Well with Arielle Lorre - 189: Solo Q&A: Travel, Work, Beauty & More!

Episode Date: August 8, 2022

In this episode, I go through more listener Q&A after my last solo conversation and give an update on my current status. I get into topics ranging from where I am choosing to focus my energy at the moment; my current ride-or-die products; things I’m letting go of and things I’m embracing as well as a round of rapid fire Q&A at the end.   Take your FREE in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order today at Prose.com/BLONDE.   Exclusively for The Blonde Files listeners, Feel Free Botanic Tonics is offering a 40% off discount on your first purchase –just use promo code BLONDE at checkout.   Produced by Dear Media.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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rise-adviseur or sunnycars. The following podcast is a dear media production. Hey, welcome to the blonde Files podcast. I'm your host, Ariel Lori, and I'm here to talk all things wellness. From how to achieve optimal health and well-being to the best beauty tips and everything in between, no topic is off limits and I'm bringing it to you real and unfiltered. I know there is so much information out there,

so I'm here to help you navigate it all. Thanks for listening. Let's get into it. Hi, everybody. Welcome to the show. I wanted to do another solo. episode because I got so many questions last time that I didn't get to. And I also had you send in more the other day. So I hope you guys like these because I like sprinkling them in, especially now that I'm doing so many episodes a month with guests. I feel like, I don't know, it's kind of like nice to have some personal ones in there too. So actually let me know if you guys like that. You can send me a DM on the Blonde Files podcast, Instagram. Also, if you haven't left a review, please do so. It's one of those like little things that makes a huge difference for the podcast, especially with so many

podcasts out there. Anyway, so I'm just going to do these at random. I'm going to try to make it like a mix of entertaining and maybe somewhat helpful. So of course, after the last episode, I got tons of questions about my personal life, which I just have to say out of the gate here, I'm just not really going to go there. Like, so don't stop listening now. But the questions of like how and the why and the when of my separation and everything are really personal to me and to Chuck. Like he's part of this too.

And it just feels kind of icky to talk about. Maybe I'll write a book one day and share it there. But for now, you know, it's just kind of like between. He and I, a handful of close friends. It's not really for the public. And like I said last time, even though it's extremely difficult, we are on good terms and trying to be in each other's lives. And I just don't want to impede, impede or impose on his privacy. I'm a little out of it this morning, guys. So that's that. I do have to say after the announcement came out, it was like an overwhelming sense of loss.

Almost, I almost didn't expect it. I thought that I had gone through the feelings, like as we were kind of leading up to it and coming to the decision. But it was just crazy. I think once the kind of anticipation and like the adrenaline and all of the anxiety around that becoming public dissipated, it was just like, whoa. sadness, like I just cannot even describe, although I'm sure, you know, you guys have been through breakups and divorces and all of that. So I'm sure some people can relate, but it was just so hard. It

was too hard to like see him or talk to him. So, you know, just trying to take it day by day right now. A lot of people asked like how I feel about dating and if I'm back out there and all of that to which my answer is no. It is the last thing on my mind right now. I mean, we aren't even divorced yet, but I'm just going to be, you know, focusing, like, on my business and traveling. I found so corny, but, like, getting to know myself at this stage in my life and doing things outside of my comfort zone and getting curious and getting out there and experiencing things and, like, really looking outwards instead of focusing so much energy inwards. And, you know, I'm content being alone right now. I wouldn't want this situation. This is not what I anticipated at all, but I'm not the kind of person that like can't be by themselves. I actually really like being by myself. And I'm okay,

being alone. And I'm just such a different person now at eight and a half years sober than I was at a year and a half sober somewhere around there when I got into the relationship. So I kind of want to like see what I'm capable of professionally and personally and personally and just like have some adventures and just not think about relationships for the time being. So it's kind of interesting to me that at this age and this point in my life, I'm okay with that. So let this be reassuring to anybody listening who's in their 20s or 30s or 40s wherever and single and feeling like a failure. There is no age where you need to have it all together.

And I say this all the time, but I feel like we. look to other people and we feel like we need to have what they have at whatever age they have it. And it's such an arbitrary thing because somebody could be married at 28 and have the perfect looking life and then be divorced or something, you know, at 35 or 40, you know, or laid off or whatever, you get the point. So try to not focus so much on these like milestones at certain ages because they really don't mean anything. So anyway, yeah, time for growth, time for new experiences. I will bring you guys along for all of that. But as far as, you know, my marriage and anything with Chuck goes, that is private. So a lot of people did ask, though, if I'm going to

move, if I'm going to stay in L.A. or move to New York or somewhere else. I feel like my life really is in L.A. at this point. It's where my friends and my support network is for the most part. I did move in May, which some people noticed, and L.A. will remain my home base, but I'd like to have a place somewhere else, too. I do love L.A., but I feel like I need an escape. And you guys know how much I loved the place in New York. It was my happy place, for sure, my favorite view in the world, my favorite place in the world. But I will say the last few times that I was in New York, I don't know if it was just circumstantial, like last. I was there. I had COVID a time before that I was going through something else. But I just haven't felt the same joy and energy that I used to feel there. And I don't know if that's like a me thing or a New York thing. I mean, things did change after COVID. Last time I was there though, like it definitely felt back to normal. But there was just something a little bit different. I don't know if it's just not doing it for me at this stage in my life or if it was just too much

because I wasn't feeling well. I don't know. I had half-baked harvest. Teagan. She came on my podcast yesterday. The episode is going to come out in a few weeks. And she has, she lives in Colorado, okay, like in the mountains. And she was talking about just like her day, her morning routine.

She like wakes up and goes for a hike before work. And if you follow her, you see on her stories, like getting up and going to see the horses. And it is so majestic. beautiful and she's still like super successful. In fact, she was talking about how she feels like that helps her, you know, not being in a major city and not being kind of surrounded and immersed in this like influencer culture that is very much a thing in L.A. and New York and probably other places. And after that podcast, I was like, I'm moving to Colorado. I don't know if I could actually do that because I like being in a city. But anyway, we'll see. I'm just staying open to

anything and everything right now. I'm always looking for a good alcohol-free beverage alternative. Also something to just spice up my regular sparkling water game. And this is where Botanic Tonics comes in. So Botanic Tonics is a plant-based tonic drink that delivers all of the feels. It's basically love at first sip. They deliver a euphoric blend of plant-based ingredients. That's a healthy productivity enhancer.

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straight hair limp and greasy. I'm sure you've all had this experience. I have definitely purchased products that look amazing and they just weigh my hair down, make it really greasy or make it really dry. They can cause breakage, so many different things. So when I'm looking for a hair care product, I have a lot of specific needs that I need met. So I color treat my hair every few months. I get keratin every four to six months. I have specific lifestyle factors that can contribute to the type of hair that I have. I use heat on my hair sometimes. So it's hard to find products that can target all of these specific needs. So that's where pros comes in. I got a personalized routine from pros and my hair has been amazing ever since. So they make custom hair care that

is effective because it's personal. So they use natural ingredients with proven results. They customize every product in your routine from shampoo to supplements. And you guys know I love a good quiz. So I got to tell you about this one. This is a really good one. It's very comprehensive. they basically do like the equivalent of an in-depth consultation, but with multiple choice questions in this quiz, but they really cover everything and they get down to exactly your type of hair and exactly your needs. Like they don't just ask you about your texture and the length of your hair and all of that. They ask you about lifestyle factors. They ask about where you live. In fact, when I put my zip code in, they had different geostressers.

categorized. So it was like pollution was 100 out of 100. UV was like 80 out of 100. They ask eating habits. They talk about exercise and damage levels. Then they analyze all of the answers and determine the unique blend of ingredients that should be in every product of the custom routine. So I got a shampoo. I got a conditioner. I got a pre-shamplea hair mask, which I feel like makes a huge difference. This is something I feel like everybody should be using. They sent me hair supplements. I also got hair oil. They even have recommendations for brushes that will help my hair and my scalp. And I also pick the fragrance. So they do have fragrance free. But I got the Oasis, which has Jasmine. It has amber, white peach. It smells so, so good. And my hair looks amazing. It's soft and shiny. It feels strong.

And I just have to mention that Pros is a carbon neutral certified B Corp. They're an industry leader in clean and responsible beauty. All of their ingredients are sustainably sourced. They are ethically gathered. They're cruelty free. They're also the first custom beauty brand to go carbon neutral. So if you're not 100% positive that pros is the best hair care that you've had, they will take the products back, no questions asked.

And you guys can get a free in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order today. Just go to pros.com slash blonde. that's P-R-O-S-E dot com slash blonde for your free in-depth hair consultation and 15% off. Will I change my last name because it's the core of my brand? I promise I'm not just going to talk about this stuff after I said I wasn't going to talk about it. But I don't really think this is the core of my brand per se. It's definitely what people know me as. So I'm going to keep it not because I think it carries any cachet or anything like that.

But, you know, I started this brand in 2016. And I was with him at the time. But at that point, I was the blonde files. And then we got married. I think I like changed the Instagram handle maybe a year into having this. I don't know. But it's just always been my professional name. It's funny because I feel like most people that follow me or just come across me don't

really know who he is or wouldn't think of him. Like people who meet me usually need. never put it together. People never thought that I was in any way related to him. So I don't think it's benefited me in any way professionally. It's just kind of what people know me as. So for that reason, and for like the headache of having to change it back, I'm not going to do that. Okay. Ride or die face or body products. I don't know if you saw, but I posted on TikTok and Instagram the other day that I was having really gnarly breakouts that nothing was helping. I am talking diet changes. I like really cut back my skincare. I was using really minimal products guided by my

professionals that I go to when I'm having skin issues. I was like not using makeup or when I was using makeup. I was doing oil free everything. I was changing my hair products using different detergent. Like you name it. I did everything. And just the breakouts were not stopping. It was so frustrating and I don't want to jinx it because I'm woo-woo like that, I guess. But I decided to order the best skin ever C-Buckthorn oil from Donna Omari. D-A-N-N-A-O-M-A-R-I. She owns Noy Skin Care, N-O-Y, just spelling it out because I know you guys are going to want to go check this out if you don't already follow her. But she raves about this product and a lot of people seem to have had success using it. So I was like desperate.

I was like, I will do anything. So I basically did her skincare reset where for 10 days now, I've done no makeup, no other products except for the oil morning and night as cleanser. And she has a really specific way of doing it. So go to her Instagram to watch her videos again, N-O-Y-N-O-Y-N-Y-Skinkare. But my skin has been glowing and most of my breakouts are gone. So I'm sure letting my skin breathe with no makeup. and then like not having to use makeup remover and no sunscreen.

And all of that has helped. So it's like, is it the oil or is it the breathing? Who knows? I think it's both. And it did what she said it would do. My pores look smaller. There's no congestion. She says oil attracts oil.

And so the seabuckthorn oil draws out the oil in your pores and the congestion from your skin or something. So I bought a few more products from her. I bought the do dab and the color. cosmetics eye doctor, eye cream, so I will report back. But sometimes I follow people like Donna and I'm like, I want to buy everything you're selling because you're gorgeous. Like she's gorgeous. So I see all the products that she's using. And I think even subconsciously, I'm like, oh yeah, must buy because she's so pretty, but is it legit? And I can say that after using the C buckthorn, it is legit. She

obviously knows her stuff. She's so dedicated to skincare and just overall health. So, Yeah, she's going to come on the podcast in a couple weeks. So I'll get all the info from her. But that would be my ride or die product right now. And I'm also using it on my body. And I love it. How do I deal with comments about my appearance or surgeries? Well, I know that talking publicly about like having surgery or doing any kind of procedure, especially if I'm like posting a before and after or a picture or a video of the procedure like I have done on TikTok, it opens me up to people's opinions and feet. So I know that, but I still find it very annoying. I just have to remember to have zero expectations about how any content around that type of thing is going to be received and have zero expectations for people to be respectful, you know, expectations are resentments waiting to happen, especially when it comes to strangers on the internet. But that said, it can be really annoying to get opinions and feedback, especially on like non-aesthetic or procedure-related content. So the other day, when I posted that story about the Seabuckthorn oil, I had like no filter. I just woke up five minutes

before and I was like, I'm just going to throw this up because hopefully, you know, it'll help somebody who's like struggling with their skin. And I got a DM from someone being like, girl, you are so naturally pretty. Like, what did you do to your face? You need to stop. And I was like, huh? Like literally nothing. I just woke up. What do you want from me? And I can't stand when somebody critiques me in a compliment sandwich. Like, I see you. I know what you're doing.

It's still an unwarranted critique. Don't try to compliment sandwich me. I know what's up. I know that game. So I know I talk about some celebrities and their appearance and surgeries. So I don't want to sound like a total hypocrite. But I would never say anything directly to somebody. And actually the people that I talk about who have had worked on,

Like, I think they all look incredible. Like, I want to know who your surgeon is. And good for you. You nailed it. You look amazing. My issue always is just like the lying. But anyway, I'm off into the weeds here. So my answer for the most part, I just ignore it.

I've learned to really just not internalize the things that people say to me or about me on the internet. I'm happy with how I look. And I'm happy with how I feel. And that's what matters the most. What I like for myself might not be what somebody else likes for me, but that's not my problem. Okay. What am I excited for in this next chapter and am I nervous at all? Well, I wouldn't say I'm feeling particularly excited right now. The sadness is definitely still overshadowing everything, but I do know

that I am like embarking on a period of growth and I would say I'm just feeling more open and curious as to like what that openness will bring rather than excitement. But I'm also not nervous either. It's hard to explain. I feel like I just kind of am really in the moment right now more than ever. Like I'm not looking ahead and I'm not looking behind me. I'm just kind of doing what is in front of me right here right now today like this second. And I'm doing that moment to moment. And I think as a result of that, I'm able to process what's happening, but also not get too fearful or nervous or excited or regretful or any of that. I mean, if you zoom out and you look big picture and it's like the logistics of everything and what is life going to look like and what is dating, blah, blah,

but like you can spin yourself out into like a really anxious, overwhelmed place. So I'm just trying to like take my life in really manageable pieces right now, which is like today. What do I have to do today? Right now everything is good. I have a roof over my head. I am doing my job. I have, you know, my friends and like my needs are met. I will say I am excited for my trip in September though.

I think that'll be a good experience to do some like solo traveling. I'm going to France. I'm doing a bike trip with my mom in Normandy. So it's eat, pray, love time. If I had to live in another country, where would that be? This is tough for me. I love the Tuscany region in Italy, of course. I will definitely be putting a villa there on my vision board.

I also loved Rome. But I also love Greece so much. This might be unpopular, but I might like Greece more than Italy. Like some of the tiny islands, like Hedra, were just so beautiful. I was looking at houses there. They actually weren't too crazy expensive. And that island in particular has no cars, just mules, which I think I definitely romanticize.

But I think if it came down to me actually living there, like that would be very difficult, although I could do it seasonally. But also when we were. in Greece, this is going to sound obnoxious. But when we were there, like, we were on a yacht doing it that way. So it's like, did I love it because of that? Or could I really live on an island with no cars and mules? I don't know. And I am definitely like a city person, I think, at heart. You know, I love London. I love Paris. Like I said, I loved Rome. So not really answering this. But I think right now, if I had to move tomorrow, I would say Italy because there are just so many like regions and cities there

that are cool. What's my favorite day of the week? Definitely. Sunday. Saturdays, I usually work all day where I work a lot of the day. It's not really like a fun day for me. So Sunday is my chill day, like when I'll go for a walk with a friend. I'll go to the farmer's market with friends. I get my massage on Sundays. It's like my fill my cup day, basically. I love it. Do I ever feel like having a drink or getting high, especially with everything going on? You know, it honestly has not even crossed my mind. I feel like if anything, I'm way more diligent about doing the things that best support my recovery and my mental health and my well-being when I'm going through something challenging.

It's like when I'm just kind of chilling and things are good and I'm complacent or like I'm not prioritizing my mental health or my sobriety and all of that. That's when I feel like those thoughts can sneak up on me. But they are very few and far between. Thank God. I just feel like I don't have that void anymore. Like I used to just have this giant hole and I couldn't fill it with anything. And like the drugs and alcohol, that was like my means to fill that void.

I don't know if that makes any sense to anybody. But I just don't feel like I have that anymore. I'm definitely not perfect. And I still do sometimes try to like self-medicate or numb out with things like shopping or just like impulsive behavior in other ways. But usually when I'm going through stuff, I'm just very aware. So I notice those things before they get out of control. Okay, we had two fuck Mary kills. So the first one is, this is so random today. The first one is plastic surgery, travel, and shopping. So I would have to say, marry travel, fuck shopping,

and kill plastic surgery, I guess. It's very hard. That's a hard one for me. I don't know how you could go without buying anything ever. Like, I don't know if we're talking even grocery shopping or if we're talking like shopping sprees because that would be different. If we're talking just big shopping trips, that I could go without because let's be real. I shop all the time. I buy everything and then I wear the same thing every single day. Okay, the next one, this is specific to L.A. Airwan, Earth Bar and Courtyard Kitchen. This is so easy. I would marry Airwan, fuck Earth Bar, kill courtyard kitchen. Favorite things I've added to my life and best things I've removed. Hmm. I will say my favorite things will be revealed soon.

A hint, hint is that I talked about it on a podcast recently in the last few months and I did get some questions about it. But yeah, I'm being coy. I think a lot of you guys will get it. But the best thing I removed from my life, I would say, not a thing, but I would say fear. Like, I was definitely fearful for a while there about being on my own, what that would look like, fearful about everything that would bring and just getting caught up in like that scarcity kind of thinking and scarcity mindset.

and fearful mindset, like all the things that could go wrong. And I have chosen to drop that and that feels good. Favorite wellness hacks right now? Well, I just recorded with glucose goddess and I'm incorporating her tips and tricks for preventing glucose spikes throughout the day. And I have to say I'm noticing a big difference. So that episode comes out Wednesday. You guys are going to love it.

Definitely like top five favorite episodes, I think, for me. But yeah, I can't quite drink vinegar in my water yet. so I'm taking the capsules before my meals and I'm doing veggies first and I'm having a savory breakfast and I was super tired the first few days but now I'm feeling like a little more clear. I have less erratic energy and I wonder if that had anything to do with my skin clearing up too. So in the episode we talk about glucose spikes and acne. So yeah, get excited. Okay. I'm going to do a couple quick ones when I start dating again. Is it important that my partner is sober? No. I don't care about that. As long as they don't have a problem with drugs and alcohol, obviously, then no,

either way. Nicest celebrity I've met. Well, I would say anyone from any of Chuck's shows have always been very nice. But I would say the nicest random encounter was Bradley Cooper. It was, I think, SAG Awards. I've talked about it before. He would definitely not remember. But he was just so warm, so kind. He, like, looked into my soul. And yeah, I feel. like, you know, for the most part, people that I've met are on their best behavior, because I don't really have random encounters. It's usually at like a work thing and award show. So people are usually pretty nice, except for the ones that I've talked about. Best and worst designer splurge. I think anything that's super trendy is a bad splurge, unless you have like the disposable income. But I fully support

splurging on anything classic that will withstand seasons and trends. Like, this is a bad example. I know. So unrelatable. You guys can write me mean reviews and comments, but like a Birkin or a Kelly, those are insanely expensive, but they appreciate and value if they're really well taken care of. Although, whenever I pointed this out to Chuck, he was like, yeah, but you're never selling those. So that's not a valid argument in support of spending that much money on a bag. But men just don't get it. Anyway, I tend to splurge on like very classic things, things that withstand time, which something like that has, but other great bags do too. And like, great coats and shoes and things that I'm going to wear year after year, that's where, like,

I will spend a lot of money. But when it comes to, like, trendy stuff, like, I don't know, so much of, like, the Balenciaga stuff. I mean, I like some of their more simple things, but, like, the logos and the big sweaters with the logos and logo everything, not just Belencia. I cannot. I cannot. And that's, like, one of those things that's going to be popular for, like, a month.

So I just don't really partake. If I could be any character on TV, who would I be? I would have to say Blair Waldorf for sure, but I think I'm probably more of a serena given the blonde hair and the party girl passed. How to manage hunger during your period. I think you've got to just give your body what it needs. I don't think we should be depriving ourselves during our periods. But again, this is like top of mind because I just recorded this episode.

But watch out for glucose spikes because that can definitely exacerbate. PMS symptoms like cramping and acne and cravings and energy issues, all of that. But I will let you guys wait until Wednesday to hear about all of that from glucose goddess herself. Okay, you guys, I feel myself getting tired. I had a 7 a.m. podcast today and then I'm recording this right after. So my brain and my thoughts are turning to mush. But I will keep sprinkling these episodes in. And if you enjoy them, like I said, please let me know and please leave a review. Only if it's good, of course. And definitely come back Wednesday for my episode with the glucose goddess.

You guys are going to love it. And I love you guys back. I hope you enjoyed that episode. If you liked it and if you like the show in general, please take a second to rate, review, and subscribe. It goes a long way and it's actually the best way to support the show. Also, if you want to see more about each episode, you can head over to The Blond Files podcast on Instagram. I'm always posting about each episode there or over on my personal page at Ariel Laurie.