Amino acids, vitamin C, glutathione...the building blocks of beauty.
These nutrients and antioxidants are the natural ways to unlock an enviable inside-out glow. Just as food is delicious medicine, good nutrition can also be found in the most effective beauty products…giving us both healing and pleasure to our bath vanity.
No one knows this better than Kerrilynn Pamer and Cindy DiPrima Morisse, founders of CAP Beauty—a treasure trove of natural beauty and plant medicine in NYC’s West Village and L.A. Their philosophy is inspired…one that celebrates ritual, abundance, and self-discovery.
They share our belief in the power of loving yourself and honoring the details that make us feel beautiful.
It was only natural we partnered with them for our most wildly gorgeous two weeks of the year, Eat Pretty. It's about conjuring up inner radiance through food as medicine, and discovering the joys of the most luxurious beauty products.
To call on our most magnetic self for spring, we sat down with these dynamic powerhouse women. Here, they share their thoughts on radical self-care, their wellness heroes, and the importance of beauty as your "North Star."
What does Eat Pretty mean to you?
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: CAP is rooted in the philosophy that beauty is a function of health. And health happens when we flood our bodies, inside and out with nutrient dense and life-giving ingredients. This means that our products should be clean enough to eat and that what we eat shows up equally on our skin. Eating well, moving our bodies and engaging in acts of radical self-care are all ways of loving ourselves and from that love springs the truest beauty.
Modern aesthetics offers so many means of achieving “perfection” and yet true beauty, radiance, and luminosity can only be had when we engage in the rituals and practices that deliver health. Natural beauty is a lifestyle and a plant-based diet is at the heart of that life.
What are the practices that make you feel the most beautiful? Where and how do you seek beauty in your life?
Kerrilynn Pamer: We’re both yogis and believe deeply in the importance of movement. I practice Kundalini and Cindy loves the heat and sweat of hot yoga. Cindy also loves a good run, especially with her husband. We both know that time spent with loved ones is tantamount to living beautifully. Time in nature, music, art, and design really fuel both of us as well. I especially find beauty in books. Treatments, like our CAP Beauty facial, acupuncture or a great lymphatic massage do wonders but don’t need to happen on the daily.
Cindy follows a diet of juicing and food combining and we both stick to plants. We each eat tons of fruit, veggies, and grains as well. We think of this more as a given, a non-negotiable, and yet, we shouldn’t take it for granted. The power of plants to beautify and elevate is beyond measure.
Please share your dream tonic recipe:
Kerrilynn Pamer: I’m drawn to anything from Japan so my dream tonic starts with a base of our Matcha to which I add The Coconut Butter for its range of healthy fats and deliciousness, He Shou Wu for its skin benefits, Tocotrienols for more hair and skin benefits, Mucuna Pruriens for its ability to promote and encourage happiness and a hit of Reishi mushrooms to mellow me out and decrease inflammation. I’d throw all of this in the Vitamix, blend on high for a minute and pour into my favorite mug. Preferably one by my friend, Romy Northover.
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: I tend to be cold and eat a lot of raw foods and juices and so a warming drink is great for me. Leaves and Flowers Wellness tea would be the perfect base and then I would mix in Moodbeli’s Golden Turmeric which is a blend of turmeric, black pepper, and ginger. If it’s after dinner, I might add a spoonful of our insanely delicious Coconut Butter or if it’s early and I’m still juicing and eating lighter foods, I’ll take it neat.
What are some of the wildest things you've done in the name of wellness?
Kerrilynn Pamer: I had an energy healing session recently that pretty much blew my head off. It was unlike anything I’ve ever done and was beyond wild. Other than that, I pretty much hit all the “normal” wellness practices. Although, it all depends on who I’m talking to and where I am, if they’re wild or nuts!
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: We’ve both had some pretty wild treatments. These days I’m mostly focused on eliminating anything I don’t need. I like to lighten the load and create vitality through lightness and space. That means regular colonics (normal to some but probably wild to many!) but also some deep treatments designed to eliminate emotional baggage. A shamanic closet cleanse with Colleen from Style Rituals was also incredibly fun and surprisingly influential! The color of the dress you wear just might change your life!
How has your relationship with beauty and your body evolved over the years?
Kerrilynn Pamer: To be super honest, I’ve been traveling so much that my relationship to self is in an odd place. I’m very much a creature of habit and when I fall away from my touchstones (sleep, time alone, good food, exercise, meditation) I become hypercritical of my body and my connection to beauty can lapse. Our body and beauty relationship is just that, a relationship, one that needs to be fed, nurtured and cherished. But also, one that we need to know isn’t always easy. Women’s relationship to this part of self can be so complicated and elastic. As I get older, I’ve realized that for me, doing the work consistently is my life preserver. Sometimes you forget it’s there until you need it, but if you keep adding to it, when you’re in a tough spot, you’ll have the support. I didn’t always know this, but with many years behind me, I’ve come to understand what I need to be in good relationship to my beauty and body. I’m in a better place than ever, but I realize that this relationship is a living thing, one that is constantly shifting, and one that needs love, care, kindness and patience.
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: I can honestly say that at 47, I feel better than ever. I have such a better understanding of my body and what it takes to thrive. When I was younger and single, my relationship to healthy living was far more hot and cold. Periods of going out like crazy were followed by fasts and strict regimens. Now it’s just more consistent and consistency is key. I’m also in a position at this point to make exercise and clean eating a non-negotiable part of every day.
Who are some of your wellness heroes?
Kerrilynn Pamer: I am so lucky to be surrounded by so many experts in the world of wellness but try to stay away from attaching myself to just one. I like to create a composite of all the people who have influenced me, as this allows me to take what I need from a wide range of people and tap into their own unique knowledge. My composite includes Dana James, for her thought-provoking approach to women and diet, Guru Singh, for sharing the magic and science of Kundalini yoga, Gil Jacobs, for his radical and out-there approach to health through the colon, Jen Gonzalez, for her hilarious and paradigm shifting take on women and shitting, Lacy Phillips, for her manifestation formula that has brought me so much and for being such an inspiring expander, Daphne Javitch, for her aesthetic commitment to making wellness chic, John von Pamer, for his deep, cellular understanding of non-conformist ways of wellness and to Cindy DiPrima for bringing her light, sense of humor and intellect to the pursuit of health. And of course to everyone who walks through our doors; there are no bigger heroes to me. They inspire me daily.
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: Gil Jacobs is my mentor and radical health guide. He’s such a wealth of knowledge on cellular cleansing, food combining and healing and his approach is actually really simple and straightforward. I love working with him and have seen my body transform in so many ways since doing so. Kris Carr was also very helpful to me when I was younger. I lost my mom to cancer when I was only 21, I just assumed I’d be powerless over the same fate. Kris’ book helped me understand that radical health is something we can create for ourselves. It gave me a sense of power and the drive to go deep. My yoga teacher, Diana Rilov, is a gorgeous example of how to live and age with beauty, humor and incredible style!
It feels like everything you do is infused with so much beauty; where does this philosophy come from?
Kerrilynn Pamer: Well, I’m pretty sure I was Japanese in a few past lives so I’m assuming that is the source! In all seriousness though, I don’t know how not to have beauty all around. I’m deeply impacted by my environment, and super sensitive, so it’s almost a way of coping for me. By surrounding myself with beauty, I simply feel better. And this applies to everything, not just physical objects. How I interact with the world impacts me deeply, so I’m always trying to engage with it beautifully. Not to say things don’t get super messy and complicated, but when I keep beauty as my North Star, all feels better in my soul.
Cindy DiPrima Morisse: We can’t help ourselves! It’s how we live and it’s why we’re friends. Living beautifully is what we’re all about. It’s the beauty in CAP Beauty.
To read the rest of the interview, check here. To be a part of the most beautiful week of the year, click here for Eat Pretty.
