Seeing our beauty identity through the lens of yoga

Yogaland pod with Dara Kennedy

I gave you a little preview last week of my interview with Dara Kennedy, founder of Ayla Beauty. It’s here!

I’m still mulling over various points of our conversation and thought I’d share some of my favorite quotes from her.

On an American beauty attitude that we can leave behind:

Attitudes toward skincare vary so much from culture to culture. This is one of the things I saw working for a global beauty company and formulating for those different places.

If I had to generalize, the American consumer likes “hurts so good skincare.” They really like to feel like it’s working. For that reason, paying attention to the skin barrier is helpful, because if it’s stinging it’s indicating that you barrier needs a little bit more TLC. And once you have a solid, healthy barrier you’ll be less likely to have issues like eczema or redness or rashiness that people sometimes experience.

On daily self-inquiry with your skin:

One of my major learnings from my yoga practice is that every day is different. Every day feels different. As far as skin is concerned — it’s the same thing. Your skin is a living organ and it’s going to go through things that you have no control over. So, it inspires you to think about your skin the way you do about your body. You can observe it and say, ‘this is what’s going on…OK. That’s just the way it is.’

On being mindful and intuitive about your skin care and beauty identity:

I see beauty as something that can be very intuitive, almost like the idea of intuitive eating. It’s just the idea of observing what feels good, what feels right and thinking about why you’re doing these things or using these things. If you’re hoping for a certain effect or result, why are you hoping for that? And it’s all OK. But just being curious about that is important.

You can also scroll down for some of my favorite Ayla products (I don’t make any commission with these links — they’re just products I love and think you might like, too!)

My top 10 desert island products from Ayla

These are products I have loved and used — I just want you to know that I’m not earning any commission by sharing them!

My Havtorn Organic Facial Cleanser — Here’s a secret: I hate washing my face. I don’t mind doing it in the shower (where I use Ursa Major’s face wash), but at night? Leaving the water running til it’s hot or — the horror — splashing cold water on my face before bed? No thank you. This oil cleanser is the perfect work around for me. I remove it with a damp cotton cloth. It removes make-up, too, and I’m left hydrated and glowy.

My Havtorn Organic Essence — Never before had I bought or considered a toner. Now I cannot live without this. Jason and I steal it from each other. Something about those sea buckthorn berries is addictive.

My Havtorn Organic Facial Oil — I tend to go back and forth between facial oils and straight up moisturizers. This is my go-to oil. It’s so light, smells so good (again, sea buckthorn berries), and if I’m in a gua sha, jade-rolling mood it feels luxurious and indulgent in the best way.

Marie Veronique Gentle Retinol Night Serum - This product is so effective. I can just see a radiance in my skin when I use it regularly.

Ursa Major Golden Hour Recovery Cream — Another product that Jason and I fight over. It feels so good — it’s creamy yet light and smells wonderful. It feels hydrating but not heavy.

Suntegrity 5-in-1 Tinted Sunscreen Moisturizer SPF 30 — Living in Southern California, I use this product every day. It goes on right after I brush my teeth. There is always one in my car, too! It glides on easily and has no scent. It also offers just a little tint of color, which is a nice bonus.

Manasi7 All Over Color — I’m very picky about make-up these days. It needs to be easy and fun to put on. This is an easy blush, lip tint, eye color combo that does the trick. I have the color Duras but I’m eyeing lots of others that I’d like to try at some point!

Inika Mineral Pressed Eye Shadow — I have Gold Oyster. I use the brown as a liner and the gold on my lids.

Ursa Major Base Layer Deodorant — This might be TMI, but I have deodorant issues. I sweat a lot and I loathe the smell of most deodorants. This is the first(!!) natural deodorant I’ve tried that has no scent on me. Zero. I told Dara and she said deodorants really vary from person to person and I got lucky with this one!

Mr. Incredible by YULI — I got this as a gift for Jason once and he now asks for it whenever he runs out. I’ve also used their Ambrosia Nectar and it’s divine.