Ep. 23 - The Beauty Illusion with Christina Cooling

The End of the Day Podcast with Kari Watterson: Using Mindset Work to Live Your Best Life

In this week's episode, I had the honor of speaking with Christina Cooling, professional makeup artist, writer and mental health advocate, and the founder of The Beauty Illusion, an organization and movement dedicated to redefining beauty, celebrating diversity and individuality.
Women are constantly bombarded with images of flawless beauty everywhere: on social media, in magazines, on TV, in the movies. As a professional makeup artist, Christina has seen first-hand the devastating effects of these impossible beauty standards on women's self-esteem, particularly in younger women.
Although we intellectually understand images are retouched, airbrushed or otherwise edited, we as women still feel tremendous social and internal pressure to meet a certain level of beauty, or we feel somehow lacking or unacceptable.
With peer pressure, societal norms and the billion dollar beauty industry marketing to our deepest insecurities, it's no wonder we spend so much time and money on cosmetics and facial products to try to feel better about ourselves.
But, as my guest points out, "....No matter what makeup you're using, no matter how expensive it is, if you can't look at yourself in your own eyes and truly know your worth, then no cosmetic product is going to teach you how to love yourself and how to feel more confident, because the confidence comes from within..."
Christina generously shares her own incredible mental health story, one that saw her at rock bottom in her late teens to mid-20s. She shares how she battled her way back from having lost virtually everything and everyone due to her mental illness and how what she learned about herself along the way transformed her into the courageous, resilient, loving, and compassionate woman she is today.
Christina now uses her platform to encourage others to focus inward and cultivate their inner strength and beauty while also embracing their unique physical beauty.
Connect with Christina Cooling:
Professional Makeup Artist
Website: ChristinaCooling.co.uk
Instagram: @christinacoolingmua
Founder, The Beauty Illusion
Instagram: @thebeautyillusion
Facebook: The Beauty Illusion
Hashtag: #TrulyFilterFree
Published Writer
Article series: The History of Makeup (Vintage Life Magazine)
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Cited in this podcast episode:
(00:19:00) Dr. Claire Weekes (1903-1990).
Dr. Weekes was an Australian physician and international best-selling author of several books on severe anxiety disorders. Her treatment protocol ("face, accept, float, let time pass") is still considered a powerful and effective way to manage severe stress and anxiety.
(00:35:52) Alex Box
Internationally Renown Artist & Professional Makeup Artist, Pioneer of Emotional Makeup.
Website: http://thealexbox.com/ | TEDx Talk: Learning, Unlearning: Who Told You You Couldn't Draw?
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Original intro/outro music by JMW.
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To learn more about what I do, my coaching philosophy and how to work with me, email me at [e-mail] or visit my website at https://kariwatterson.com.
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For more mindset thoughts and tips, follow me on social media:
Instagram: @kari_mindsetcoach
Twitter: @KaWatterson