Profiles of Power is a series of deep dives into the lives of six individuals who we believe embody the energies of Courage, Love, Intuition, Purpose, Opportunity, and Calm. These badass ambassadors of a new version of spiritual wellness prove, beautifully and magically, that wellness is not one-size-fits-all, but is available and accessible to everybody who dares to harness their own one-of-a-kind strength.
Everybody can agree that 2020 has rocked everybody’s world, but for Xavier “Zavy” Pichardo, a Southern Californian-based makeup artist, it has been particularly life-changing. It is the year that he found the love of his life: himself.
Rewind to 2019, when Zavy was involved in a mentally, physically, and verbally abusive relationship. Weighed down by his partner’s drug addiction and narcissism, Zavy began to second-guess himself. “I started to question myself like ‘am I the toxic one?’ ‘Should I just give in and settle for who this person is?’ ‘Am I problematic?’” He realized this was no way to live.
And so, knowing he needed to find a way out of this situation, Zavy looked within and summoned his power of Love.
First and foremost, Zavy needed to focus on the parts of himself that had broken down during his relationship. “[I] learned to love parts of myself he couldn’t. And heal areas of my life that I’ve put on hold. I focused on myself and my career and I let go of what didn’t feed me good vibes.” It was the kind of self-care that was less spa day than it was an ultra deep dive into the kind of self-compassion and acceptance that leads to real personal transformation. “I started to check in with myself before I checked on other people. I started to be grateful for the little things that surround me.” Spiritual wellness also made its way into his self-care routine. “I set up a station for my sage to burn next to my crystals and I pray[ed].”
Once he acknowledged and embraced his love for himself, Zavy found that his power to love others only amplified in strength. He directed his energies outward, toward those who really needed it the most. He aspired to “heal as much as I can. To as many people as I can that have a story similar to mine. Love isn’t a feeling we should keep for ourselves.” Heal and love he does. With over 10,000 Instagram followers (you can find him @mrfunkyunicorn), Zavy has managed to talk to thousands of people in the time he has been on this journey, largely individuals within the LGBTQIA+ community. “I couldn’t be more thankful for people’s vulnerability and honesty. It continues to give me a sense of purpose in this lifetime. And throughout the trauma I faced, it taught me my purpose in life was to heal and continue helping others heal.”
Zavy’s power of Love especially shines through in his professional life as a makeup artist. Self-taught and gifted with other-worldly talent, Zavy’s creative and innovative approach to his art form guides others to authentically and unapologetically love the skin that they are in. Ethereal with a heavy dose of magic, Team Smudge dares you not to see his beautiful work and fall completely head over heels.
Zavy’s story is a testament to the importance of harnessing Love and its ability to help us restore and re-energize even in the worst of circumstances. “Love is the cure to most things we face in life: our insecurities, the distasteful acts of other people that possess hate in their hearts. They can be the things that break us or shape us into better people. Having unconditional love for someone or yourself means loving all the beautiful and the ugly.”
Thank you, Zavy, for the reminder to love ourselves -- and the world around us -- brightly and boldly everyday.
Looking to summon your own power of Love? Smudge Wellness suggests the following:
