Southern Beauty: HOW HAS YOUR BEAUTY REGIMEN CHANGED SINCE THE BIRTH OF YOUR BABY, ASHBY?
Nancy O'Dell: A LOT! First of all, as a new mom, you just don't have the extra time you used to have for beauty. I run out of the studio to get home to my baby girl, because a smile from her just makes my day and I miss every minute away from her. In the mornings before I go to work, I wanna hang at home a little longer to be with her, so the makeup and hair artists have to each become "Speedy Gonzalez" as I tell them. But yes, having the job I have, I have to do a certain amount of maintenance ... it is just less now. And my beauty regimen has also changed due to breast feeding ... there are certain lotions and potions I cannot use because I am nursing. I know how vitally important breastfeeding is, so I gladly give them up and will get back "fresher skin" when I finish nursing. I want to go for a year. Hopefully my skin has a natural glow from the happiness my baby girl has brought me.
SB: IS THERE A PARTICULAR BEAUTY PRODUCT(S) THAT YOU JUST CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT?
NO: Clinique tan gel and Sally Hansen Airbrush Legs. I grew up in a beach community, Myrtle Beach, SC, so I am used to having a tan. I don't want to go out in the sun, so this is the safest way, I just rub or spray on a tan!
SB: YOU'RE THE EPITOME OF A STRONG SOUTHERN WOMAN WITH GRACE, BEAUTY, INTELLIGENCE, AND CHARM. DO YOU HAVE ANY ADVICE FOR OTHER WOMEN WANTING TO SUCCEED IN TODAY'S WORKING ENVIRONMENT?
NO: Don't ever compromise your values. Do the right thing, and it will always eventually come back around. No one is going to make you successful, you have to do the hard work ... but always put your family first because the happier home life you have, the better employee you will be.
| SB: HOW DOES LIVING ON THE WEST COAST DIFFER FROM LIVING IN THE SOUTH?
NO: It is sooo very different. I grew up with everyone speaking to you wherever you go in the South. Here, people tend to stick to themselves. I go to the grocery store and ash the checkout person how they are doing. They look at me like I am crazy. Also, I miss the true neighborhoods. No one gets to know their neighbors out here whereas growing up in the South, I knew every neighbor for blocks up on blocks and still do when I go back home. We had neighborhood kickball every weekend when I was a kid. I wish my baby girl and stepsons could experience that kind of neighborhood out here.
SB: AT SOUTHERN BEAUTY, WE FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT TRUE BEAUTY STARTS FROM WITHIN. YOU HAVE DESCRIBED WORKING WITH YOUR CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS AS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS IN YOUR LIFE. HOW DOES THIS CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR SENSE OF PERSONAL BEAUTY?
NO: I don't think I would feel beautiful at all if I couldn't do something to help others. I am lucky to have the national platform with Access Hollywood to be able to help in some way. Knowing that, when I first started with Access over ten years ago, I prayed and asked to be shown what I needed to do to help. Shortly after, the March of Dimes asked me to be a spokesperson. I knew I was supposed to and I am still a spokesperson for them today. They save so many babies' lives every year and now, being a new mom myself, I am so glad I signed up! I am also honored to serve on the board of Best Buddies, and organization dedicated to enhancing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities via friendships. My aunt was a person with Down Syndrome. If you wanna feel beautiful, sign up to be a friend to a buddy as they are sometimes isolated and want friend just as we all do ,,, one of the most satisfying things you will ever experience! (And it's a guarantee they will make you feel loved and thus, beautiful.)
SB: WHAT DOES THE PHRASE SOUTHERN BEAUTY MEAN TO YOU?
NO: Classic, natural and fresh beauty which comes from the inside .. treating others with compassion and kindness is a vital component of Southern beauty.
SB: WE ALWAYS END THE SOUL SECTION OF OUR MAGAZINE WITH PEARLS OF WISDOM, TIMELESS BEAUTY TIPS PASSED DOWN THROUGH THE AGES. WHAT IS ONE PEARL THAT'S BEEN PASSED DOWN TO YOU?
NO: Beauty is defined by how you treat others.
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