they are not beauty blogs. They are merely a means for readers to get to know us a little more. So, check us out! Thanks for reading :)

Rory & Alysha Marie

Happy Monday!

Photo by: Alysha M.

As Rory mentioned, I just moved into a new pad and started the scary adventure that people call college. I'm still settling in and adjusting to my 7 a.m. class (yikes), but I wanted to share with you the latest addition to the Girl Cave (the affectionate nickname I've given my room): the nail polish cabinet. It's three shelves of pure joy.
It makes Mondays more manageable.

What's your secret to surviving Mondays? 

OX Alysha Marie

Arizona-bound

Photo by: Rory M.

Guess who's a college freshman?

That's right. You heard it here first, folks. Our wonderful Alysha Marie is en-route to her new home for the next four years. I was surprised at how easy it was to wish her well as she departed. I'm usually such a sap, and goodbyes are very difficult, especially to this girl!

Since I've met Alysha, she's been ready for a new adventure. I think our parting was so easy because I'm excited for her to leave. I'm excited to hear about all of her adventures, and work with her on Eye of the Beholder with new perspectives. Congrats to all of the new freshman. I think this is the start to a beautiful year. 

Rory

Accessorize

Photo by: Rory M.

If you live in New England, then you know that the weather can be unpredictable. However, one thing that has been predictable almost all summer is the humidity. Nothing gives me (or anyone else I know) hair-stress like the big, bad H-word. Humidity makes hair uncooperative at best. 

Instead of stressing out over a style that will last and look all right throughout the day, I have found that the simplest way to combat humid-hair is to accessorize! If you're like me, and get bored of hair easily, accessorizing allows me to be lazy, but still feel like I'm being fresh and new-ish. Clips, bows, flowers, beads, bands, ties, wraps, hats- all's fair in love and humidity. Give it a try, and have some fun with it. 

Happy accessorizing!

Rory 

The Beauty Still Left Around You

Photo by: Rory M.

"Think of all the beauty still left around you and be happy."
(Anne Frank)

I love this quote. As a journalist, it pains me to see the news splattered with sad stories of evil and injustice. I consider it a sorry state when feel-good stories are a treat. These words by Anne Frank help me to remember that happiness is a choice, as is bitterness and despair. The truth is that there is more than enough beauty in the world to inspire joy. So, running the risk of sounding cliche, I say let's tap into that and make this world a better place!

Rory 

Splish Splash!

Photo by: Rory M.

You're probably wondering what a "Holy Grail Product" is...

I'm guessing you have about twenty of them. These are the products you CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT. Now I may be a little melodramatic, but we all know when we find that product- the one that makes your hair behave, the perfume that turns heads, or that nail polish that tickles your toenails. We're going to be featuring our favorites, and share some reasons on why we are in LOVE.

First up is LUSH's bubble bars in Ma Bar. They are a little slice of heaven in a eco-friendly container. I fell in love with the company after my aunt introduced it to me three years ago, and after a long day working on the farm (where I have my second job), this hits the spot. You just fill up your tub with warm water, drop it in, and take it out once the water has a slight haze.

3 Reason to Love: #1. Unlike other bath bombs, this doesn't leave a residue on everything (yourself and your tub), so you actually feel clean when you get out. #2. It's warm honey toffee and cocoa smell (yum). #3. All of LUSH's product are homemade and made with natural ingredients!

Price: $7.95
Where: LUSH stores (I like the one on Newbury Street in Boston) or www.lushusa.com.

What's your Holy Grail Product? 
And anyone else a LUSH fan?

OX Alysha Marie

You Didn't Have to Cut Me Off

Photo by: Rory M.

We've all done it. Amen? Amen. 

Yes, I'm talking about the dreaded "bad haircut". If you've read my previous post, you'll know about just one of my incidents. I wish I could say that I've learned my lesson, and it's been smooth sailing ever since, but that would be a big, fat lie. In fact, just last week I got a cut that I was less-than-satisfied with. This experience has prompted me to write a list of steps that I've taken to make the best of a bad haircut. 

1. Be vocal. 

If you don't like it, say so. You won't hurt anyone's feelings. It's far better to be picky and come away content, than to leave unsatisfied and hate your 'do until your next visit. 

2. Reality check.

If there's nothing to be done, then it's time to face the music. That is accept that you're not happy with it, but also give yourself a reality check: it's only hair, and that's not all there is to you. It sounds silly, but it helps to remind yourself that you are beautiful and valuable no matter what your hair looks like.

3. Find a kindred spirit. 

Chances are, you are not alone in your hairstyle. When I didn't like my hair, I started researching celebrities who had a similar style. It inspired me to look at mine a different way. This was actually very helpful. Once I saw the style on someone else, I thought it was super cute, and I was ready to rock it!  

4. Get a second opinion. 

No matter how bad it is, it's helpful to get the opinion to someone who is not under the emotional duress that often follows a bad haircut. Even if it's unanimously bad, someone else might have a positive way to look at it. For instance, last week my mother told me all the things she liked about my new style, and that was encouraging. She saw what I didn't. 

5. Find your style. 

There is often another way to style bad hair that is more to your liking. For instance- Don't like short bangs? Try a headband, or braid them. If nothing can be done, well, wigs are more common than you may think. 

Happy styling!

Rory 

A Hair Story: The Devil Made Me Do It

Photo by: Alex L. (This is me shortly after my haircut!)                       

As I've alluded to in previous posts, beginning the life of a college freshman isn't easy. Unfortunately, we tend to take out the stress of this process on those we love, and although I believe my hair has forgiven my past transgressions, this was a rocky time in our relationship. 

Before I begin, there are two things you must understand: 

1. I love my hair. It's also been a lifelong dream of mine to have long, long hair.

2. My college career began during one of the hottest weeks of the summer. It was uncharacteristically hot and humid, and much of our orientation activities were outdoors. 

If you are cringing now, then I know you are catching my drift- outdoors, humidity, stress, hair, oh my. 

At this time, my hair had finally grown into a long length that I was content with. Braids, buns, twists, and tucks roamed freely and all was well in the hairosphere. That is, until orientation week. 

As I've written in at least one previous post, orientation week was not my cup of tea. It insisted that I leave the comfort of my newly decorated dorm, talk to strangers, and participate in get-to-know-you activities. The nerve of these establishments. 

Long story short, all the mandatory events that made up our busy schedule meant that I didn't have much time to spend on my hair, and as a result, I didn't like how it looked. So what do you do? Find the nearest hair salon and do something crazy. 

I walked into the establishment with a sign overhead reading "Hair Adventure". Looking back, it seemed very appropriate. After a once-in-a-lifetime head massage (Seriously, it was that good.) and a good long talk with the masseuse about cake and how to best attract the attention of the boy she was crushing on, I was in the hot seat. The conversation with the hairdresser went something like this:

"Okay, what do you want?"
"I want a bob."
"A bob?"
"Yes, a bob. Cut it all off."
"Okay, so you want it like this?" She traced a line with her fingers, angling them from just below the chin, up the jaw line, to rest at the base of the skull parallel to her ear lobes. 
"No, a bob. I want it to be even length all the way around." I too traced a line from mid-neck to chin.
"Sweetie, I know bob. That's not bob." 
"No, you're describing an inverted bob. I want an even one that ends at my chin." We went back and forth on the definition of a bob for a time before I finally said, "Fine. No bob. Just cut it evenly at my chin." That seemed to pacify my equally strong-willed hairdresser, and she went to work. 

To me, hairdressers are like surgeons. Together you discuss the desired outcome of the procedure, and then they tell you what the procedure will consist of . For these sensitive professions, a certain amount of bedside manner is expected in order for the patient to be calm, trusting, and cooperative. This key ingredient was lacking in my story. 

I began to get teary as I watched her gather up my long hair into a loose ponytail. She noticed and asked if I was nervous. I nodded, noting in the mirror just how pathetic I looked. She smiled wickedly, flipped the ponytail over my head so it dangled in front of my face. Then, at eye-level, the scissors came into view, cutting off my treasured locks as she sang, "Ooooh, bye-bye haaair!" I spent the rest of the cut gathering up the remains of my former life in my lap and braiding it as if it were still securely attached to my head.

I'll spare you the remaining details. I've spent much of the time between now and then regretting the decision to chop my hair off, and concentrated on 1) growing it back and 2) figuring out what had caused me to (in the span of 48 hours) abandon my dream of long hair and sabotage my efforts. 

The conclusion I have come to is this: control. I felt alone, undesirable, and completely out of control. So if my silly story can mean something to you, it would be this: Control is not always a guarantee, but choice is. You may not be in control of a situation, but you choose how you respond to it. You can choose how to react to a new environment. You can choose positive thinking habits. And you don't need to take it out on your hair. The choice is yours.

Rory

The Deets

If you've ever come home from an extend vacation (a week or more), everyone seems to know that you've been away. My Facebook friends (and their friends) know, your neighbors notice and almost everyone in my church knows that I've been off gallivanting somewhere.

In no particular order, here are the 5 most popular questions I've been asked:

#1. Where did you go?

I went to Senegal, then Madrid (and for the sake of this post, I'll hold off on Madrid discoveries).

Taken on the bus ride from Dakar to our hotel in San Louise.

#2. Where did you stay?
We stayed on the island side of St Louis (which is a 4 hour drive from the capital Dakar, where we flew in) in a hotel. We had a spacious room (the owner had mercy on us girls and offered us the largest room the hotel had to offer) with a shower and a real toilet! Our beds had mosquito nets, we had giant bugs that lived in the closet of the bathroom where the towels were held and AC powered by a generated (that we may have blown out, and the entire hotel lost power for a bit...sorry other hotel guests).

Painting a column in the Trade School.

#3. What did you do?
We spent most of our time at a trade school that a local church was building. The missionaries that hosted us, the Davis family and the Stevenson family, have been partnering with the Fall family (pastor of the local church) to make a trade school for the Tailbes boys. (They also recently opened up a woman's trade school to help families bring in extra income.) 

The Tailbes boys are children who are sold by their families to Marabouts (local religious leaders). Most of these children are moved to different parts of the country to prevent them from running away. From the ages of 5-17, they are forced to beg on the streets and live in cramped dorms with jail-like conditions. Once they turn 18, they are kicked out onto the street with no job training or literacy. The Trade School will one day teach them a trade and basic elementary skills, like reading and math.

We spent our days helping pour cement, leveling floors, and sanding and painting walls. The only snag was that girls were not allowed to stand on ladders or level floors/pour cement, so we painted as high as we could go (which wasn't that high seeing how we are all under 5'4") and then we cheered the boys on as they painted the ceiling, pour cement, moved loads of dirt and performed other manly tasks. 

#4. What did you eat?

We ate A LOT. 

Every day for lunch, we went to the Falls' house. Lunch is the main meal in Senegalese culture, so it's a time when you go home and spend two hours at home, catching up with family and taking a nap. (Random fact: It's a sign of good manners and that you feel comfortable in a home if you are able to nap during lunch time.) Madame Fall would invite everyone who was hanging around the job-site to lunch, so we got to know all the workers pretty well. We ate on the floor with about 8 to 10 people gathered around a giant pan of food. Everyone ate with spoons and it was common that, if the eldest person at your plate noticed that you loved something (say the chicken), they could spoon over a LARGE portion of it to the little "slice" of the bowl that you sat in front of and you had to eat it.

My favorite dish was the spicy onion and chicken rice (that's pictured below) and the most "interesting" was the fish balls (think meatballs, but with fish and they added the bones and insides for taste).

#5. What were your most memorable experiences?
Tommy (one of the team's adult leaders, pictured on the right) and I went to Bach's (on the left) family home. We traveled for about an hour and a half outside of St Louis to his village and he showed us around. We trampled through sand dunes, walked cautiously by a BIG snake, viewed lush farmland and met the entire neighborhood.

We went on a horse and buggy tour around St Louis. It was an amazing way to see the city as only locals do. We got stuck behind a parade that was celebrating the victory of a local boxer (picture a World Series and Superbowl parade combined). It was amazing to see entire neighborhoods pouring out into the streets to celebrate.

The Kids! At the Trade School, we had all the children from the surrounding houses crowding around the doors and fighting each other for a glimpse at tabas, or white people. I have never been squished by more hugs or had my hair played with more (they were amazed that my hair was soft and two different colors).

ox Alysha Marie

Challenge Accepted (Twisted Updo)

Challenge:                              Challenge Accepted:

Step 1: Brush out hair and tie into a half-pony. 

Photo by: Rory M.

Step 2: Using 2 fingers, make a space right above the elastic. Gather up pony, tuck into opening, and pull it down. For more information on this step, look here. This style is called the inverted ponytail.

Photo by: Rory M.

Step 3: Split ponytail into 2 pieces. Set one aside and begin twisting the other.

Photo by: Rory M.

Step 4: Twist until the section begins to coil over itself. When it is coiled, pin it down. You can always twist and turn the coil until you like its placement. Don't forget to pin it! 

Photo by: Rory M.

Photo by: Rory M.

Step 5: Repeat Step 4 on the other side of the pony. 

Photo by: Rory M.

Step 6: After both sides of the half-inverted-ponytail are fully twisted, coiled, and pinned, we parted the rest of the hair and followed the same steps for the rest of the head, until all of the hair is twisted, coiled, and pinned to your heart's contentment!

Photo by: Rory M.

This process worked well for us because the half-inverted-ponytail served as a basis for the rest of the hair. We were able to do the center first and use it as a reference point for the entire style.

Photo by: Rory M.

We didn't really go to great lengths to hide the bobby pins. Unless you like the "heavy hardware" look, be sure to tuck them safely underneath the curls!

Photo by: Rory M.

Thanks Chelsea! Chelsea was such a wonderful model for us. Her carefree attitude and perpetual smile make her a joy to work with!

Send questions and Hair Challenges to anewbeautyblog@gmail.com.

Rory & Alysha Marie 

Full Circle

Photo By: Alysha Marie

"Go confidently in the direction of your dreams.

Live the life you imagined. 

As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler."

- Henry David Thoreau

Ever since eleventh grade English, when I first read this quote, I knew I had to write it down. Thoreau nailed down the things I wanted in life: confidence, dreams coming true, and simple living.

It was the first line that always drew me in: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams." Confidence. Isn't that the word that the magazines use to describe how you need to act when you're at a job interview, with your crush or making a major life decision? As a young adult, these are the situations I find myself in almost daily and I will admit that confidence is not a word I would use to describe most of these encounters. 

You see, I always thought confidence was a natural thing you were born with: you either had it or you didn't. I always thought I didn't have it.

I always had confused confidence with perfection. Confidence is a fearlessness to go after what you want in life. If that means looking for a new job because you hate your current one, then interview. If it means talking to the cutie from down the hall, then go talk to him. If you want to travel to Africa and need to wipe out a vast sum of cash from your savings, then do it. 

The journey to get to what you want in life isn't a road. Thoreau wrote "in the direction" and last time I checked, direction means north, south, east or west. There are no street signs in direction. It means putting your compass down, focusing on your end destination and doing whatever it takes to make it there, even climbing mountains if need be.

I thought getting to Africa was a road: You sign up to be on a team. You write support letters. People love to hear the good work you will do, and they will donate resources. You will know everyone on the team well and be well-prepared. Your parents will be proud of you and support you 100%. You will serve people by doing work and good deeds, and come home with the pictures to prove it.

And of course, none of this happened. I had to beg to be on a team. I only had a few people respond to support letter (for which I am very grateful!) but not enough to pay for a $3,000 trip. I got a second job. I wasn't able to attend all the trip meetings, so I didn't really know the team and I wasn't well prepared. My parents were freaking out over their eldest baby going to a different country. 

But I went to Africa. I lived the life that I've wanted to live. I learned a lot and life became simpler. 

Hopefully, as I share about how my dream came true, you will be inspired to walk confidently in the direction of yours.

Inspiration; it's a beautiful thing, isn't it?

OX Alysha Marie

If the Shoe Fits

Photo by: Rory M.

Like most freshmen, my (Rory's) transition from high school to college was challenging in more ways than just the academic. During that time, the fashion scene went from headbands, ballet flats, and cafe cardigans to beanies, combat boots, and horn-rimmed glasses. It sounds silly, but the change in fashion caught me by surprise and left me very stylistically disoriented.

After graduation, my mother surprised me with the best pair of shoes I'd ever seen. The vibrant, multicolored, designer high-tops were the most elaborate (and expensive) shoes I'd ever owned. They were my babies, and I coddled them. On one of the rare days that I decided to wear these shoes in public, I found that they were missing. After a panicked search, I asked my roommate if she had seen them. "Oh yes," she said. "I hid them." When I asked why, her reason was, "I didn't like looking at them because they are so ugly." I don't remember exactly what happened next, but it wasn't pretty. When it was all over, I had my shoes back, and my roommate had come up with nicer ways to express her opinion.

As the year went on, we would frequently shop together and would hardly ever find something that we both liked. It was kind of fun. Although we worked things out, I found that I was gradually changing my style to fit more of what my peers deemed acceptable. An evolving style is part of growing up, and it's pretty common to experience a fashion-overhaul during the college years. However, I found that I was rejecting my go-to preppy style because it "just didn't belong".

As the new school year approaches, I want to encourage new freshman and returning students, whether high school, college, or beyond (We never really stop being students, do we?), to be challenged and open-minded, but to stay true to what makes you feel your best. The truth is, your peers really aren't judging you as hard as you are. People may say it's stupid to care this much, but fashion is a method of expression. So express YOURSELF! And protect your shoes.

Rory