“Your story is just so much more beautiful than your outward appearance.”
While Lauren Scruggs Kennedy speaks those words honestly and with full conviction, she admits that it was a long and hard road before she had this revelation. When a horrific accident changed the California-born, Dallas-raised fashion model’s life and career forever, she was forced to make a choice: she could let her accident define her, or she could define a new life on her own terms.
Before her accident, Lauren worked as a fashion intern in the Michael Kors showroom and on the set of one of our favorite past times, CW’s Gossip Girl. She also reported for Fashion Week in New York, Paris, and Milan for years, bringing back the latest trends and upcoming styles to her blog, before blogging was even really a thing. The accident came just as her career in fashion was reaching an exciting time…until she was forced to put everything on pause. For the first time, Lauren stepped back from her career and took time to heal, recover, and reflect.
Determined that her dreams and future weren’t over, she gained new perspective on the true meaning of beauty, and what it really means to live life #likeyoumeanit. Her first book, Still LOLO was published in 2012, and her second book, Your Beautiful Heart, released in March of 2015. She teamed up with Bethany Hamilton to start a yearly retreat for girls that have lost a limb to create a community and encourage one another on the journey. She also recently launched the Lauren Scruggs Kennedy Foundation, which exists to bring hope, restore dignity, and ignite faith in girls and women with limb loss by providing beautiful cosmetic coverings for prostheses.
In the midst of everything Lauren lost as a result of her accident, she gained a whole new meaning and perspective to her life through serving and helping others. “How you’re serving people, how you’re using your story to encourage others,” is what she now says displays as a richer kind of beauty, one no mirror can take away.
“We constantly have things pouring into us that say ‘Be more beautiful’… it’s so easy to solely focus on outward. Which is why the search inward becomes all the more important. When we go beyond the surface, we fully dive into the life we were created to live,” she says.
We caught up with Lauren Kennedy at her home in LA to see how she sets herself up for the best day ahead, and believe us when we say that this girl leaves no stone unturned in her wellness routine. In addition to getting the scoop all the best non-toxic beauty products, Lauren introduced us to some wellness products and hacks we had never heard of, but are now dying to try. The one constant she kept coming back to? Living your best life is rooted in balance, igniting honest talk, and owning your story.
What time is your wake-up call?
Between 8 and 9am. We are later risers! I only wake up earlier if I am on another time zone and fall asleep earlier. I always need at least 9 hours of sleep!
What wakes you up each day?
I wake up on my own almost always! If not, Jason’s alarm 🙂
Early bird or night owl?
I am really neither! I usually go to bed around 11pm and get up at 8 or 9. Nine hours is my happy place!
What’s the first thing you do when you wake up?
I check my emails :-/ It is nice to do that when I still want to be in bed yet feel like I am starting the day. Then I immediately juice celery!
Describe your getting ready routine from start to finish.
It takes me usually about 20-30 minutes to get ready for the day. I brush my hair (I like more of the tossled look), do my makeup (with all nontoxic products) and get dressed!
Do you plan your outfits in advance, or create them on the fly?
I NEED to plan them in advance. I get stressed picking what to wear, and if I am ever running late, that is why! I also feel like I lean towards the basics in my closet when I am rushing to get dressed so I miss out on wearing some cuter pieces that take more time to style properly.
What do you eat for breakfast?
I drink celery juice an hour before putting anything else in my stomach, and then I make a smoothie! I use the Omega Juicer and absolutely love it. Has totally changed my morning juice game to make it easy and a non-negotiable in my routine.
What do you put in your smoothie?
For my smoothie, I use: frozen blueberries, half a frozen banana, half a frozen avocado (most of the time), Malk vanilla almond milk, ashwaganda, mucuna, MCT oil, collagen! I blend it all together in my Vitamix, which I also love!
Any morning wellness rituals?
Reading outside with my smoothie or juice, and red light therapy. I also do red light therapy every morning in my office while answering emails on my phone.
Can you explain the benefits of red light therapy?
Red light therapy—also known as red LED light therapy, low-level light therapy (LLLT), photobiomodulation, and cold laser therapy—involves exposing bodily tissues to red and near-infrared light between the wavelengths of 660 nm and 890 nm with either low-level lasers or red LED lights, which I use.
These specific wavelengths of red light create a biochemical affect in our cells that serves to increase mitochondrial function. This improves ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production in the body, stimulates collagen, and improves cell regeneration. ATP is the source of energy for every cell in the body. Without it, we don’t function at all. Without enough of it, we don’t function well.
Red light therapy can treat everything from joint pain and inflammation to wrinkles, scarring, stretch marks, and acne. I do it every morning for about 15 minutes and swear by it for all types of healing processes!
What’s your favorite getting-ready soundtrack?
I love listening to a mix on my Spotify playlists.
I never leave the house without _____________.
Gum and lip conditioner! I love this Chapstick by Primally Pure and this Ilia Tinted Lip Conditioner.
If you could only put on one item of makeup, what would it be? (specific to brand)
Non-toxic light foundation because it makes your skin look balanced and glow-y!
Do you stick to the same makeup and hair routine, or do you like to experiment?
Stick to the same! I am all about non-toxic beauty and try to stick to that all the time.
What are your favorite non-toxic makeup products? We need specifics!
There are so many good ones, but the ones I use daily are:
-First, I always make sure my face is properly hydrated with moisturizer or essential oils. I have been loving Herbivore’s Emerald face oil with CBD lately.
-I then use W3LL People Concealer and RMS concealer under my eyes and on any areas that I want to even out around my nose and chin.
-I go over my whole face with my Vapour Primer and Vapour foundation.
-Then, I apply the RMS buriti bronzer or Kosas to my cheeks.
-Next, I always do my brows because I think they really complete a look. I fill them in with my Credo brow pencil and go over it with the Ere Perez Aloe Brow Gel. A little tip: I add a little concealer directly underneath my brow line to add more life and definition to my eyes!
-Finally, I curl my eyelashes and apply W3LL People mascara. The end look is super natural and put together, without trying too hard.
Do you have a signature scent?
Essential oils. I generally stick with the same “perfume” scent, but I use different scents for more purposeful reasons such as stress relief or digestive help. I use Young Living Lady Sclareol for perfume daily. It is a blend of many oils that creates a very romantic scent. Plus it has so many great health and hormone benefits!
Healthiest morning habit:
Celery juice and red light therapy.
Worst morning habit:
Getting on my phone first thing in the morning.
Daily uniform:
A sweatshirt or t-shirt, Alo yoga pants, and Nike or Loeffler Randall sneakers if I’m working at home. If I’m heading out to a meeting or errands, I’ll throw on jeans, a nice top or cozy sweater, and fun booties. Shoes are my weakness!
Shower: morning or night?
Night
What’s your favorite product in your shower?
Face masks! My top 3 goto face masks are:
What’s your favorite product in your home?
Our water filter. It’s the greatest! It is called a Kangen Water Filter, and it has three levels of water to choose from that filters water directly through your sink: beauty water, clean filtered water, and acidic water. The beauty water is great for washing your face, creating beauty products, filling a vase full of flowers, and washing your hair. We use the clean filtered water for cooking and drinking, and the acidic water to kill germs and clean anything from the countertops to the dishes. We absolutely love it!
If you had one extra hour every morning, how would you use it?
I would read more!
Can you give us your top 3 book recommendations for Spring?
It’s Not Supposed to be This Way
One word to describe your mornings?
Full and productive (my goal is to change this to make it more restful.)
