The Life + Style of A Beauty Brand — Reflections Magazine
I recently had the pleasure of being featured in Reflections Magazine!
Original Article: Read Here | Written by Lauren Hunsberger | Photography by Chantel Allen
With her new wellness brand, Candace Oliver steps in front of the camera with a new purpose—to share what she’s learned through struggling to feel comfortable in her own skin.
Candace Oliver’s definition of beauty has radically changed through the years.
In her early 20s, she moved from Bellevue to Los Angeles in pursuit of a burgeoning modeling career. She quickly became successful and found herself traveling between LA, Miami and New York working the biggest fashion scenes in the country. On the surface, her life seemed great. She was paid to walk runways in exquisite clothes from dream designers and take pictures with high-fashion photographers.
However, despite all the external signs telling her she was beautiful, she felt anything but Oliver says she was quietly consumed with low self-esteem, anxiety, self-doubt, self-destructive behavior (including some drug and alcohol abuse) and a struggling marriage.
“There was a very unhealthy stage to my career,” she says. “So much of my identity came from other people’s validation. Was I pretty enough? Was I thin enough? I was desperate for approval. I didn’t know who I was because I formed to what other people wanted of me.”
Her first pregnancy changed everything. Because it was unplanned, she was forced, unexpectedly, to rethink her modeling career, which made her question many things in her life. She was at a crossroads.
“I just remember looking in the mirror and asking myself, ‘What do I need to do to validate myself? What is the journey to my true identity?’” she says. “Before then, beauty and wellness weren’t about being a whole being—mind, body and spirit. I was so focused on the body part that I lost my mind and spirit. As a result, my anxiety rose a lot.”
She chose to stop traveling as much and move home to Seattle to raise her son and embark on a new career and life. However, she had no idea what that new life looked like or what she would do. So she kept asking: what is my purpose?
Even through her toughest times dealing with a divorce and being a single mom, Oliver held on tightly to some healthy habits. She maintained a varied exercise routine and enjoyed eating healthy foods and learning about nutrition. She says these habits grounded her and made her feel her happiest, so she followed her joy.
To support herself and her son, she joined AdvoCare, a wellness and supplement company, and experienced a new satisfaction in sharing a healthy lifestyle with other people, especially women. All the while, she still had a foot in the beauty and modeling industry, but with a much different perspective and objective. Her time at AdvoCare shifted, but she knew focusing on wellness was the right path to her authentic self.
“There is a dream seed in all of us, desires we all have, and building my own wellness brand is that for me,” she says. “I feel a strong desire to impact people, call the best out of people. To see something shift in someone—it doesn’t get better than that.”
In 2018 she took the first steps necessary to make that dream come true.
She started a blog, vlog, and YouTube channel, all posted on CandaceOliver.com. The purpose is to share all the wellness and beauty tips she picked up throughout her career.
This includes everything from makeup tutorials (one of her specialties) to skin care, from fashion inspiration to fresh-ingredient cooking segments. Since remarrying and adding three more kids to her brood, she also shares plenty of sanity-saving advice for families.
“The reason I felt so bold to start a blog and YouTube channel is because for the first time in my life I truly felt beautiful,” she says. “I began to journal and something inside of me said, ‘Share this! You are not the only one who struggles in these areas. You are not the only one who feels insecure, stuck, overwhelmed . . . fill in the blank, we’ve all been there.’”
The content she currently creates is only the tip of the iceberg. In the future, she sees her brand expanding into a line of affordable, clean beauty product lines and beyond.
“I love speaking to large groups of people, preaching, teaching, inspiring, equipping and traveling, and I see myself doing that while pairing with different brands, external and internal,” Oliver says.
PERSONAL STYLISTS
Aubri and Breighela from Breighela James Boutique in Portland styled Candace’s looks. “They are gifted at seeing who you are and finding the right clothes as an expression of your soul.” — breighelajames.com
In Her Own Words ...
BEAUTY
Take care of your skin. Always wash your face at night—no matter what! Everything we do is habit-forming, so if we give permission to one night of going to bed with makeup on or not taking care of our skin, that turns into two nights which turns into three, and oh no, a new habit is formed. This is my favorite time of the day—to take makeup off, wash and tone, and load on the serums and moisturizer!
FASHION
Step out of your comfort zone! So often we end up wearing the same thing and feeling bored. I will see people and think, “Oh, I am so inspired; she looked so cute in those boots and dress.” And then I find myself putting on my mom uniform (aka high-waisted tight black leggings, a sports bra, a gray tank and black baseball cap). The days I step out of my comfort zone I notice I have an extra pep in my step. Change it up, wear something different and pay attention to the way you feel.
WELLNESS
Prep, prep, prep! I cannot expect to have toned arms and abs with no meal prep or intentional meal planning. You may plan three or five days in advance. The point is, have a plan! You will not only save money because there is a plan in place, you also waste less food, and being disciplined will leak into other areas in your life. Not to mention you will feel amazing and not be tempted by impulse buys for your pantry!
FAMILY
Take one day to be with just your family. I did this growing up. I remember pretending not to like it, but I actually loved it. Whether this is a Friday or a Sunday or Tuesday, pick one day a week, it may even be half a day if you have lots of kids in sports (I get it!). But this day is dedicated to being with your family! No phones, no distractions—simply family. There is nothing more fruitful than establishing a healthy, strong family unit.
LIFESTYLE
Learn to say no. It is amazing when you take a few minutes to actually write down your priorities, how this simplifies whether you commit. This also allows you space to self-reflect and determine what is truly important to you. For example, my family is my everything. Let’s say I have been away for a weekend and my girlfriend calls and invites me to a super-fun mommy happy hour on Monday. Although that sounds amazing, I know my family is everything, so when I say no to that fun opportunity, I’m saying yes to my family and I have no regret.
Candace’s Daily Routine
When you wake up, do not go on social media or straight to a screen. Take a few moments to breathe and set your intention for the day. Meditate, pray, read, journal, even if for only five minutes.
Think about three things you are grateful for, and remind yourself of those throughout the day.
Act the way you want to feel. If you want to be happy, act happy! Put a smile on your face. If you want to be energized, walk a little faster, pull your shoulders back.
Do one thing that scares you a little: maybe it is stepping outside your comfort zone with fashion, maybe it’s making a phone call you have been avoiding that will help advance your business. Whatever it may be, take 30 seconds of courage and do it!
Drink water, enough so that your urine is on the clear side.
Move your body, whether a walk or a class, just move!
Set your alarm clock for the time you want to go to bed. Sleep is so important! Don’t do that one more thing at night—just go to bed!
