Shiva Rose's Guide To Living Well

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When you meet Shiva Rose, one thing is very clear: There is no other suitable name for her. She’s singular—not to mention, beautiful. “My grandmother, who I’m named after, passed on her love of roses to me. It has been a beauty tonic since the age of Cleopatra,” she says. On an overcast weekday, I came by her Pacific Palisades garden property, where she concocts drool-worthy beauty products, for a tour. Shiva walks around barefoot, in a Hayley Starr pale pink dress, carrying a crystal and a stem of French lavender. Her cat, Fig, greets me at the door. Her home and garden are peaceful, airy, and full of life. And by that I mean, she has chickens running through the yard (also providing the eggs she and her daughters eat), beehives to make her own honey, and a garage lab where she hand-makes and packages her Shiva Rose products— oils, candles, and balms. While the former actress still lives in LA, she has somehow managed to create around her an oasis that feels more like a gypsy vacation than real life. Certainly it's aspirational, but Shiva's full of tips to spare. Here are five—I kept them broad on purpose, so there's a little Shiva in it for everyone.

START A FIRE ESCAPE GARDEN

“I grow kale, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, berries, carrots, red clover, nettles, oranges, lemons, beans, passion fruit, guavas…I use the beeswax from my honey bees for my balms and roses for the bath salts. As my company grows, I am looking for a more full-fledged farm that can supply all the botanicals in my line,” she says. The reality is that it takes discipline and commitment to live the way Shiva does (so organic and homegrown); but, the ethos is the important part. Feeling self-sustained is a basil plant from Whole Foods away.

But if health is wealth, sometimes it feels like health also requires wealth. “Eating organically is expensive—but if it's important to you, you have to make it a priority and work hard to make it possible,” she says. Considering Shiva—her hair is shiny, her skin is luminous—clean eating sounds like a dream. But simply considering food source and how much of what you purchase you actually consume is an achievable step toward mindful living. And this is coming from a jaded New York transplant.

DO YOUR MAKEUP IN THE KITCHEN

'Good fats keep [my skin] juicy—fats like ghee, coconut oil, avocado, and sprouted walnuts. I eat 100-percent organically with foods that are alive and unprocessed. I use body oils made from sunflower seed or sesame oils. I love RMS Beauty products, and I put castor oil on my lashes and eyebrows to make them thicker,” she says. “But of course, I love a good Nars Lipstick like any other girl.”

RECONSIDER HEDONISM

If only because the Shiva Rose line of products is too good not to covet. The Rose Face Oil stands out in a field full of other face oils because it feels so pretty you can't help but be convinced that it will do the same to you. It absorbs quickly—best to put on before bed or before your moisturizer in the morning. Now, she’s launching a new face balm and a rose water toner/mist to the collection. The balm, which I’m particularly excited about, “is made from beeswax, various nourishing oils, sacred Frankincense, rose, and ylang ylang,” she says. “The rose is the queen of all flowers—anti-inflammatory, anti-aging, nourishing to the skin, balancing, and heart opening. I love to use my roses in my products, because it’s an essential oil that hasn’t been treated with pesticides.” You are forgiven for wanting all of it.

'SIT FOR A FEW MINUTES'

One of the most intriguing things about Shiva is the juxtaposition of her obvious Hollywood glamour with her Earth Mother credo. But it's not as if the whole holistic lifestyle hasn't started to take over this part of the country of its own accord. Some of Shiva's daily methods are the same “secrets' of many beautiful women interviewed here: “My secret is starting every morning with Living Tea and sitting for a few minutes in silence—after, I dry brush and take cold showers.”

GO WITH YOUR GUT

But her very best beauty advice she can give is that which she tells her two daughters: “I always tell them what is crucial for a good life is to develop and nurture their intuition. It’s our most precious and powerful tool. Things like connecting to nature and eating clean helps with this.” Also, she adds, “always have respect for our Mama Earth.”

—Alyssa Reeder

Photographed by Nikko La Mere in Los Angeles on May 27, 2015. Suddenly feeling pastoral? Go on the farm with Josie Maran in her Top Shelf.