Two Everyday Heroes Translate their Inner Strength into their Outer Pow!

Sherona McFadden of Harleysville, PA and Keara Ramos-Coles of Greenlane, PA are two women who define what it means to be everyday heroes. Sherona is a wife, a mother of five children (two are affected by a disability and a serious medical condition), a friend, a working-woman, a singer/songwriter, and a community/church volunteer. Sherona emulates creative flare to the point where she seems to breathe it with every idea she speaks and song she writes. She is a natural visionary, but with much of her time spent caring for her family and/or living between frequent doctor appointments and hospital visits, Sherona struggles with a sense of zapped energy. She longs to reconnect with her keen sense of artistic allure when it comes to makeup, and shared with me that she is looking for some products/looks to reignite this flame. Keara is a wife, a mother of three children (all of which have a learning disability), a friend, a professional caregiver for the elderly and those affected by disability, and also volunteers in her church and community whenever she is able. Keara so poignantly shared her struggle, which so many caregivers face, with balancing taking care of her self vs. others. Her compassionate heart for others wins in weight, but with that she said, “I am now at a time in my life that as much as I love taking care of everyone else I am also learning that I have to find ways to take care of myself.” They’re inner strength and love has an overflowing glow, and I think that Keara hit a key note in understanding that it doesn’t have to be about choosing to care for someone else vs. yourself, but rather finding the delicate balance and boundaries to care for both. Keara further shared that she has come to this balance by “Placing God first and trusting Him with all I have.” It’s the spiritual aspect of beauty we so often forget, as it is this peace that has allowed her to rest assured that she doesn’t have to combat her struggles or that of others alone. There really is a beauty in peace. Harnessing the power of their wow factor during our self-created mini-caregiver retreat was no trouble at all! My awesome husband kindly took the children out for a swim while we started our evening with some good conversation, a homemade dinner, and quenched our thirst with water-enhanced Stur (of course)! We followed up dinner with hysterical laughter while striking the before shot poses. Boom! Then these gorgeous ladies took a seat to discuss what they wanted for their look. Sherona wanted to flesh out her creative nature with some bright colors on her already exotic-looking eyes, while Keara opted for an elegant glamour that she could recreate during her daily routine, more then just what she said, “Is my once a month dress up night.” Before applying their makeup both ladies cleansed their faces with Kaia’s 100% biodegradable juicy bamboo cleansing cloths. Keara commented, “Ooooh I LOVE the smell!” and Sherona joined, “and it feels so good on my skin…doesn’t dry me out.” I informed the girls that the cloths were also vitamin rich, packed with 8 purely plant-based essential oils, alcohol-free, sulfate-free, and awesome for so many other reasons. Next, I moisturized both ladies skin with Delivre. I decided that since I only tried it on myself I wanted to see if they felt the same as I did about it (Read: 5Products That Will Help You Transform and Revive.) Ding, Ding, Ding, just as I had felt in my last post, Delivre delivered! Sherona and Keara have dry patches on their skin too. Hydrating with water and using topical hydration like a moisturizer are imperative elements in maintaining the health of one of your most important, and definitely the largest organs in your body (yes it is an organ!), which also happens to be one of the primary defense systems of your body too…so treat it especially well. *Note: it is also essential to have a smooth base for the application of great looking makeup. Then I applied the makeup mediums to create the elegant and innovative look that each woman aspired to produce. As always, eyes first when applying makeup, so you can clean up the rest of the face later. For Sherona’s eyes (Creative/Innovative look), I used MAC’s Back to the Beach Collection Sweet & Punchy, TIGI’s Posh Quad, and Smashbox’s Nocturnal and Nude, e.l.f.’s super affordable liquid eyeliner, and I intertwined her lashes with Butter London’s Wink Jaded Jack with Kevyn Aucoin’s Rich Pitch Black The Curling Mascara. For Keara’s eyes (Elegant Glamor Look) I used AVEDA’s petal essence Ginger Root, TIGI’s Posh high density quad eyeshadow, and Smashbox’s Bark from their Studio Pop eye palette, e.l.f’s liquid liner, and Kevyn Aucoin’s Rich Pitch Black The Curling Mascara. Let me just add that I LOVE Kevyn’s Mascara, I have had countless people ask if I was wearing false lashes…that is how good we are talking! Finally, the rest of their resilient canvases were finished off using Mally’s Pro-Tricks correcting palette, the variance in Mally’s palette allowed me to create just the right combo to match each of their skin tones. I added a natural looking shimmer to their skin using e.l.f.’s baked blush peachy cheeky, and accentuated their cheek bones using MAC’s In the Groove collection: Mineralized blush duo, New vibe. For the lips I used AVEDA’s lip liner Plum Petals coated with their rehydrating lip glaze on Keara, and on Sherona I used AVEDA’s lip glaze by itself. Check out the final results and drop our awesome heroes a line of encouragement! Subscribe to A Girl’s Gotta Spa! for more beauty reviews! Watch our reviews on YouTube, see our pins on Pinterest and check us out on Instagram and G+. Got a Kindle? We’re on Kindle too! Courtney on G+. *Disclosure