Hi everyone! Welcome to the Reawakening Beauty blog.

My name is Shawna Patruno and I have a passion for helping people feel confident in their skin. The reason why I’m so passionate about this topic is because, I didn’t always feel confident in my skin and this is a journey I’m still on, I’m not going say I’m 100% but I’m working on it daily. My background is in beauty and also I have a history of modeling. Some of the brands that I modeled for were Kim Crawford, Cineplex, Kevin Murphy and I’ve also been in a movie, so that’s kind of cool. It was just a very small part, I actually got smacked, which sounds really funny, but it happened. Over the years I have been through a lot and have gained a lot of experience relating to confidence, going after your goals, what that looks like and what that can mean to you.

I remember getting into modeling, and having a friend say to me, “I didn’t know just anyone can model.” This really hurt me and I was like, Ouch! Reflecting back now I don’t think she really meant it the way it came out, like she’s honestly one of my favorite people and I love this girl. But at the time we were both just like starting to get into our confidence, so this comment really hurt. I debated things like, is she right or “Should I not be modeling?”. But as I thought more about it I was like, you know what, I’ve always wanted to do this, so I’m going do this and I’m not going to care what she thinks. Two years later, she messaged me and mentioned how proud of me she was and became so supportive, all because I stuck with it. People sometimes don’t support you in the beginning, but when they see you stick with something, they sometimes rise to the occasion, and can become proud and supportive of you. Talking with her afterwards she said, “You know, I always wanted to model but never started” and then she proceeded to ask for me to help her get into modeling and of course I was like, yeah, let’s totally do this. I realized that her earlier comments were coming from a place of insecurity, and I’ve noticed that a lot with people. I personally have a lot compassion and excitement for people. I’ve always been the type of person who is really excited, like genuinely excited for people to win in life. Insecurity for me is feeling like people sometimes don’t like me, that’s my insecurity. But it’s never been, “Oh my God, I don’t want you to shine brighter than me”. It’s been the complete opposite, it’s been like, “Oh my god, you’re so beautiful”. For example, I’m the type of person that goes up to the girl in the bathroom and says things like “You have such pretty eyes.” She’s probably thinking I’m hitting on her but in reality I just think she has pretty eyes or her winged eyeliner is really cute. These are the kind of things that I’m always doing so I never understood why others would tear another human being down. I just never understood that, and I still don’t understand it to this day. But I think when you become confident in yourself, you start to learn to just embrace yourself. It’s literally learning to love all the aspects of you including; the good, the bad, and the ugly, it’s not just bits and pieces, it’s everything! Sometimes shining your light so bright and going after your dreams is also showing others that they too can go after their dreams. Years later I realized my friend just wanted to model, but she felt she couldn’t she do this because she didn’t think she was pretty enough. So her words were just a projection of her pain and she was projecting on me what she felt she couldn’t do. The funny part is I was modelling, because I thought she was beautiful and so I was thinking why the hell are you not modeling! I was hoping that we would be able to model together, I thought that would be so much fun. But it was her insecurity and her thought about herself that stopped her.

I want everyone to know that you can do it, you can go after your dreams. 100% you can! You can do anything you put your mind to and focus on. I feel inspired to share what I believe would be helpful to somebody else who may be at the starting point where I started many years ago. So, I hope this was helpful, and whether you get the outcome you’re wanting or whether people support you or not, just surround yourself with positivity. Whether you have to watch YouTube videos or listen to podcasts or like me listen to audiobooks, just do whatever you need to do to keep going after your goal. My mom used to say to me, “Don’t let the naysayers got you.” Which is so cute because it’s true! People are going to try and drag you down, but that’s because they feel insecure by you shining bright. My goal is that everybody would shine bright together, as cheesy as that sounds. So yeah, that’s my story on my confidence, and understanding why people say mean things and how that could impact you.

All right, I’m sending you so much love and I wish you all the best wherever you are in the world!

Shawna Patruno

Today we’re going to be talking a little bit about serums! This blog is for anyone who is concerned with their skin, wants to understand how to better take care of their skin, and learn more about what different products are available. I like talking about everything related to mind, body, skin and soul and I’m writing this blog because I think so many people are not educated enough on their products and exactly how they work. A lot of people just end up buying things off the shelf without understanding what it is they are buying, and this can end up significantly hurting their skin. I’m telling you this because I’ve personally done that in the past when I was first starting out and so I’m going to be the person who will walk alongside you so that you can avoid the same problems I experienced.

A serum is essentially a highly packed power punch to your routine. There are so many different serums on the market for all different skin types. There are ones which have vitamin C, these help with brightening, tightening and lightening the skin. There are hydration serums and there are serums that can help with acne. You have to be very careful which picking which serum is right for you because we all have different skin types. You might think, “oh she knows my skin or he has nice skin”, I’ll just use whatever they are using, but it’s important for you to know that it does not mean that product is suited for you. It’s always best to do a consultation and discover what skin type you have before you go buying stuff off the internet. I’ve seen a lot of people make certain mistakes, such as not knowing how certain products can counter indicate each other, and what happens is they end up hurting their own skin in the long term.

There are different types of serums, I personally like a hydration serum as it’s basically just a water texture. Serums penetrate a little bit deeper down into the skin. There are basically three different layers to our skin, we have the epidermis, the dermis, and the hypodermis. Typically commercial skincare is just going work on the top layer but because the molecule structure of a serum is a little bit finer, it actually penetrates deeper within the skin. So, if people are concerned with having an active breakout and they’re using a moisturizer, it’s not really helping to moisturize, that’s because it’s designed to protect the skin barrier from the elements whereas a serum is more corrective. A serum is actually going to give you more of that corrective factor. I always tell people, you’re going to need a basic regime such as a cleanser, and I really do believe in a double cleanse and a serum which is basically the power punch to your routine. So just depending on what you’re trying to target, your skin is going to be different. For myself going into the winter months, I like to use a hydrating serum as this is going to add more water content into the skin because where I live it’s cold and we are constantly going back and forth from the heated indoors and into the frigid weather. This back and forth takes a hit on the skin and basically how your cells are reacting, and if your skin is not properly hydrated, a lot of people don’t know this, but you can’t really do anti-aging. Say you’re going to the gym and you’re doing a workout but you didn’t drink enough water, you’re not really going to do a great workout, your skin cells are kind of the same. Essentially make sure that you’re constantly hydrating your skin. I would recommend looking for products which have hyaluronic acid in them. The one I am using has aloe, hyaluronic acid, a few other ingredients in it.

When you’re applying your serum, what you want to do is press into the skin because the molecule structure is a little finer. I like to actually rub it between my hands and press into my skin. I’m constantly pushing in because I want the molecule structure to go into the deeper layers. I’ll do that my forehead, my face, all over my neck and decolletage. Decolletage is the lower neckline area, and you want to do this because these are all areas that you can see signs of aging, dehydration, acne and so on. You are going to want to use your cleanser and your toner first, then apply your serum and finally your moisturizer. The amount of serum that you’re going to be applying will depend on your face and how far down the neckline you’re going, but I would say about a pump and a half is a good amount. You’re going to rub it between your hands, and then you’re going to start gently pressing it into your skin. Typically, you will apply this on damp skin, especially if you have a hyaluronic acid serum, because the hydronic acid will pull all the moisture from your skin. Afterwards you are going to partner that with a moisturizer. There are different types of serums for acne prone skin but I really wanted to focus this blog on hydration, and if you ask me what is most important thing for your skin, I would say internal hydration and external hydration. So, if you’re going to start off with a serum, just to play it safe and start with hydration. A lot of the times people have dehydration lines and they think it’s aging but it’s actually not, it just means you’re just dehydrated. I would recommend to start drinking eight glasses of water or as much water as you can throughout the day. I believe there is a calculator online based on your weight and your height which will tell you how much water you should be having.

I went out a little bit of a tangent here, but I hope that was helpful. I love sharing all the things related to mind, body, skin and soul and you can find more content on all my platforms. Alright, talk to you later. Bye!