Welcome To The Soft Life

By Sascha Ealey

SOFT GIRL SUMMER

Ladies, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want a 2023 hot girl summer. Instead, I want a soft girl summer. If you’ve been on social media within the last year and you follow the right people, all over you’ll see Black women on the internet talking about how they want a “soft life”. This lifestyle is more than just the Instagram aesthetic. It’s a mentality that elevates the importance of mental health.

The Soft Life is defined differently for everyone. For me, the soft life comes in its most pronounced form in the morning. I try to start every morning by prioritizing myself from choosing an alarm that wakes me up to eating my favorite avocado toast. I like to think of the ideal version of me and what she does, then I try to do just that. What is consistent across the board is that the soft life requires spending time with yourself and making time to indulge in life. If you’ve been wondering what this trend is all about and how you can adopt a softer way of life, you’ve come to the right place. The RVL squad has got you covered.

SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE

Use Daily Affirmations

Practice daily affirmations or mantras. Repeating affirmations to yourself helps you show some love to yourself verbally. “I am worthy of my own love too” and “I am more than enough” are just a few affirmations that can help you improve your outlook on life and your confidence.

For more self-love affirmations, you can join my email list where I provide FREE affirmations that you can repeat daily to yourself so that you can feel good:

https://prodigious-maker-9617.ck.page/1dafa3a18c

EMOTIONAL SELF-CARE

Practice Journaling

Write in a journal or practice gratitude. Write down your strengths and everything about you that you are grateful for. Document the things you accomplish, feel good about, and like about yourself. Reflect on past experiences and work through emotions by writing down your thoughts. You can choose an illustrated journal or a minimally designed self-love journal that has themes, guides, and gentle suggestions that speak to you. 

I encourage you to purchase The Disconnect Notebook and The Dream Journal by Akeema Keemz. The Disconnect Notebook(available on Amazon) is great for notetaking and personal use. It allows you to organize your thoughts and stay focused. The Dream Journal(available online at Barnes & Noble) is a notebook where you can write your thoughts daily. The exterior pages of this journal gives that soft girl/dreamy feel by the light blue and clouds. When done with the right intentions, a journal can feel like a daily mental and spiritual spa day. 

The Disconnect Journal https://a.co/d/bRboZY5

The Dream Journal https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-journal-of-dreams-akeema-keemz/1141196663?ean=9798765540930

MENTAL SELF-CARE

Start a Diffuser

Your sense of smell can have a powerful effect on your mind. Ladies, use this to your advantage! Having a scent you enjoy drifting through your place will create a positive connection to you and your space. Indulge in some of the softest smelling scents that will remind you how soft life can be. One of my favorite scents is white musk and vanilla. It gives off a fresh, clean, romantic, sophisticated scent. If possible, it’s also a great idea to have different scents going on in different parts of your space. When I didn’t have a diffuser one summer, I would boil orange peels and it would simmer through the house giving a citrusy smell. 

RVL Puzzle

Play brain games or puzzles to sharpen your mind. While you’re basking in the soft life, we recommend taking a mini wellness break by trying out our Ophelia Aurelia Puzzle. The Ophelia Aurelia puzzle is here to help you live out all of your Black American Princess Dreams and escape into our world of #blackgirlmagic fantasy. This puzzle is the embodiment of the soft life through the use of its pastel pinks, blues, yellows, and oranges. Take a look at the outdoor scenery. It’s quiet, with no one around this melanin woman. Check out the crown on her head. She wears it on top of her natural afro like she knows it belongs there. This experience will be like you a queen, putting together a picture of another queen. When you’re finished, you will definitely feel renewed. 

SOCIAL SELF-CARE

Spend Some Time With Friends

Call your homegirls for a summer night in and wear your pajamas from The Softest Life Brand. This brand was designed to be a constant reminder that it’s ok to desire a life of ease, peace, softness, and luxury. You are capable of having the life of your dreams and we are here to tell you that you don’t need to settle in any aspect of it. These modern pajamas range from silk to cotton to satin. They will definitely make you feel like that girl. Feel free to shop around for more soft girl era necessities. You deserve to pamper yourself.

https://thesoftestlife.com/?fbclid=PAAaY0Lx_h8jwdYCnuido-9Xc3Z7DF-EcAqoQwhmFOuUU8YBRFeohWs_1PARM

PHYSICAL SELF-CARE

Get Outside and Soak Up Some Good Vitamin D

The weather is changing and it is finally time to get some outside air. You should make it a priority to spend at least 20 minutes outside everyday. It’s free, easy, and single-handedly one of the most beneficial things we can do for our over health and wellbeing. It adds to the soft life because you are able to take every thing in and just breathe. Believe it or not, the push of the wind or the uneven ground can burn calories. Overall, being outdoors can make you healthier and happier. 

I believe that self-care needs to start practical and once you start practical, it will become instinctual and as a result, will pour into other parts of your life.  “Soft life” is really about embracing self-care in every aspect of your life from home to work to your relationship with others. Embracing the soft life doesn’t have to be challenging, or expensive. Get back to the basics! Remember, the soft life does not mean that you are not ambitious or goal driven, it just means that rest and mental health are just as important to you.