NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center
Jessika was one of our first NYC Lipstick Angels.
What inspired you to become a Lipstick Angel?
I read about the Lipstick Angels four years ago and was so impressed with the organization and their mission. I immediately reached out to our founder, Renata Helfman, to commend her for all her work and how inspiring she is to me. I begged her to come to New York and expressed my interest in being part of her NY team if she ever came here. It was a dream come true when she announced Lipstick Angels would be launching here! I love helping others and getting to know them. Nothing beats being able to use my gift of being an artist to make people feel good. To see our patients smile and feel relaxed when we visit them is truly a special feeling.
Looking back on your first year as a Lipstick Angels Ambassador, can you tell us a little bit about the impact this opportunity has had on you?
For one, I now cherish every moment. I always tell everyone my favorite word is perspective. Our minds can play tricks on us when we hit a bump in the road, but we have to be strong and count our blessings. Second, I am more in tune with being compassionate. While NYC can be fun and cool, it can also be very draining and make you a bit rough around the edges. Being at the hospital has made me much more aware of others and their feeling because what you see in people is just a glimpse of their reality. There is so much more going on in people's lives and it's something I think most people forget. We get lost in the minutiae of our own lives but we should strive to connect to all human beings and be a light to one another.
Do you have a specific beauty ritual or natural/organic beauty product that you swear by?
Tata Harper's Moisturizing Mask. It is seriously magic in a bottle. Our patients tend to develop very dry skin from their treatments and I love that we offer this to them because it truly works and makes their skin look so quenched and refreshed.
How has your work as a Lipstick Angel made an impact on your professional work as a make-up artist and hair stylist?
It has helped me approach my profession with a renewed sense of joy and appreciation for what I get to do and I hope I am able to give that energy to others whenever I am on set. I feel really blessed.
What one word best describes how you feel about what you do for patients while they are receiving their chemotherapy/treatment in the hospital?
LOVE
