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She's a Sabbatical Beauty: Valette Piper-Bledsoe
Valette was an early supporter of Sabbatical Beauty, and is one of our favorite people ever!
Tell us about you!
Mom, wife, friend, sister, executive, shoe-lover and chocaholic--not necessarily in that order, depending on the day. Work intrudes on my personal life far more than I like; I’m a reformed workaholic who now tries to find satisfaction, not identity, in what I do. I put off motherhood until my 40s and it is the most challenging, yet rewarding, thing I’ve ever done. If nothing else, it cured me of my control-freak tendencies and taught me to live in the moment.
I love to cook, garden, and creatively housekeep--but not house clean! I read voraciously and in my single days, used to check out books from each library section every week--yes, even automotive. (The Dewey decimal system is your friend.) Some say I love to read so much, it’s why I married my husband, who is a writer. It’s not true--he’s simply an amazing person--but I will confess being his alpha reader is a perk.
The most singular thing about me is my weird brain. I make my living making strategic marketing recommendations for companies. I’m good at it because I soak up information, put it together in unexpected ways, and see paths to success. Sort of like “A Beautiful Mind” but with no math and no psychosis--and no genius, just a talent.
I’m a fierce friend and fiercer enemy, with a bedrock-firm moral code. People rely on me to hold things together when the shit hits the fan. And did I mention I love shoes?
If you were an SB product, which product would you be, and why?
Dorian Grey serum! I have always looked younger than I am, totally due to good genes and sunscreen, not clean living, believe me. Like the SB Dorian Grey, I’m a multitasker, efficient, and enjoy making everyone else look good and function better. Like the fictional Dorian, I have hidden (evil?) depths, look great in velvet coats and high leather boots, and may or may not have an ugly portrait hidden away somewhere.
What makes you angry?
Prejudice. Hypocrisy. Racism. Sexism. Pretty much any “ism.”
What makes you happy?
My kids’ hugs. My husband’s silly jokes. My dog wagging her entire body because she’s so happy to see me at the end of the day. Waking up in the middle of the night because my cat is sleeping on my head, purring. Nailing a presentation or idea at work. Chocolate. Wine. Shoes. Accessories of any kind, really. When my kids remind me to check the local food pantry’s wish list so we can donate when we go grocery shopping.
What’s your desert island SB product, and why?
So hard to choose! But if I have to pick one, I think I’d pick Camel Milk Cream. If I’m on a desert island, I’m not worried about wrinkles, right? So no Dorian Grey. And much as I love my other serums--Asian Powerhouse, 5 Ginseng, Glow--I need something that will multitask. It’s a tough call between Sake & Rice Sleep Mask and Camel & Milk Cream, but CMC wins out because it would be good on sunburn, bug bites, small wounds and more. (I’m nothing if not practical.)
What is your favorite thing about your skin?
That it holds my organs in? Buh-dum-dum. My skin has always garnered me compliments--on its porelessness, softness, paleness. It’s not so perfect now, but my scars and bumps and wrinkles are the marks of the life I’ve lived, and lived well. So I like what my skin shows about me. And that’s why I love Sabbatical Beauty--it helps me take care of and honor the skin that is me.