My name is Sarah Rivera and I work in fashion marketing by day and am a self-care blogger by night based in Oakland, CA. I also am a vinyl DJ and I'm part of the collective Chulita Vinyl Club (@chulitavinylclub) since 2016. I also started my own DJ duo with my husband called ICY/HOT (@icyhotdjs), where we DJ live sets on social media and fundraise money for the Black Lives Matter movement. I have a rescue pitbull mix named Mijo and love watching Queer Eye to make my day brighter :)
First thing you do when you wake up/go to bed?
First thing I do when I wake up is kiss my dog, last thing I do when I go to bed is tell my husband I love him. I don't ever want to go to bed angry.
Any ritual health/beauty/wellness routines or products?
I've recently adopted using a Gua Sha on my face every morning and evening using tamanu oil, which helps with hyperpigmentation, acne, and inflammatory skin conditions.
Favorite feature(s) on yourself and why?
My favorite features on myself are my lips, eyes, and eyebrows. I love how luscious and pouty my lips are, I rarely leave the house without lipstick. I love my eyes because I love the shape of them and nobody else looks like me. I love my thick eyebrows because it keeps me looking youthful, I'm almost 30 and still get carded at bars. I used to get made fun of for my eyebrows growing up and now it's funny to see how badly everyone wants them!
How do your work, lifestyle, and background affect your routine?
I work in fashion marketing by day and by night run a self-care/mental health blog called The Chill Babe. Keeping my skincare routine has been something that I look forward to every morning and night. It provides me with much needed alone time and makes me feel like I'm doing something good for myself. It also establishes a sense of grounding in trying to balance work life from home life.
What do you do to stay healthy?
To stay healthy, I dance! I've been taking dance classes at a studio called Hipline in Oakland since January this year and its so empowering and encouraging. I come from a dance background which is fun for me since the optional follow along choreography is relatively easy, but there's zero pressure to be perfect which I love and need in my life. Less perfect, more you! I also do morning yoga with my husband with Yoga with Adriene on Youtube, and it's nice to start the day grounding yourself with your partner; there's a really nice "alone, together" element starting the day that way.
Any cultural tips/tricks you've learned from family and/or friends?
The art of a good Chisme is something I've always had in my life with friends and family. "Chisme" translates to "gossip," however, my generation has been reclaiming the word and concept as providing personal resources and information for each other.
How do you choose beauty products?
I choose all my beauty products by word of mouth. I have some of the most beautiful friends, who are also active environmentalists and we love to share information on which brands are the most environmentally ethical, and effective for our beauty needs.
What is your cultural and/or ethnic background?
My cultural background is Mexican, both my parents were born in Mexico but I was born in San Diego.
How do your culture, ethnicity and identity intersect and affect your beauty preferences (or grievances)?
Growing up, I had Mexican girl friends who were lighter than me and looked more like white girls. I was always teased for being a little darker and for my body hair. I always wished that I had less body hair. As I grow older, I'm learning to shed my Eurocentric standards of beauty; to be tall, lighter, and hairless with a small nose and thin eyebrows. I now love being petite, my golden skin tone, and my unique facial features. It reminds me that I come from Mayan ancestors with my same features, and empowers me to embrace my unique look. Before I used to spend so much money on waxing, but now I care way less about what people think about my looks.
If you were to create the perfect beauty/wellness product for yourself, what would it be?
My perfect beauty/wellness product would be a line for young girls who think they need to be perfect. it would be more about teaching them to embrace their looks and how to enhance them, instead of "get rid of x" or "get this to be x"