Alice Panikian, Non-Toxic Beauty Queen
Alice is a non-toxic beauty queen, women’s health advocate, founder of lifestyle and wellness website, The Bronde, a model and former Miss Canada with an accomplished career working in operations for start-ups and venture funds. An endometriosis diagnosis led her to deeply examine what she was putting on as well as in her body. She was astounded to discover that many of her favorite products contained chemicals and toxins that could further disrupt hormones and cause disease. She has made it her mission to inform others and spread awareness of the harmful chemicals and toxic ingredients regularly used in the beauty industry.
Born in Bulgaria, Alice moved with her parents to Canada at age five. As someone who loved learning from childhood it’s not surprising Alice majored in Communications and English at York University and then went on to study Broadcast Journalism at Seneca College in Toronto. She started modeling in her teens and always knew she wanted to compete in the Miss Universe pageant. She credits the competition with allowing her to understand just how alive and vibrant she felt on stage. After being crowned Miss Canada in 2006 and then going on to represent Canada in the Miss Universe competition, Alice moved to NYC to further pursue modeling.
Alice’s journey took another direction when she was diagnosed with endometriosis, a reproductive disease that afflicts an estimated 1 in 10 women in her late 20s. Many women with endometriosis experience varying degrees of pain in the abdomen and pelvic area, gastrointestinal issues, tired and aching joints, and neurological issues such as migraines and depression to name just a few of the symptoms. Most often endometriosis is treated with pain medication, hormone therapy, laparoscopic surgeries, and, in severe cases, hysterectomies.
To arm herself with knowledge, Alice began years of extensive research to learn more about how chemicals in our environment, food, and personal care products play a role in the progression of endometriosis and many other disorders. As a model and lifelong makeup lover, she was in disbelief when she uncovered that many of her makeup and beauty items contained chemicals and toxins that act as hormone disruptors and are linked to numerous diseases. She felt angered that she had unknowingly exposed herself to harmful, toxic chemicals daily many of which she believes may have played a part in the advancement of her endometriosis.
Armed with her newfound knowledge she began to make significant changes to her diet and lifestyle to keep her endometriosis in check. She became her own superwoman and health advocate. Alice began chronicling her non-toxic beauty and health journey on Instagram. She was so encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive response that she launched her blog The Bronde where she started sharing helpful tips on how to live a healthier lifestyle, recommending the best clean products, and elucidating the complicated and often opaque non-toxic beauty industry. Alice has become a leading voice advocating for non-toxic beauty and transparency in the beauty industry.
According to Alice “We exercise, we watch what we eat, but it's time for us to realize that what we put on our body is just as important as what we put in our body. It’s time to wake up to the stark reality and make changes that will positively affect our health and the health of those we love”. I completely agree and find myself always following her many recommendations She’s that cool, gorgeous working woman that you follow to know all her beauty products but also because she’s funny and intelligent to boot. She’s that woman we all want really to be friends with and the one we think to go to for advice. Alice is an incredible inspiration for feeling and looking wonderful on the inside and the outside.
You can find Alice at The Bronde and @alicepanikian.
What is your secret to living a high-vibrancy life?
First I would say to stop comparing yourself to others. I think that can be a real mistake. A lot of what you see on social media is so edited and it's just someone's highlight reel. No one ever showcases their failures and things like that. So when you see this seemingly perfect person and their seemingly perfect life it's easy to feel down on yourself and that lowers your frequency. Some studies link social media to depression and I truly believe it happens when you’re comparing your own life to what you’re seeing on Instagram. Another way to live a a high vibe life is to constantly strive to be better and grow every day whether it be spiritually, taking up a new hobby, getting some exercise, or cooking yourself a healthy meal. Just striving to be the best version of yourself every day.
Who is a woo-woo working woman that you admire and why?
I'd say Melissa Wood who is a dear friend of mine. I've known Melissa since we were just young models in New York sitting in a closet somewhere together laughing. She’s come such a long way from modeling and acting auditions to going to the Integrative Institute for Nutrition to become a health coach. She developed this real love for wellness and started posting recipes. I remember I filmed her first ever video which was on how to make almond milk. She was so nervous and I had gone to school for broadcast journalism so I was giving her tips on how to be on camera. Now I'm getting all my tips from her. It’s been so amazing to witness how far she’s come. Very few people have been able to thrive during the pandemic and she's just absolutely blown up. People love to workout at home during this time but it’s also just her energy and her positivity. I think it’s been helping a lot of people get through these times. There's a lot of inauthenticity and boasting on social media that can make you feel bad and she's not like that at all. She has an incredible life but that’s not what she’s showcasing. She just wants to give herself and that's amazing. I am so inspired by and proud of her for how far she's come.
How do you balance work, wellness, and spirituality?
I don’t. It's a constant struggle. Today, for example, I was on calls all day and didn't even have a minute to eat. I shoveled a bunch of food in my face five minutes before this call. Some days, like today, I barely get outside or move or have time to eat or do anything. I'm not aiming for perfection but I'm conscious of it. When I do have any spare time I make an effort to use it productively. I think this is such a weird time and you can get kind of down on yourself when you're isolated. Lately, when I’ve been feeling down I’ve been listening to inspiring podcasts like Oprah’s Super Soul Sundays or Joel Osteen. I try to learn or at least be mindful to absorb as much information as I can and then apply it to my own life and see what happens in return. I genuinely feel it makes me feel better and happier when I’m constantly learning. You don't have to be balanced all the time. Thats the aim but so few people can do it consistently.
Was there any one significant event that moved you onto the path of becoming the woman you are today?
Being diagnosed with Endometriosis was a pivotal moment for me but I had been diagnosed for five or six years before I started my blog. The significant changes occurred when I started learning about holistic health and nutrition. Before my diagnosis, I was not a healthy person. I was always really skinny, never had to work out, and had this stick skinny figure. I thought well I’m just lucky and I can eat whatever I want. So I would eat fast food like Wendy’s and McDonalds all through my 20s and I thought I was winning at life. I thought I had beaten the system by eating anything I wanted. So once I started to realize nutrition is important and that I should care about what I'm eating. Then I began researching how to eat and what foods to avoid.
Personal Mantra?
“Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow.”
It’s pretty self-explanatory. To me, it's mostly about the importance of being present. It's okay to learn from your mistakes while not dwelling on them. It’s okay to accept what's happened, to let it go, and to move forward productively. Try not to worry about what's happening in the future. Just be here now. I think that's powerful.
Your passion for clean beauty and women’s health is incredibly inspiring. You are very open about your own story with endometriosis. What drove you to share your experience and to become an advocate for other women also struggling with endometriosis?
For me, it was less about sharing my endometriosis story and more about sharing how we are all unknowingly using products that are potentially toxic to us every day. They’re not only linked to endometriosis but also to cancer, hormonal imbalances, reproductive issues, and developmental problems such as autism. I was blown away by the stuff I started reading because I was astounded that no one was regulating this. I thought the FDA had to make sure all this stuff was safe. So when I found that out I was shocked but I was also angry. I used to be Miss Canada and I was a model for years. I loved makeup so much. It was a form of self-expression for me and it was where I spent all of my money. Then I started taking inventory of all my products and their ingredients and finding parabens and other nasty chemicals. It upset me that I was spending all of this money to be poisoned. The other crazy part was that global beauty companies like Nivea, for example, have a different formulation here in the US for their face cream than they do in, say, Germany. So we get the crappy formulation here in the US whereas people in Europe are getting a much safe formula. How does that make sense? The EU regulations aren’t perfect but they certainly go a lot farther than US regulations of which there are very few. So it became my goal to scream that from the rooftops and let people know that you're literally poisoning yourself. Initially, my only incentive was to arm people with that knowledge. I wasn't trying for anything else and I didn't have expectations but people showed an interest. I think a lot of people were as shocked as I was initially. So that's where it all came from. It was accidental but I'm so glad that it happened. I hope that I’ve been able to educate people a little bit on this.
I admire that you work full time, write your blog, stay active on Instagram, keep super knowledgeable about non-toxic living, and have a great group of girlfriends while always looking fabulous btw. That sentence was exhausting to just write. How do you do it all and keep from feeling overwhelmed?
I constantly feel overwhelmed and underwater. My last job was incredibly demanding and I didn't have a lot of time to devote to the blog. A lot of this is about prioritizing and work has to be the number one priority because it’s what pays the bills. However, I’m a real proponent of having a good work-life balance. I am not a typical New Yorker. I feel that people in NYC live to work and I’m much more about working to live. I have no problem communicating my boundaries to my employer if I feel they're being crossed. I need to have a job in which I feel that I have a life outside of work. Having a social life is super important to me and that's probably my second priority after work. Before the pandemic, I was much more social, obviously, and I went out a lot more. I really miss that. I love being around a lot of people and just from my years in NYC, I've made a ton of friends. I miss seeing all those old familiar faces that I’d see when I’d go out. There's something so fun about getting ready for me. It’s like a ritual and it's almost therapeutic for me. I’ve always felt that way. I love putting on makeup, doing my hair, and getting dressed up. It's exciting. I love my blog and I wish I could devote more time to it but that's usually the thing that I end up not working on because I just don't have enough time or I prioritize other things. I get so many outside voices telling me to focus more on the blog but I like that it’s fun for me and there’s no pressure there. I can contribute as much or as little as I want to it. Yes, I may be missing out on some potential opportunities but for me, it’s about working on what I want to work on. I don't get to do everything I want to do. There's not enough time in the day but I try to prioritize the things that matter to me. I don't know if I'm doing such a good job but I'm trying.
If someone was trying to slowly transition to non-toxic living where would you tell them to look and start first?
It’s different for everyone. Once you do know this information it becomes kind of hard to continue using some of this stuff and feeling okay about it. Some people will just find out this information and be like “Oh my god, no, throwing everything out is the only answer. I'm going to start fresh.” That's not realistic for a lot of people. It can be expensive to do that. I don't think using a product for another month or so is going to make the ultimate difference. So it's okay to just finish out your products if that’s what feels right. Do swap it out for an alternative when you can. I have an article up on the blog on the best ways to transition into clean beauty linked here
Top three products women need to switch to non-toxic ASAP?
I would say my rule is anything that's going to stay on your skin for a long time. Antiperspirant is a big one because it contains aluminum. So if you're using an antiperspirant just get rid of that now and replace it with a nontoxic deodorant. I have a full article about my favorite ones up on thebronde.com. Anything like a body lotion that's gonna stick to stay on your skin all day should be non-toxic. I think toothpaste is a big one because you end up ingesting it and it contains some not-so-good things. Then after that, I would start eliminating anything that has fragrance in it. Don't get me wrong I'm not perfect at this at all. I still wear perfume but when I wear it now I spray it on my clothes instead so it doesn't absorb into the skin that way. Your exposure is reduced and I also make a point to not breathe it in when I'm spraying. I spray and walk away. That's really where I would start.
As a former Miss Canada and professional model do you have any tips or tools for women to help increase self-confidence and presence?
That comes with time and experience. Before I won Miss Canada I was extremely shy even though I had modeled for many years. The one thing with modeling is it's a lot about practice. The more you work and the more you take photographs the more you understand what works and what doesn't like your angles. So if you're someone who wants to develop a camera presence then set up a tripod and take pictures and videos of yourself and then keep repeating until you're happy with it. It’s amazing when you watch yourself in playback how much more you pick up on versus when you’re actually in the moment. You can pinpoint the things that you need to work on. When I studied broadcast journalism we were taught so much about repetition and experience. Another tip is to try to get yourself amped up and in a good place mentally. If you have to maybe listen to your happy song or even work with visualization that can be helpful as well. The more you’re mentally prepared the more comfortable you become with what you’re presenting and the more confident you'll come across.
Do you follow any specific doctrines on diet or fitness?
I didn't start eating well until my late 20’s. Now I try to follow as much of an anti-inflammatory diet as I can. I don't really eat dairy but I do love cheese. That's something I'm never going to give up unless I start to get violently ill from it. For me, it’s everything in moderation. I'm not a big meat eater just because I don’t like it that much but every once in a while, when I crave it, I listen to my body and have some. That’s my philosophy on food. I have a sweet tooth so I try not to deprive myself. However, if I'm feeling a little achy or bloated I will limit the sugar. I also try to eat grain-free when I can and that has been huge for me. I noticed when I eat grain-free my tummy gets super flat. Otherwise, I’m bloated all the time from inflammation. I always eat organic if I can help it. I’ve come to hate grocery store shopping because I end up spending two hours there reading all the ingredients and inspecting each piece of produce. So the more you know the more frustrating it can be to figure out what to eat and I’ve become such a picky eater with time. But as far as exercise goes I'm ashamed to say I barely work out. If I do it’s a lot of walking. That's my main source of exercise. I also love strength training and similar classes but I'm not consistent about it.
Do you have any routines or rituals that help you stay focused and grounded?
I go through phases with meditation like with most things in my life. I'm starting to think that, for me, guided meditation doesn't work. I think the whole aim of meditation is to completely clear your mind so I prefer, when I meditate, to have ambient noise and that’s all. It can be a bit hard to veer off the guided meditations but I think I get more of a benefit from quiet meditations. I also really like to journal. I don't do it often enough. Sometimes, if I'm going through something, it helps me to just write it all out and process it
What do your mornings look like?
The first thing I do is check my phone. I’ll scroll through Instagram. I'll read the news and scan the headlines to see what's happened overnight or if there are any big headlines. Then I’ll get up, make coffee, and put my makeup on. I’ll get ready for the day. Even during the beginning of quarantine, I did my makeup every morning. It just made me feel more awake and alert. I feel more confident and more like my best self.
You are one of my beauty product gurus. What are your current holy grail items for skin and make-up?
For makeup, I'd have to say ILIA is my number one brand, I don’t think there is anything of theirs that I don't love. So if you have no idea where to start you can start there because everything of theirs is great. I just got sent a bunch of products by Saie and I was pleasantly surprised. I really liked their stuff. Kosas has my favorite concealer. For beauty, I’ve been using a clarifying serum by Primally Pure Skincare and a face oil by Mutha. I like to switch it up and try a lot of stuff because I like to get a sense of different products.
What would the title of your autobiography be?
I would call it “The Gemini” because I'm a quintessential Gemini. Both my parents were Geminis and I identify with the sign in every way. Geminis are excellent communicators and conversationalists. They are quick, love to learn, and are creative. I wrote an article a long time ago about Geminis for Elite Daily and so many people read, related, and shared. it. So that’s what I’d call my autobiography.
Advice to the Woo🖤Wooo Working Women out there figuring out how to live their best high-vibrancy life?
Mindfulness is everything. Be mindful of your thoughts. Pay attention to the voice inside your head, and what it's saying about you or other people. Identify when you're being judgmental, stop, and replace the negativity with positivity even if you’re feeling the opposite. I believe words and thoughts have so much power. Even if you need to fake it when, for example, you’re telling yourself “I’m so tired right now”. Try replacing that with “I'm going to get my second wind and feel energized soon.” Just switching what you’re saying to yourself has power. That in itself has an energy and I think, in return, can elevate your frequency.
