Welcome to My Blog!
I started this blog in 2018 and immediately titled it - RVL YRSLF. My goal was to help YOU embrace your beauty and how makeup and hair can be used simply to enhance all that you are. Over the years, this has continued to be my goal and also a journey I've had to relearn for myself.
If you scroll through my blog, you can clearly see I fell off the face of the earth a few times since my start and that's because I had a number of life changing events take place.
I moved to a new city.
I took on a full time position outside of the beauty industry.
I became a mother.
I battled with Postpartum Depression.
My husband and I became home owners.
I shifted my focus toward bridal rather than production due to my lifestyle changes and location.
I became a mother again while still facing PPD and Pregnancy Rage.
My husband and I became home owners AGAIN and sold the first one.
I'm on the other side and realizing I need to sprinkle in the things that bring me joy - helping people see all the inner and outer beauty that they are and all they're capable of.
And so, six years later here we are and I am determined to help you RVL YRSLF.
Before we jump into this journey together, let me share a little bit of who I am at the core - behind my artistry skill and accomplishments and who I am as a person.
I'm going to strip away some layers here so you can see that coming to love myself has been a journey.
W is for Wife
My husband and I met in 2014 when we lived in Austin, TX and our love story was quite a whirlwind - we fell in love fast and married 13 months after meeting. We immediately moved to LA and later onto Nashville to now living in East Tennessee where we've lived the past five years. I've learned a ton about myself since tying the knot - I can be bitter, I can be selfish, I can be insecure BUT I am incredibly devoted and love hard.
I encourage change but only if I am in control; I can be slightly irrational at times when it comes to expressing my feelings no matter how happy or sad they might be; I can't lie to save my life - I always eat the last Oreo (going back to acknowledging being selfish); I am a dreamer to a fault and am crushed when something doesn't play out as I imagined; I am there - I love lifting up my husband when he's feeling the slightest bit of doubt or discouragement to remind him how great he is; and lastly - not everyone agrees that a hug can mend anything, but it can.
My husband has loved me at my very worst and has encouraged me at my lowest which has taught me how my "negative traits" are also the positive ones that fuel me through those road blocks and embrace the redirection until I arrive. I just don't give up.
M is for Mom
Everyone matures differently and to be completely honest, I was still a kid in many ways when I found out I was pregnant with my first - I was 31. I truly thank my daughter for welcoming me into adulthood. I have a very childlike way of thinking and immerse myself in every moment which in turn, has walked me into many situations of complete let down and failure. Now I can look back and appreciate those moments and see how I needed to fall on my face so I could show up each and every day for my kids no matter what was going on in my head or how I felt.
I am far from perfect which I encourage them to understand because we were created as imperfect people which is beautiful. They've taught me how to be scared again and how to give all my control over to God because I'm going to get back up and be stronger than before. They've taught me that it's okay to be hurt but tomorrow will bring better days. They've reminded me how to laugh again because there was a chunk of time I completely forgot. They taught me how to look in the mirror and champion my body rather than pick it apart. They're the best.
There is a misconception that when you become a mother, you lose yourself which felt true for a little while there but over time I realized that when I became a mother - the truest version of myself was released and I love myself now which still embodies all the little versions of me that stumbled through life to get here.
R is for Rachel
I am random in thought.
I am a rambler - there's typically 4 parts to all of my thoughts and stories, but trust me, they all connect.
I have become reserved as I've gotten older and tend to be skeptical of people.
I can romanticize almost anything in life.
I can be rude - I'm impulsive when I get excited and tend to interrupt.
I can be reclusive at times.
I am religious and believe Jesus is my Lord and Savior. It took a lot of interesting experiences to get me to truly know Him but I'm an open book if you ask.
I am real - again, I've never learned how to successfully lie and usually tell on myself if I do try. If I don't say what I think, then you'll know by my facial expressions.
I am a rule follower - kind of nerdy but it's rare when I bend the rules.
These don't start with an 'R', but I can be strange, socially awkward and weird. All happen to be inconsistent and are only prevalent when I am either extremely uncomfortable or way too comfortable.
How to Love Yourself
I chose to be vulnerable because who am I to help you, if you can't see how I've had to learn this as well?
At the end of the day, we all have things that make us - US - which isn't always fun to highlight but when you can learn to see the beauty in all parts of you, you will begin to RVL YRSLF and in turn, love your inner and outer self enough to embrace those "flaws" and find the strength in each of them.
If you're wanting to keep up, subscribe to my blog so you can stay up to date with my latest posts and follow me along on Instagram. My blog may evolve over time, but I plan to focus mostly on what I know best and that's being authentic and highlighting that with makeup.