Category: Archives

How Letting Go of Shame Set Me Free

Julie Anderson

All of us know it, the feeling of a sinking heart, the blush of the cheeks and the crushing blow of embarrassment. We are so ashamed. For some of us the tendrils of the debauched emotion of shame can morph into anger or depression, sometimes both. Shame has been a Read more

Julie Anderson

Julie Anderson is the Creator and Publisher of Feminine Collective. Julie was inspired to create this safe place for women to share their secrets, desires, triumphs and pain as the antithesis of what mainstream media offers women today. In her column Pursuit of Perfection, she explores the importance of rectifying the balance of inner and outer beauty through essays, poems and articles on self-esteem, shame, family, and self- acceptance.

I Think My Obsession Made You Feel Bad About Your Body

Ashley Carroll

I’ve written countless words that have made their way onto the internet in a multitude of public to quasi-private forums. I’ve blogged for long stretches in three separate places. I’ve nurtured the social media outlets. I engage in as many safe-enough spaces for me to represent the most authentic view Read more

Ashley Carroll

Ashley Carroll is currently on a stress-induced break. She is a mom of two, a wife, a government employee (bridging bureaucracy and the domestic violence field), food and fitness enthusiast & health advocate. She has a significant traumatic history as a younger person in the mental health system. She has spent almost a decade negotiating her unique journey through "recovery." Ashley is using this time to make peace with carbs (and her body). She is a huge fan of Brene Brown. She hopes to foster a connection with like-minded, truth-telling women. She has become obsessed with astrology, and the need to let go of perfectionism and the fear that's limited her previously. Ashley is embracing vulnerability by doing things that scare the shit out of her like writing a bio in the third person. Or writing at all. Ashley posts lots of pictures and words about day-to-day life #risingstrong (if you will). You can find her right now on Instagram @robust_ly

4 Makeup Must-Haves When You Travel

Tonya Riner

Planning a trip? Let me help you pack. Here’s the challenge… it’s hard to have that romantic “it’s all about the journey” feeling when you have to fit your beauty arsenal in a plastic sandwich bag. Here are the things worthy of that space that will give you the biggest Read more

Tonya Riner

Tonya Riner started doing makeup as a teenager in her two-stoplight hometown in Kansas. From there, she declared herself a professional, and has spent the last twenty-five years on fashion shoots and shows, on both coasts, and in Europe. Tonya's work has been featured in Harper's Bazaar and Vogue. She was included in Allure Magazine’s Directory as one of the best makeup artists in the United States. Her long list of celebrity clientele includes Heidi Klum, Erin Wasson, Julie Anderson, Rachel Hunter, Chandra North, and Lauren Bush. Backstage, she has worked alongside Frederic Fekkai and Ted Gibson. She was a member of the beauty team for Beyonce’s Blow video. For Tonya, one of the most rewarding parts of her job is spending time, one-on-one, with models and clients. She finds that ordinary barriers fall away within minutes of the start of a makeup session, leaving space for instant intimacy and the shared pursuit of beauty. Connecting with extraordinary people from all walks of life fuels her passion for her work. As a consultant, Tonya works with creative teams to devise strategies for beauty brand product development, most recently for the company, Beauty for Real. She enjoys working with products from both the manufacturing and marketing ends. Moving forward, she would like to be instrumental in the development of the kinds of beauty products she, herself, would want to use.

Interview With A Female CIA Operative

Julie Anderson

Personally, one of the many fantasies that I have had, besides the requisite wish to be a rock star, has been to be a Top Secret Agent—007 style. My code name would be 0013.  Yes, I have always wanted to be a spy. Undercover. Covert. Gathering details, cloak and dagger style. Read more

Julie Anderson

Julie Anderson is the Creator and Publisher of Feminine Collective. Julie was inspired to create this safe place for women to share their secrets, desires, triumphs and pain as the antithesis of what mainstream media offers women today. In her column Pursuit of Perfection, she explores the importance of rectifying the balance of inner and outer beauty through essays, poems and articles on self-esteem, shame, family, and self- acceptance.

Why Me? My Life in Pain Coping With CRPS

SA Smith

It was an overcast day that morning. There was a thunderstorm on the way, and I remember it clearly. I was in the back of the house, gathering up all the laundry. I stopped by the bathroom. With a four-year-old, it was probably the first time I had a moment Read more

SA Smith

SA Smith has always loved the magical life. She is the bestselling Amazon author of FOREVER, her four part young adult paranormal romance series. She is an advocate for women of all shapes and sizes. Believing that we are all enough just as we are, and needing to spread that word far and wide. Having been diagnosed with CRPS over 12 years ago, SA also uses her writing to increase social awareness of the disease. Writing is her passion. She often tells friends that writing is a journey for her. It’s like spending time with friends. "I just follow my characters along on their adventures, like a fly on the wall, and see where they take me." SA currently lives in Florida with her best friend/husband and their one son.

Romano Ricci: The “Bad Boy” of Fragrance

Margret Avery

In my obsession, love, and adoration for all beauty products, and those who create them, I ran across what I consider the ‘bad boy’ of fragrances. Now all of us girls know how easy it is to fall for bad boys because they make us breathe a little differently, shake Read more

Margret Avery

Margret Avery expresses her talents through being a singer / songwriter / actor / writer and poet. She has also worked as a freelance makeup artist with her work gracing the pages of many editorial and commercial publications. The passion to express through song led to her writing and continues to grow with equal tenacity. Margret has contributed as a writer to Suite101, Women’s Voices for Change and now proudly for Feminine Collective. Margret’s writing is included in Feminine Collective: Raw and Unfiltered Vol 1 and that makes her smile on a daily basis. Her music can be heard on Spotify, Pandora, CDbaby, Soundcloud, Reverbnation and NumberoneMusic.

Seven Shades of Sick

Jacqueline Cioffa

Now pay attention. The next sentence will be the most important words I write. I have loved being alive. I’d like you to pause and remember it as we move through the uncomfortable. It’s 4:00 AM. The house has gone quiet. I am tucked in bed safe and sound, baby Read more

Jacqueline Cioffa

A retired, international model, and celebrity makeup artist. Co-Author of Model Citi Zen, the guide. Founder of http://modelcitizenmakeup.blogspot.com/. Author of numerous prose pieces in various literary magazines. Most recently published in Little Episodes Brainstorms the anthology, among esteemed artists Sadie Frost, Melvin Burgess and Todd Swift.

FC Low Carb Challenge: Week 11 – You Did It!

SA Smith

We started with an idea. An idea to help women find a healthy way of eating and maybe lose a few pounds while we’re at it. It was a call to arms for all of us to work together and challenge ourselves to a new way of looking at food. Read more

SA Smith

SA Smith has always loved the magical life. She is the bestselling Amazon author of FOREVER, her four part young adult paranormal romance series. She is an advocate for women of all shapes and sizes. Believing that we are all enough just as we are, and needing to spread that word far and wide. Having been diagnosed with CRPS over 12 years ago, SA also uses her writing to increase social awareness of the disease. Writing is her passion. She often tells friends that writing is a journey for her. It’s like spending time with friends. "I just follow my characters along on their adventures, like a fly on the wall, and see where they take me." SA currently lives in Florida with her best friend/husband and their one son.