Rethinking Social Media

     Everyone and their cyberstalker has been posting about the girl who "quit social media" after becoming disgusted with what her lifestyle had become. If you haven't heard the story, here's abasic run down.
     A 19 year old girl, who had been grooming her social media presence for the last few years and as a result had a crop-ton of followers, changed all her captions on Instagram to convey what was "really" happening in the picture. (I didn't eat all day and then took 100 selfies to get this one right, I was not actually zen in this photo, I was only pretending to be zen, etc.) She then deleted the account and as a result, everyone has been talking about her. I want to clear up a few things about some misconceptions and how we as a world can change the story.
1. This girl was not #healthy, #fitspo, or #cleaneating. A cursory glance at her new captions and you could tell she had an eating disorder. It is important to make people realize that your body image was not healthy or truthful, but don't assume that everyone is acting like you to have that "perfect bod" to get a perfect picture.
2. Most of her pictures were modeling, not conveying her lifestyle. I don't spend my spare time dolled up, laying in pools or dark water while surrounded by roses, but I have pictures of that. Because in modeling, as art or to sell a product, you are playing a character.
3. She was getting paid. If you see a person with a bajillion followers on Instagram post a product, there is a pretty good chance that they didn't buy it. It was sent to them and they got to keep it if they posted it and they may have even got paid in addition to that. I know people out there making their entire living off of social media posts. She was not being forced to do any of this. She did it for followers, free stuff and money.
4. If you've built this huge following, why not use it for good? rather than just tossing it in the trash? Think it's not possible? Here are a few of my favorite babes whose profiles are full of advice, funny tidbits and great brands.

@raindovemodel : Rain got a boost in notoriety after getting her own list on Buzzfeed about why she's so awesome. Basically she models men and womens wear, spends time volunteering with homeless youths and effectively kicks the gender to the curb. Need a pick me up? feeling lost in the crowd? I guarantee you she has posted something that you can relate to and will life your spirits.

I actually got to see Rain walk at my sister's show at Marist!

 @dear.dorothy : Dorothy is one of the only people that I feel totally understands body positivity. She doesn't force her ideals on others. She just wants everyone to be happy in their own skin. Her audience has grown since Mandalynn Swim began using her as one of their lifestyle models. But that's not to say that her page is all sunshine and rainbows, she uses her challenges and difficult times to inspire others in a way that isn't preachy or over bearing.

Bother of these magnificent humans use their growing audience to spread ideas of equality, self-love and compassion. I wish that this other chick had too, but oh well. Hopefully it's a wake up call for people to stop taking social media so seriously, unplug occasionally, and look for people that are spreading more genuine messages.

Amour Propre Collaboration

     

A few weeks ago I was contacted by Amour Propre. Never heard of them? Well they're a great company that aims to decrease bullying by using student advocates and adults that have come out the other side. And also they have cool t-shirts, which is always fun.

     Calvin, the creator of the company, asked me to think a bit about my story before we met up to shoot so that I could have something genuine and unique to say. So I began to think back to high school and middle school, not exactly the best of times. And it really made me realize that as women, we never truly stop being bullies.  Girls make snide comments behind their friend's back, and continue to do so when they're grown women. 

     So even if I aimed my comments at a teenage version of myself, they could easily be applicable to someone my age. As adults we still need to find the courage to stand up for ourselves, to stand up for others. Every time someone makes a "go eat a hamburger" joke the 13 year old in me cringes and tries to hide in the shadows, but the 24 year old puffs her chest out and looks them in the eye. Insulting my body won't make you love yours more, Insulting my style won't make you trendier, Pointing out my dorkiness won't make you any cooler. 

     Instead, work on loving yourself and loving the people around you, every dorky bit of them. I stand by my senior year motto: You do You.

"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." -Oscar Wilde

California Scrub Company

 Skin: We've all got it, so let's treat it right! I got an offer from California Scrub Company to try out their product, and since I like it so much, I'm gonna tell you about it!
So here's little Q&A with myself for you.

What's with all the hype about coffee scrubs?
     We all love to exfoliate, it makes our skin soft and gets rid of black heads. But until recently the main exfoliating agents were salt, ground nuts and evil microbeads. Salt is not great if you have a grey water system because it may kill your plants. Ground nuts are often too rough and large and can actually leave small cuts on your skin and cause further damage (warning to St. Ives Almond and Apricot scrub users: STOP NOW). And lastly micro beads...They are covering our oceans soil, filling up the gills and bellys of creatures and take a whole lotta time to break down. So this leaves coffee grounds: You'd already put them in compost, so we know they break down fast, the pieces are small and soft so no damage to your skin, and they're basically considered trash, so you're not creating a new product. So all around, pretty great!
     The caffeine also does other things like tighten your skin and reduce stretch marks, but that's all individual preference.

 What's so special about Cali Scrub Co?
 1. Upcycled coffee grounds. They get the already used grounds from Rawvelution in Santa Monica (down the road from them) and make this "garbage" into an awesome product for us to use.
2. Zero Plastic. I'm not sure if you can tell in the picture, but their packaging is a mason jar. Recycle it, reuse it, whatever, it probably won't go in a landfill for a billion years.
3. Ingredients you can understand. I've baked with vanilla, cinnamon AND cloves! I've gotten that on my skin and know it causes no damage or extra sensitivity to sunlight (I'm looking at you Salicylic Acid).
4. It makes your skin feel and smell great, and who doesn't love that!?

Ok, you've convinced me, now what?
Go check out their awesome website, learn more and maybe even buy one of their 3 awesome scents!

If you want to live somewhere where things are made, you need to buy things that are made in that country. Shop Small. Shop Local.

Nudity in Nature

Pretending to be a tree nymph

     I was going to write about San Diego Pride today, but with the storm I only got one good photo and we were at the event for a mere 20 minutes before we were freezing. So instead we're gonna talk about a shoot I did about a month ago!

     Being a model I've gotten tons of offers to to nude or implied nude shots, and until this point, I've said no. But after working with this fantastic Make Up artist twice in 3 weeks, I decided to take a leap and take a step outside my comfort zone. And I loved every second of it.

     Hair and Makeup began at 3:30 in the morning. We shot at sunrise at a secret place in Southern California (no I'm not telling you where). The other wonderful women worked together seamlessly to create a gorgeous styled shoot. By the end of our time together I was dirty, exhausted, and incredibly comfortable in my own skin.

    This experience led me to the brilliant conclusion: Everyone should feel fantastic being naked.

   

     I'm not saying that everyone should whip off their clothes and jump in front of a camera, but you should experience your body unencumbered by clothes. I've always liked having less boundaries between me and my environment, whether that involved walking in the woods barefoot or finding a good place in a tree to curl up. But this adventure was beyond any of those. There were no jeans riding up, no t-shirts twisting into my armpits, no socks slowly bunching up around the arch of my foot. I was able to become fully aware of my body and how it connects to the earth around me.

     So go for it! Clean your room in your underwear, make a sandwich in the nude, don't huddle in a towel while you wait for the water to warm up. (But maybe make sure your blinds are closed before doing any of these things). 

     I'm so grateful that I was able to have this experience with some wonderful humans, and I hope every person on earth can feel the same about their body at some point in their life.

Photographer: The Heart's Haven

Hair, Makeup& Styling: Thorne Artistry

Rocksbox: Gems for Rent

     A little while ago I got a chance to work with an awesome company out of San Francisco called Rocksbox. Basically they let to rent out 3 pieces of designer jewelry at a time for a flat monthly rate. It gets delivered to your door in this adorable little box and you have some fab pieces to wear for as long as you want! And since you're hearing about it from me you can try a month for FREE by using the code beckapalterxoxo.

     Wanna know more?
      When you sign up you fill out a personal style quiz so you can let them know if you have strict jewelry preferences, or a specific event coming up or anything like that.  Then you can browse their giant collection of gorgeous gems to see if there's any specific pieces you're dying to have.  You can even connect them with your instagram so so you just comment #wishlist on a photo and it pops right into your list! Once you've done all that you get assigned a personal stylist so that you are sure to get the personal experience you deserve and get gems that are perfectly suited to you.

    You may be saying: I don't wear fancy jewelry, how can they match my style, blah blah blah.
    Here's the thing.  We all deserve a treat, and wouldn't it be awesome if that was treat was free, and came wrapped up in an adorable bow and you got to show it off for a whole month!? I don't wear fancy jewelry either, and I loved rocking these simple gorgeous pieces.  I've got quite an eclectic style and they still work with my wardrobe, and since I'm not making a huge monetary investment, I'm not worried about them matching with every outfit. 

Hexagons are my favorite shape :]

     And if you end up loving a piece, you can keep it.  They even give you 10$ a month in Shine Cash to put towards any piece (which are already on an insider's discount). 

Basically it's a no lose situation. But if you've got any questions, ask me, or check out their page.  And try them for free by using code: beckapalterxoxo