Beauty Diary

Lisa Elaine Held Copies Jessica Alba's Polish, Eats Beauty Foods

By Nicola Fumo Sep 5, 2013, 2:00pm EDT

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Welcome to Beauty Diary: seven days of getting glam with an industry insider. From publicists to professional makeup artists, this a week in the life of someone who lives and breathes beauty

Photo by Rob Abruzzese

Lisa Elaine Held is Well+Good's senior staff writer. In her words, that means trying "to find time to write (and tweet and Instagram) while running to back-to-back barre classes, boot camps, beauty treatments, and (veggie) burger tastings."

Beauty is holistic in Lisa's world, from food to fitness to non-toxic cosmetics. Click through for a week that includes a Jessica Alba-approved nail polish, stops at the latest fitness spots, a bounty of beauty foods, and a handful of bold lip shades made only with clean ingredients.

I get up early on Monday mornings to get the Well+Good newsletter ready to go before I head to the office. My nails are a disaster, so I paint them in five minutes flat before heading out the door and they dry on the walk to the subway. I love Priti
I try to make and bring my lunch when I can. It’s usually a bowl of quinoa (this week it was brown rice), whatever veggies I have on hand, greens, and avocado—a serious omega-packed beauty food I can’t go a day without.
I don’t have a workout class scheduled today so I go for a run along the Hudson. Our office in West Soho is just a block from the river, and running the path at sunset is beautiful.
A huge part of my job is getting to know the fitness studios around the city so that we’re always on top of news and trends. This week I’m taking a class at Focus NYC, a boutique gym in Chelsea with iPads on the walls showing you how to do exercise
Part business, part pleasure: I meet a PR rep from MFA, Katie, for a catch-up at a new cocktail bar, Mar’s, in Astoria. We both live in the neighborhood and love exploring it, so we try to do our meetings there.
Another meeting with a PR rep, breakfast at Hu Kitchen with Kelly from Crunch Gym. We sip green juice and eat this amazing chia seed pudding with fresh berries and coconut cream. More beauty foods!
I’m touching up my makeup before a beauty event, and this is what happens when I reach into my bag for a lip color—so many options! I go with Bite Beauty’s Pomegranate. Bold lip shades (usually red) are my number one beauty addiction, and clean in
The event is the launch of Jane Iredale’s new lip collection. My kind of event. I can’t wait to try them.
A tasting of new seasonal flavors at Chobani on the way to the office.
No writing or events tonight—I’m at a George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic concert at Beekman Beer Garden. My tattoos are an essential part of my style, and this bluebird is my favorite. If I had unlimited time, money, and ideas, I’d have ten more.
Morning skin-care routine. These are the face products I’ve been loving this summer. The fruit enzymes in the Mychelle products are so refreshing, and the Josie Maran product is mattifying and acts as a moisturizer, sunscreen, and foundation
Checking out a boot camp class at the city’s newest CrossFit gym, Brick, this morning. There’s lots of heavy lifting and attempts at pull-ups. Perfect for building upper-body strength, which is something I’m working on. I want muscles to go with m
A late morning run with my boyfriend ends at the Brooklyn Grange rooftop farm, where we stock up on fresh veggies.
Running errands in my funky Pumas. I hardly ever look sporty unless I’m working out, but these are an exception. I love these shoes!
Anniversary dinner date. This is my favorite dress of the summer—it’s by Tuc & Wes, the brand created by Fashion Star contestant Orly Shani, who I happened to work with at an Upper East Side bar when I first moved to the city out of college.
After sending out the Well+Good Weekender and reading the Times over coffee, I’m making fresh pesto with a huge bunch of farmer’s market basil.
Going through a pile of new fitness fashion pieces from brands I have yet to try. The red sports bra from Onzie looks like a winner, but I’ll have to see how it holds up during a sweaty yoga class this week.