I’m not quite sure that anyone I’ve ever known has been in this situation before. These are certainly unprecedented times which will undoubtedly birth very creative solutions. I like to think of it as an opportunity, not something to fear. We make ALL choices out of either love or fear. I think at a time like this it’s important to be consciously leading with one and not the other.

FIND WHATEVER WE LOVE TO DO AND DO MORE OF IT

How many times have we thought of things we’d like to do around the house, or an exercise regimen we’d like to get on top of or to just start drinking water for crying out loud. Time is not something we usually have and look what is in front of us right now. TIME. LOTS OF IT. I want to encourage us all to find whatever we love to do and do more of it. I say all the time that the best way to be happy is to be unselfish. Our simple gestures of selflessness could be saving someones life in days like these. I think about the elderly people on my street, or how I could use my salon that is shut down as a drop-off of overstock that could be redistributed to people who are without. However we use our time in these upcoming days could really make or break us mentally. Honestly it has been really easy to sleep in, eat whatever we want and to nearly burn the Netflix emblem into our TV screen. But we’ve got to be more than that, for our spouse, our kids and our future body weight.

MAKE OURSELVES BETTER, NOT WORSE.

I find so often that lash artists are some of my favorite people because generally they have such selfless hearts… this also can mean that we are very bad taking care of ourselves. I'm hoping that we can all band together and take this time to make ourselves better not worse. What I mean by that is expand are our thinking from our normal everyday lives which consisted of a lot of structure. I'm finding that that is one thing that I am missing throughout this, so we’ve had to create our own. Those of you who have young children have a lot more natural structure than I do as a mom with a teenager who doesn’t mind at all if the whole house sleeps til noon. And don’t even get me started on those of you who are homeschooling multiple children OH MY GOSH! You guys are the real MVPs. But with all of these things to take into consideration, I want us to make time to make us better lash artists too. I believe we can accomplish that even without live models- (unless you have a family member who will allow you to lash them.)

Some of the ways we can better ourselves as lash artists:

• Youtube, LBLA has gone to YouTube with SO MANY incredible topics. We’ve covered everything from basic lashing 101 to some very complex answers of FAQ’s we’ve gotten over the years.
• Practice fan making. Use makeup sponges, (beauty blenders, sponge wedges or anything really) but make them cute! Share them with us! We want to see your progress!
• Clean your shop. I mean deep clean. Spring cleaning. Haul out closets, wash curtains, shake out carpets, paint walls and fix trim. You have time to make the details perfect. Do it.
• Deep clean/organize your lashes/supplies/tools. Cut tape. Take all your mixed trays with only 8’s left and combine them. Give the empty lash trays to your nieces to paint with nail polish and make toy cell phones.
• Re-read your theory book. There is so much information in this book. Do this especially if you only ever opened it at class. (Upside down smiley face.)
• Any lash practice is good practice. Do classics own your teenager, our mega volumes on the mannequin in your basement. (Please tag us in those pics)
• Work on your instagram! Choose an aesthetic you like, a color and then re-create your page so it has balance. Go through your old photos and delete lash pictures that aren’t perfect. Quality over quantity.
• Yoga. Start stretching and then don’t stop. I’m seeing some artists who are having back and neck issues, carpal tunnel, and shoulder pain. Simple stretches can help to stop that.
• Check in on your clients. Especially ones you know have compromised immune systems, or family members who do.
• Share your growth. We can and will survive this as a community. We’re all in this together. Que High School Musical theme song.

Thank you to those of you who have shut down in order to flatten the curve. We will absolutely come out on the other side of this a stronger group of humans, who appreciate each other more and honor the earth we live on. We applaud the way you bring light to you community by make them feel beautiful. You KNOW the power beauty brings, thanks for giving it away.

All my prayers and love for a happy & healthy couple of weeks off. 

Xoxo Lydia