Meet our featured beauty with brains Michelle Jones, a wellness advocate based in Melbourne, Australia.
Here is her story.
“Hi I am Michelle Jones, married with three beautiful children. I was born in a small town Cuttack in Odisha in Incredible India. I am the youngest of 4 siblings, 3 sisters and one awesome brother. My husband and I migrated to Australia 16 years ago with two black suitcases and $250. I believe jobs create opportunities and we should always be ready to take that leap of faith in the right direction. This gave us the opportunity to live in beautiful Perth and then we moved to Melbourne where we are now living.
Growing up I was always surrounded by books. The perks of being my mom’s daughter. You see my mom was in charge of the library at the school I went to, St Joseph’s Girls high school. Till date she is known as Library Miss. I am sure growing up some of you loved Noddy, Nancy Drew or the famous five and I cant forget the Barbara Cartland romantic books in my teens.
Books have played and are still playing a major role in the life I am living. You see sometimes we are busy being a wife, mom, and the other roles in our lives, we forget nourishing our souls. For me it is with a book. After having my son 5 years ago I went through depression. I just couldn’t understand what was going on. It was at this time when I woke up, got dressed and headed to our local library. I went straight to the personal development section as if someone guided me to get there. My eyes fell on this book, it was out on the shelf and I read it. ‘You Can Create an Exceptional Life’ by Louise Hay and Cheryl Richard. Reading this book has changed my life forever. I truly believe our thoughts create things. I have swapped the negative self talk for empowering thoughts. I never feel alone when I am with a book. Thus my journey with books truly began again. I always take out time to read and it truly nourishes my mind and soul.
I am a wellness Advocate. My passion is to educate people about the powerful benefits of using Essential oils. I always believe Prevention is better than cure and I personally truly believe Essential oils are the gifts of the Earth and I will always pursue what’s pure.
A warm welcome to beauty with brains Natalia Cantwell, who recently joined our fashion platform as a model. This blonde charmer turns heads wherever she goes.
Not just a pretty face, the talented beauty runs two online businesses and her passion is to empower women to build their own financial independence, be healthy and look absolutely gorgeous. She feels blessed to be able to help so many beautiful souls!
Meet our featured beauty with brains Sue Turner, a businesswoman, beauty queen and humanitarian based in Sydney, Australia. She is the reigning Mrs Universe Australia and will be competing in the finals in 2021.
Susan Turner, known as Sue Turner, comes from a wonderful family with a mother who was a head nurse as well as a Beauty Queen and a father who loved to sing at weddings. Her father was also a famous unbeaten Boxer and a long distance runner.
Susan has been married to Steven Turner for 31 years and has 8 children who have grown up to be amazing adults, but sadly 2 of their daughters are no longer with them. Susan is also a proud grandma of 12 amazing grandchildren, and has been a French bulldog breeder for 15 years.
Susan’s profession is in the Beauty Industry. She has an Aesthetics Grade 1 level diploma of health science and runs her own beauty salon.
As a child Susan participated in many on stage events, she loved to sing, dance and act. Her favourite class was drama. When Susan was only 7 years old she won the title of MS multiple sclerosis at a pageant, this started her journey towards her passion as a Beauty Queen. From there she worked tirelessly with her mum in many charities. Her charity has clocked around 60,000 hours, raising over $100,000 in 2018/2019 through car shows.
Here is a list of her charity work:
• Vice Present of the Domestic violence association Sydney. • MS multiple sclerosis. • Child’s vision Australia authorised representative. • Breast cancer foundation. • Men’s cancer prostate. • Fire fighter’s foundation. • Westly mission. • Salvation Army. • Newcastle floods. • Nepal earthquakes. • Cystic fibrosis foundation. • Starlight foundation. • Crimes against humanity. – Destiny rescue child trafficking with the APBA • Missing persons advocacy Member of MPAN. • Heart foundation. • Ovarian cancer. • Autism Australian charities.
She is the director for the “I hear voices” parent support forum for addiction and has also worked alongside the justice system to help prevent criminal activities.
Susan also has her own show car Subaru WRX my05. This car is used in events to raise much needed money at car shows around Australia. Her much loved charity car is unbeaten in shows.
Susan is a member of the Australian night rider podcast in the events of missing persons with Hedley Thomas. Susan has also been featured on BTL TV with her advocacy and platform. She has also had the pleasure of being featured in the American podcast with Laura Ratliff in Florida. She had Interviews with Edvard Vondra miss Economic world. Along with the American podcast with Alvin Brown Baltimore USA.
Susan is a Global Mentor within the Pageant industry to all Beauty Queens around the world as a featured public figure influencer.
Susan also won many Awards as a Beauty Queen:
• She became the runner up for Mrs Australasia 2014 • Best dressed 2014 • 2016 winner MAQuest Mrs Australia Quest. • Mrs congeniality • Mrs Friendship • 2017 Mrs Continents Australia – Mrs charity award • 2017 Mrs Earth Air Australia • 2018 Mrs international Global Australia. • 2018 won Mrs international global world South Africa. • 2018 humanitarian international • 2018 woman of the world. • 2019 multimedia awards Dubai ambassadors award • 2019 international beauty queen of the year AGAS • Mrs Universe inaugural Carla Beauty. • 2019 Humanitarian of the year top 4. • 2019 Philippines Top Honour Awards
Susan also had the pleasure of being featured in many Magazines:
• Australasia official • Hunter creative • Wea Hunter magazine • Global Elite Queens magazine • Newcastle weekly • The African Migrant • MAQUEST Queens Magazine • Miss Glamour look magazine • Just to name a few. • Susan is also an international judge having the pleasure of judging at many events. • Miss Newcastle NMP • South Africa Global international • Dubai Mrs Miss India international. • Little teen & Glam • Head judge for Mrs Mr Miss Nepal International. • Ms World • Ms Glamorous look • Miss Supermodel • Miss Earth • Miss king Talk Tasmania to come. • Miss Model international Star central magazine. • Miss International.
Susan is a brand ambassador for
• BrandyJ swimwear • Chic me Fashion
She is a member of the AGSA. Susan’s passion has lead her all over the world seeing first hand many disturbing events such as famine and disease. She witnessed first-hand the Apartheid in South Africa, violence and destruction. She was a spokesperson for the terrible situation with the Nepal Earthquake. Susan helps many other causes around the world.
Sue is now the proud owner of 2 magazines GEQ global Elite magazine and GEM magazine Global Elite media magazine. Her vision is to give a voice to those who inspire to become the best they can in their industry. A platform for those who have dreams regardless of their age and agenda. Her mantra is ‘Be your own kind of beautiful.’
“Hi I am Shantana. Born amidst the hills in the North East of India (Meghalaya) I grew up between books, playing Table Tennis (representing my State) and having loads of FUN with friends. Being the youngest in the family I was spoilt for choice not knowing what life had in store for me. I thought life was only travelling and having fun till I completed my graduation. As we grow we learn with experience and realize we are responsible for all our deeds. Happiness lies in our own hands. I believe we have just one short life to live so I want to try out everything. Life has definitely been a roller coaster ride for me.
A Fashion Designer by profession, I taught in this field for a while and moved on to a BPO job. Got married to an awesome guy (a banker) and decided to join the banking industry. Then my daughter was born and we moved to Muscat (Oman) and had my second daughter there. I was a full time mother for 8 years enjoying seeing the girls grow. We then moved to Dubai where I started working with an NGO, a school for the differently abled/ special needs children and adults as an Art Teacher and loved every moment of it!!
Three years ago my husband was offered a job in Sydney and we have been here since. With relocation comes settling down. Away from friends and family I felt lost and lonely. It was then I picked up my husband’s camera and gears (he is a passionate wildlife photographer) and took up photography and realized that it made me feel good and I was actually enjoying it as I was able to get creative with photography. That is how the photographer in me emerged!
I have always been a creative person and definitely a crafty one. So I decided to put my creativity to use with beads and wires. On November 2017, I started my own handcrafted fashion accessories business “ARTantana Handmade” and there has been no looking back since then.
ARTantana Handmade offers you a unique range of accessories which are handmade and created with love and passion. It also brings in a wide array of colours and intricate work of art. It could be wire wrapping, weaving through beads or incorporating the natural goodness of gemstones. No two pieces are the same. Passion is the only common element in each of the pieces created.
Do check out my creations and support handmade artists at:
A warm welcome to beauty with brains Anuradha Sharma, who recently joined our fashion platform as a model. This entrancing stunner has participated in many big fashion shows in Sydney and has been making a mark in the fashion industry. Her sunny disposition and bubbly personality matches her radiant good looks.
“Hi, my name is Anuradha Sharma. Basically I m from India and currently living In Australia. The languages I can speak are Hindi, Punjabi and English. What makes me unique is my positive attitude and friendly nature. I have participated in fashion shows in Sydney. I love modeling, travelling and making friends.” – Anuradha.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Felicia Romano, a businesswoman based in Sydney, Australia.
Here is her story.
“My name is Felicia Romano, I am the founder of For the Glam (http://fortheglam.com.au/). I was born in Sydney, I have two brothers, my mum is Fijian-Indian and my dad is Italian (which means I will never say no to a plate of pasta or a curry!).
I have always been driven, determined and extremely passionate about developing and growing myself. I am in my 20’s, I have been working in the Wealth industry for 12 years now, I have recently completed my MBA and am working on a number of side hustles to keep me even busier!
In my life, I am always looking for efficiencies, ways to simplify complex processes and ways to make life more ‘convenient’. This is what led me to creating For the Glam. For the Glam is a new platform created to connect beauty professionals and customers looking for some glam. It is kind of like a one stop shop for all your beauty needs. For example, you might need a make up artist, a hair stylist and someone to do your nails. For the Glam provides you with access to a range of beauty professionals all over Australia, to book in. And not your everyday salon down the road, your mobile freelance businesses that might not have a shopfront.
Over the past few month of building my brand and my business, I have been blown away by the amount of women who are willing to help promote your business or are willing to give you their time for some advice. Through this it has made me (more than ever) realise how amazing we can be as a community, and how powerful we can be by supporting each other.
Like many businesses, I have had my ups and down, my moments where I want to give up and never look back. My advice to those that are ever feeling like that, is to never give up, because every step you take is a step forward, even if it might not feel like that at the time.
Please feel free to reach out to me to connect for a chat or to chat about how we can support each other.
My business page is @fortheglamau or fortheglam.com.au, feel free to check it out to book in a service, or to register if you are a beauty professional.” – Felicia.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Cherisha Nagarkar, an entrepreneur and teacher based in Melbourne, Australia. She is passionate about Health, Nutrition and Natural Medicine.
Cherisha is a natural medicine practitioner who along with her husband has been offering homeopathy treatments and nutritional consultations from her business practice in Melbourne’s western suburbs since the past 8 years. Cherisha moved from Mumbai (India) to Melbourne to pursue her Master’s in Teaching in 2011. She works as a lecturer in one of the prominent institutes of Melbourne that provides natural medicine courses and is passionate about teaching. She believes that the empowerment women can have by making conscious health choices can go a long way when it comes to investing in the health and wellbeing of a family.
Outside of work, Cherisha enjoys practicing Yoga, gardening and spending time on creatively upcycling household items to support sustainable lifestyle. She also conducts kids Yoga workshops (Little Minds Yoga) to educate children on the benefits of physical activity and mindfulness.
Being an animal lover, she loves to spread awareness on the benefits of vegetarian diet and is passionate about cooking healthy nutritious wholesome food with a mixture of Indian and western cuisines.
Here is an interview with the immensely talented and inspirational lady.
What are your goals in life? Have you achieved them?
I can say that I am at a good starting point to be focusing on my long-term goals which include raising awareness about the drawbacks of consumption of processed foods. I would want to be able to provide people with the knowledge of cooking healthier meals with basic ingredients and educate about nutritional value of foods to children. Getting the kids involved in cooking helps in increasing their interest towards healthy eating. I have achieved some of these goals within my clinical practice setting but being able to reach a broader audience is a work in progress long-term goal for me.
What is a typical day in your life?
I start my day with a 5 to 10-minute mindfulness practice followed by a healthy breakfast. In a week I have different days allocated to homeopathic consultations and my teaching therefore depending on the agenda for the day, I follow my work routine. An important tip for those who (like me) are working from home considering the COVID situation, try to have a specific work space so that you can separate your break and relaxation time from work. It is essential to take regular breaks, to move and stretch or even go for a walk to ensure we can work productively. After finishing work, I spend time with my 4 and half year-old daughter and we usually do a few activities together like painting, reading, doing yoga or going out cycling. This is followed by meal prep for dinner and I involve my daughter so she participates in household chores and helps with tiny kitchen tasks. We try to stick to a regular meal time which involves no distractions from TV or phone or any other devices as this allows us to focus on what we eat with mindfulness. It is also essential to turn off electronic devices about half an hour before the sleep time to follow a relaxing sleep pattern.
Can you give some basic health and wellness tips for busy women trying to juggle both home and career?
I would say that planning ahead for the week with prepping for healthy meals works well for me. Also being aware of how much canned/packaged food items go in preparing a meal is essential to cut back on the preservatives and replacing these with wholesome ingredients. Taking time out everyday for physical activity is essential, even if you can spare 30 mins a day this would be beneficial. Exercise doesn’t have to be exertional or stressful on your body so try something that makes you feel good and this can be walking, dancing, yoga, cardio or anything that truly helps you feel energised at the same time as burning calories. Working from home can create the urge for frequent snacking too, therefore try to replace the packaged foods with whole nuts, yogurt or fruits which are essential for the body. Set yourself a daily goal of having 6 to 8 glasses of water a day and remind yourself to keep hydrated. Following a set pattern for meal times also helps the body in maintain good metabolism and you can try to keep a gap of about 2-3 hours between dinner and bedtime as this is essential for the body to absorb the nutrients in a meal.
A warm welcome to beauty with brains Neha Vyas Audichya, who recently joined our fashion platform as a model. A software engineer by education, a creative beauty with an artist’s soul, a fashionista who manages to look good in any and every outfit she chooses to wear.
She is also an entrepreneur and had a painting parties business in India for a year called DrenchnDab Art Studio. She moved to Sydney in Dec 2019. She conducts canvas painting workshops for people who have never held a brush in their lives and at the end in just 2 hours they create an adventure i.e a beautiful painting on canvas by their own, with her guidance.
We look forward to creating magic with this multi-talented stunner.
A warm welcome to beauty with brains Sweta Siddu, who recently joined our fashion platform as a model. An ordinary girl with an extraordinary mind, a simple girl whose drive and aspirations aren’t so simple, a girl who wants to soar high in the sky yet has her feet firmly planted on the ground, she is a mesmerising combination.
Originally from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh (India) and now based in Sydney, Australia; her hobbies apart from fashion are travelling and cooking. We look forward to creating magic with her.
Meet our featured beauty with brains Charan Kamal Manhotra, a Healer and YouTuber based in Sydney, Australia.
She was born in Mumbai (India), brought up in Chandigarh (India) and came to Sydney to pursue an Accounting Masters degree. She is a new mum.
She does energy healing, works closely with her clients, teaches Reiki, takes online sessions for Angel card readings, meditations etc. She is looking forward to helping people by providing them knowledge / tips through her YouTube videos.
Www.youtube.com/c/HolisticLiving
Here is an interview with her.
Tell us more about yourself – your hobbies, dreams, aspirations.
I dream to inspire people – Inspire them to get close to themselves, connect with their own skills and hidden powers which they possess. Many of us know what we want to do/achieve in life, we may already have a path set for us which we are taking with full faith and trust. However, millions of us still do not know where to go, what to do, why we are here on this beautiful planet called “Earth”?? I want to connect with them and enable them to get to know themselves in & out, get closer to their “soul’s purpose”, experience on the go, learn and grow in life at a soul level.
Some of my hobbies are :
Daring to dream big and positive in life. Manifesting what I really want to achieve. Playing with my 2 yr old (as he helps me to connect with my own inner child). Apart from this, I love to interact with like minded people.
Who or what inspires you to do what you do?
People around me, my family, friends & OUR SOCIETY. There is so much good happening around us, if we have an eye to see that, we will realise that things are taking shape in society for betterment. More and more of us are wanting to help others in whichever way possible. Many of us are confronting their feelings. People want to take a step for their and their family’s upliftment and much more.. My surroundings have given me a lot and I strive to give something back to it / human race in return !
Is there any special or memorable experience you would like to share with us?
Moment when I held my baby for the first time ! A mother can never forget that and neither will I 🙂
Have you faced any obstacles in your line of work? If so, how did you overcome them?
A little story here for all the readers 😉 – This holistic work is my passion which I have pursued along with my job. Yes, initially there were few budding issues like – managing “office work and passion work” and managing the household all together. But slowly I felt the calling and gained strength to accept it all and work around my way. After my son was born and until now, nearly 2 years I didn’t go back to work. I tried to apply for vacancies and get hired, but somehow something is telling me there is something more and BIG in life coming up. Something is telling me to just keep going with “faith” and keep working for what I really want.
Overcoming obstacles get easy – when we follow our “gut” and show faith in that one “supreme power”. Many obstacles have come and passed in life, it’s just about keeping going and learning the best we can out of them!
Empowered Brave Women Building Futures 