Mally Steves
Mally Steves Chakola is a sixth generation entrepreneur and the creator of MSteves, a holistic skincare and lifestyle brand headquartered in Venice Beach. The namesake of her two grandmothers, Mally combined their influences to create smart, effective and natural skincare. From her Indian grandmother she learned the wisdom of botanicals and about ancient Ayurveda. While her American grandmother who still, at 101 years old, continues to show her that feeling beautiful is ageless and should be attainable in the midst of our busy, modern lives. In addition to drawing inspiration from the long line of enterprisers in her family, she has her own list of impressive accomplishments. Her career as a lawyer taught her to be a savvy businesswoman, and her world travels have introduced her to age-old beauty secrets and contemporary innovations of which she has used to enhance her own products. She strives to give her customers (as well as herself) glowing and balanced skin that protects and gives results.P+S knew a strong woman like Mally would have plenty of tips for our readers, so we asked her to give us a few of her favorites on what makes her feel strong, beautiful and ageless. Here they are:1 | Being around supportive and generous women entrepreneurs—I recently started attending BusinessChicks, an Australian networking group that’s now here in LA. Being an entrepreneur can be lonely and wearing, so it’s refreshing that BusinessChicks seems to attract only positive, like-minded and generous women. I leave feeling inspired and energized after each session.2 | Sleeping in a full size bed with my partner—While we don’t own one, my husband and I found ourselves in a soft hotel bed snuggled up together all night. I could feel an endorphin boost that kept a smile on my face the whole next day! 3 | A new lipstick—Even stores like RiteAid now sell gorgeous, high-end and vegan color lines that are an easy pick me up when I am feeling blah shopping for toilet paper!4 | Slowly exhaling—No matter who you are or what you do, it seems like everyone is dealing with anxiety in today’s world. As a girl who once was told she had a cortisol level like she was being chased by a bear, I learned a simple trick to self regulation. Inhale and hold it at the top for a few seconds, then exhale extremely slowly (ideally breathing it down the back of your throat). It’s nature’s way of controlling your stress hormones and gives instant “grace under pressure.”5 | MSteves Anti-Aging Serum—I know this is a bit self-serving, but I assure you, the result is the self-serving part! This is what I like to think of as nature’s substitute for an injection. In seconds, our flower-packed formula plumps the skin, smooths the look of fine lines and wrinkles and gives a gorgeous glow. I now use it in lieu of foundation most days over my moisturizer.6 | Sound therapy—Recently I had a one-on-one with the Sound Healer, David Jesse Kennet, who literally brought me to beautiful, clearing tears during mediation. I became so addicted I found a daily sound supplement, the Insight Timer. With this meditation timer I can now take the therapy of singing bowls with me wherever I am and can even see where others are meditating all over the globe.7 | Rough drying—I’m the beauty expert, but on this one I’ve been JV. For years, I have been jumping out of the shower and blow-drying my hair. Most days, I go for a full blow out going from wet to dry even though I know how very bad it is for the hair. In the past few weeks I’ve started being more conscious about how I’m drying my hair and now “rough dry” it. I hold out my tresses in sections and, without a brush, I zip from root to end, back and forth, with the hair dryer. Only when it is 95% dry, do I put my brush to my hair and smooth out the sections. I find I still get great volume and the same straightness. This reminded me that being deliberate is so much better than living unconsciously—even for my beauty routine.
