Our little girls mature fast and maintaining a solid relationship is key. Speaker, mother and author Erika Katz,  “Bonding Over Beauty” (Greenleaf Book Group) http://www.bondingoverbeauty.com, shares how to be there for your budding beauty at every step in a fresh, fun and meaningful way.

Build Trust: Be present for your daughter and she will seek your advice. While it’s hard to watch your little girl grow up, help her learn. Even if you think what she wants to do is not yet age appropriate, listen to her. No matter how trite the issue, validate her by saying, “I did not know you felt that way,” If you are there for her when she’s ready to tweeze her eyebrows, color her hair or use tampons, she may come to you later when she has a question about sex, drugs and alcohol.

Stay Open: Your daughter should feel secure to approach you with any issue. She may feel embarrassed and freaked by her body’s changes – pubic hair, body odor, discharge, etc.  Reassure her that these things are universal feminine experiences! What’s important is how you handle it, so be honest, help her navigate and do not shame her. Shame forms the basis for anxiety and long term insecurities.

Positive Feedback: When complimenting her appearance, highlight her nature and attributes versus just saying, “you look good”. Choose gentle terms and stay positive. Exchange “you look fat in that outfit” for “it’s not for you or I love the other outfit on you because it flatters you.” After all, makeup should be about fun and sparkles than hiding imperfections.

Promote Her: Permit your daughter to develop, define and find her personal style. A great mistake is trying to make children into a mini-improved versions of parents. Let them be who they are, not who you want them to be.

Beauty Coach: Learn the basics so you can guide your daughter. Research where to go for hair cut, color, spas, facials, etc. For cut and color, splurge at the John Barrett Salon or try a neighborhood place.  For facials, Mario Badescu, http://www.mariobadescu.com, Georgette Klinger, Oasis Day Spa http://www.oasisdayspanyc.com/salon . For pain free bikini waxing, try Bliss the lavender chamomile wax http://www.blissworld.com

Learn their language: Each generation has their own slang so learn their language, watch their television shows, read their magazines and know their favorite celebrities so you can gauge who and what they are emulating.

Beauty Days: Spending time together is the prettiest gift. Whether at the makeup counter, Sephora, getting manicures, Bloomingdales or a night at home concocting homemade facemasks from avocados and mayonnaise, be together and enjoy the moment.

Inner Beauty: Focusing solely on your daughter’s outward appearance can never replace the importance of the inner beauty. Her sense of self will last after her lipstick wears off. Positive affirmations from both parents will go a long way.

Now, go be gorgeous together!

About Erika Katz

Author of the book Bonding over Beauty, A Mother-Daughter Guide to Self-Esteem, Confidence and Trust (Greenleaf Press, March 2011), Erika Katz uses her beauty expertise to help moms bond with their ‘tween daughters. A former child model and actress, Erika appeared in over 100 commercials, print ads, and films. As the mother of a ‘tween girl, she now writes a popular beauty blog for mothers tackling the drama of the ‘tween years.

Before college, Erika interned in the beauty department at Seventeen magazine. Using her experience at Seventeen, cosmetology classes, and lessons learned through her extensive work in television and modeling, she created a beauty guide that served as the foundation for Bonding over Beauty. Though the guide initially targeted young women, after joining several parenting groups Erika soon realized many mothers were unsure of how to bridge the generation gap when dealing with the beauty and hygiene issues their daughters faced. Believing that a parent’s job is to nurture their children’s self-esteem and happiness, she turned her beauty guide into a valued resource for moms that contain advice and numerous bonding rituals that can ease the difficulties faced by young girls growing to physical and emotional maturity.

Bonding over Beauty focuses on encouraging and strengthening the mother-daughter relationship through simple, fun, and intimate activities such as teaching your ‘tween basic beauty rituals like painting her nails or making an organic face scrub from scratch. The book also helps mothers navigate sensitive topics that often arise with ‘tween girls, from dealing with unwanted body hair to menstruation, and everything in between.

A graduate of Dartmouth College, Erika lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

www.bondingoverbeauty.com

Anjula Acharia Bath is the face of Desi Hits! an innovative multi-platform media company that is undoubtedly creating a cultural shift in the digital field and pop culture worldwide. Steering the company to global influence, Anjula creates and executes deals with US Major labels such as Universal, Warner and Sony, and South Asian/Bollywood film studios. Anjula’s pioneering efforts have led the company to some of  the biggest names in music, Lady Gaga, 50 Cent, Britney Spears, Rihanna,  Sonu Niiggam and AR Rahman have all been featured on their web property DesiHits.com.

She is an incredible example of how woman RULE THE WORLD and can do anything we set out mind to.  Read below as Anjula answers some of our burning questions and shows us even more evidence for why Anjula Acharia Bath is our Woman To Watch!

Nitika Chopra: What’s your favorite part about owning your own business?

Anjula Acharia Bath: That I am able to do something that no one else has ever done and I can change the rules!

NC: Many of our readers are entrepreneurs, can you share some advice on how to take a small business and grow it in to an empire like you’ve done?

AAB: Network Network network and become an evangelist in your space, inspire people with your ideas and dreams in a way that is relevant to them growing their business.

NC: At Bella Life we are all about adding COLOR to your world, doing what makes you happy and makes you feel vibrantly fulfilled daily.  How do you add COLOR to your world Anjula?

AAB: I spent much of my childhood feeling like an invisible minority and felt like the bands/artists I admired knew nothing about me or my culture when I knew everything about them, I didn’t even feel like they knew where India was!  Now I am bringing the life of Bollywood and the color and extravagance of that world to some of the biggest celebrities in the world…. That’s defiantly adding color to the world.

NC: As the founder of Desi Hits, what is it like being a woman on top of such a large company?  Is it challenging?  If so, how?

AAB: I don’t “worry” about being a woman and don’t find the fact that I am a female CEO to be challenging– I simply enjoy being a woman in business, I think women often have incredible communication skills.  I meet a lot of women in business who ask me how “I cope” – there is no coping about it…. It maybe a man’s world…. but let’s really face it women run the show.  I have 2 founders who are men who respect me enough to put me as the CEO, but in all honesty we are all the CEO’s in our own ways, when you are founders of a company building to a common goal the person with the right skills will lead at the appropriate time.  I think I would find it more challenging as a man in business, harder to stand out!!

NC: Coming from an Indian background (which I can relate to!) was your family ever concerned with your business endeavors and being in the music industry?  If so, how did you handle that?

AAB: No, my parents are hugely supportive and have always encouraged me to live my dreams and challenge the norms.  They know much of what we do is risky but, it never worried them, they believe in me.  My older sister was also always very encouraging and wanted me to pursue a career in the arts.

NC: What are three things you can’t live without?

AAB: My family & friends, my dog Isabella, music!

This weeks Top Pick LIV GRN is the perfect opportunity for you to beautify while staying healthy and everyone from Halle Berry to Jessica Alba is already obsessed with this unique lifestyle brand.  Known for their incredibly popular organic t-shirts they are now bringing us beyond clothes and going straight for our skin.  Their body collection consists of lotion, body scrub, shower gel and a brand new fragrance.  With ingredients like jojoba oil, sunflower oil, cotton seed oil, organic aloe leaf juice, ginger extract, hibiscus flower extract and green tea extract used throughout their products, we know they will leave you feeling nourished from head to toe.  Their products are also completely vegetarian, non-toxic, not tested on animals, consist of 70% organic ingredients and have NO mineral oil, phthalates, parabens, sulfates, synthetic colors, GMOs, triclosan or propylene glycol.

LIV GRN delivers a powerful message that inspires us to care for the health of our planet. Through its unique approach of merging fashion and beauty with a commitment to green living and building a better planet, LIV GRN is a simple call to action.  Just wearing LIV GRN strengthens the cause by spreading the message. Additionally, 10% of every sale is donated to Global Green, one of the world’s largest and most recognized green charities.

Have you ever been walking down the street

Luckily for us single ones, there is a hot new option over the typical online dating sites with painfully long profiles and hours of searching for a normal looking person who you hope put up a current picture of themselves.  It’s called Cheek’d and it’s a fun, unique twist on how to maneuver through the dating scene.  These little black cards with witty one-liners are a great way to get someone’s attention without all of the pressure.  In addition to the one liner each card has ‘find me at: www.cheekd.com’ and a unique code that allows access to view your profile.  Don’t worry the profile only gives a glimpse of who you are and does not take a long time to fill out.  There are about six questions, such as ’your most played iPod song’ and the responses cannot be longer than what fits on a business card.   Once the person you chose to give a card to checks out your profile they can send you a message and the communication begins.  Depending on the interaction you can decide if you want to take it a step further and meet in person. (Founder Lori Cheek pictured below)

Cheek’d brings the social aspect back into dating and moves it from your computer or the night bar scene to your everyday life.  When you are standing in line waiting for a coffee or walking your dog in the park don’t let another chance pass you by.   I have had a lot of fun feeling like at any moment I may notice someone I would like to give one of my cards to and I am excited to see who the first person will be!  My roommate loved the idea so much she decided to get Cheek’d cards of her own.  So don’t let yourself be the last to get in on the Cheek’d scene!

You may already know this,

That brings us to today, Gabby has heard the questions and requests from her fans and has created an even deeper look in to what made her want to be a teacher for so many un-happy people out there.  With the launch of her latest book “Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road To Self-Love and Miracles”, I am certain that Gabby will continue to grow as a teacher, as a woman to watch and as a friend. Take a look at this exclusive video with myself and Gabrielle Bernstein as she answers our questions, makes me laugh, and even throws in the F-bomb (a Bella Life first!!) during a passionate moment.

Gabrielle herself said recently “By the time I was 23 or 24, that world was no longer glossy anymore. I was really, really disenchanted with the nightlife scene in New York. I had spent years looking for happiness “out there” – in a pair of shoes, a boyfriend, getting past the velvet rope at some fancy nightclub. I learned the hard way that none of that worked. By the time I turned 25 I hit a huge bottom and had to surrender to the fact that true happiness had to come from within. This was when I shut down my outward search, turned inward and surrendered to a life as a full-on Spirit Junkie.”

WATCH OUR EXCLUSIVE VIDEO WITH BEST-SELLING AUTHOR GABRIELLE BERNSTEIN

I just adore Gabby and I know you will too so for more information on her as well as her book “Spirit Junkie”, her uber relaxing meditation album, her upcoming workshops and lectures or anything else going on in her world check her out at the links below:

BUY THE BOOK TODAY

MEDITATE WITH GABBY

SEE GABBY LIVE AT AN UPCOMING EVENT

Follow her weekly Vlog and get all other Gabrielle Bernstein related information at www.GabbyB.tv