#EvolutionaryWoman: Carlota Espinosa and Kelly Lynch
Name: Carlota Espinosa
Occupation: Entrepreneur
Describe your beauty look:
Natural
Five things you can't live without:
Tracey Anderson online studio classes, Mountain Ocean Skin Coconut Trip Moisturizer, Rose Petals Rosewater (I keep mine in the refrigerator), Digest Gold Enzymes, and my all in one Best Skin Days.
What inspired you start LA Cake?
Well number one, I adore Kelly! We have very similar tastes, especially when it comes to fashion. We often show up in the same outfit (not on purpose by the way). It always makes us laugh! We are also passionate about clean beauty, health, eating and living well. I thought it would be fun to collaborate and create a lifestyle platform….and LACaKe was born!
What are your key tips for creating personal style?
I have always been attracted to the belief that less is more. You can never go wrong with a great pair of jeans, a white shirt, and a kitten heel.
Who is your style icon?
No question. It’s my beautiful Mother. She’s the most elegant woman I know.
What advice would you give to women who want to reinvent?
Be kind to yourself. Some of my biggest disappointments in life turned out to be blessings in disguise.
What do you love most about Kelly?
There is a lot to love about Kelly Lynch. She is funny, smart, playful, kind, talented, righteous, considerate, patient just to name a a few. But to me, Kelly is the most loyal, reliable friend a girl could ask for, and that’s why I LOVE her!
What would you tell your younger self?
Don’t be so serious, Carlota!
Who inspires you and why?
My mother. The way she lives her life. She cherishes every day, values her relationships, and is always optimistic.
What makes you feel like your most authentic self?
Waking up early, and feeding my dog and cat while making my espresso. All during that precious silence before business of the day begins.
What is your daily beauty routine?
I love a face scrub. I use Kate Somerville ExfoliKate for a natural glow. I put on a touch of Summer Fridays Jetlag Mask under my eyes and leave it on all day. I am big on serums. I have currently been using Kate Somerville’s Retinol Vita C Power Serum. In the evening I apply Elizabeth Arden Retinol Ceramide Capsules and try to get to bed before 10pm.
What do you like about Best Skin Days?
I have sensitive skin. I love how it feels on my skin and it doesn’t FEEL like makeup!
What is your favorite self care/recharge ritual?
No question it’s working out. I don’t always love working out, but I always love how it makes me feel.
Name: Kelly Lynch
Occupation: Actor and Model
Describe your beauty look:
Fresh and natural
Five things you can't live without:
TM [Transcendental Meditation], my trainer for over 20 years Boba Andrich, my beloved Birkenstocks, epsom salt baths, and my latest beauty crush Best Skin Days!
What inspired you start LA Cake?
I have always loved sharing what I love with friends. Having been a model and actor for decades, I’m constantly exposed to, and learning about the latest in, fashion, skincare, beauty, health, travel, entertainment, etc. I met my vivacious Jackie-O look-alike LACaKe partner Carlota Espinosa years ago at a political friend-raiser, and we became instant pals. We were on the same page in so many areas that we would often show up in literally the same head-to-toe outfits! One day, Carlota came to me with the idea of the two of us curating an online Cali-centric platform of all the things we loved and wanted to share. I came up with “LACaKe" for Los Angeles + Carlota + Kelly, and we were off and are having a blast!
What are your key tips for creating personal style?
Be the best version of YOURSELF. Healthy people are beautiful people. Less is almost always more. A mix of masculine and feminine is modern, easy, and works on everyone!
Who is your style icon?
Lauren Hutton
What advice would you give to women who want to reinvent?
Go back to your childhood self. That happy, curious, capable, original person you were then. Now take HER back into your heart. She was always enough.
What do you love most about Carlota?
I love her big heart, her graceful good manners - which are so rare these days... I love her classic-with-something-extra style, and her sense of adventure and fun. She is a beautiful person inside and out, with an easy laugh, and a real girls girl.
What would you tell your younger self?
It all worked out! (I had a devastating head-on collision at 20 in which I almost had to have both legs amputated. I spent nearly a year in the hospital recovering and learning how to walk again.)
Who inspires you and why?
Ordinary people who do extraordinary things.
What makes you feel like your most authentic self?
Being outdoors, being active, and laughing with good friends.
What is your daily beauty routine?
I’m always experimenting with things but lately its: 8 hours of sleep, followed by a warm wet washcloth, then Paula’s choice 2% BHA liquid exfoliant then my Best Skin Days. I like to use my hands to work it into my skin after applying with a clean foundation brush. During the day I spray my skin with Supergoop 50SPF setting mist to keep things set and dewy, and to make sure I’m still protected from the sun. At night, I work some DHC cleansing oil into my skin, followed by another clean wet washcloth, then a retinol serum from Skinceuticals, followed by a peptide cream, hyaluronic acid serum or moisturizing sleep mask. A couple of times a week I use sheet masks. We love Elizabeth Arden’s Probiotic Skin Renewal Mask, and also Tracie Martyn’s legendary Enzyme Exfoliant is a game-changing facial in a jar!
What do you like about Best Skin Days?
My tagline for Best Skin Days is “Friends With Benefits”! I could also call it “One-Stop Shopping”! I’m meticulous about my skincare, so having a 5-in-1 product to use every morning saves an amazing amount of time while delivering the same great benefits as my former daily routine of Vitamin C serum, SPF, plus moisturizer, while giving just the right amount of coverage. It just looks like I have fabulous dewy skin! WINNING!
What is your favorite self care/recharge ritual?
I’m a Scandinavian from Minnesota and have been getting massages and sauna "baths" since I was a child. I loved being in our home sauna then running outside all pink and diving into the snow! I still find nothing helps me recharge more than the combination of heat plus cold, and a great deep massage. These days it’s a visit to one of So Cal’s amazing Korean spas for the “ works”! Meaning a sauna, steam room, hot and cold plunge, body scrub and shiatsu massage. HEAVEN!