Meet Teresa Palmer: An Australian actress who left me for the big smoke, LA. #letsbefrank: I’m glad she did because now she’s a babe’n mama with health and lifestyle blog, Your Life Zen.

What’s the first thing you think of when you wake up?

When I wake up, I am usually thinking about what the plan is for the day. Wrangling the boys and getting breakfast organised!

Then, what’s the first thing you do?

Breastfeeding my son before we jump out of bed. Sometimes he will wake me up by pretending to be a kitty, he licks my face until I wake up!! Even if I want to keep sleeping it’s so funny that I wake up and tickle him.

What’s your coffee order?

Crazy but true – I don’t drink coffee! I’ve never even tasted one! I’m a smoothie in the morning kinda girl.

You’re a loving Mumma to Bodhi. What’s been the biggest surprise of motherhood that no fellow babe told you about?

Just how close you feel to them. He feels like an extension of me, even though I don’t treat him as such. I make sure he feels like an individual yet secretly I can’t believe how connected I feel to him. I know him better than I know anyone else and loving and knowing someone so closely like that is such a remarkable feeling. I explain it as all the colors of the world seem and feel much more vibrant now that I’m his mum. Every experience is enriched.

And two tips for babe’n mumma’s to be?

Don’t take too much advice from people, I promise you that your motherly instinct will kick in and no one knows your baby better than you do. My other tip which is a little left of centre, don’t worry about scheduling sleep/eating with babes. Meet the needs of the babe when the need arises, each day, like us as adults, is a different day emotionally and physically for our babes so just be aware and observe what their needs are. Every day will look and feel different, they will fall in to an organic schedule without you imposing one on them. “Baby Led” was best thing we have ever done!

What’s harder: Motherhood, Acting, Modelling?

I think modelling. I’ve never actually been a model (it’s a misconception written about me on the Internet) however for photo shoots when I’m promoting a particular product, i.e beauty products, I find it a lot harder to pose in a way that makes the product look the best. I think there is a real skill knowing how to shape your body and highlight the product in the most favourable fashion. It’s so much easier to me being Bodhi’s mum or turning up to work playing a character because I get to make both of those things mine.

Who has been your biggest mentor in your acting career?

I get asked this all the time and to be honest I don’t have a mentor. I value so many different actors that I’ve had the pleasure to meet or work with and I learn certain things from each of these experiences but I don’t have one in particular that I follow religiously.

And favourite achievement to date?

My sons are the obvious favourite achievement so far. Bodhi and his baby brother in my belly! However in terms of my career, my favourite achievement was writing, acting in and producing a film with my husband. It was a passion project and to see it come to life from our initial idea was so wonderful and made me extremely proud.

You have the health and wellness blog, Your Zen Life. Where did this idea come from?

The idea Your Zen Life was born over a dinner conversation one night between myself and my best friend, Phoebe Tonkin. We were discussing the industry we work in and how at times, it can feel quite shallow and superficial and we both connected to the idea of using our profiles to be of service and to affect positive change in the world. As we both shared a strong passion for health and wellness and also have such amazing access to incredibly inspiring people in the industry, it stemmed from there and then grew organically. We began brainstorming and collaborating and quickly realised we wanted it to be an online community to bring together likeminded people in which everyone has a voice, not just celebrities or experts. That’s what sets YZL apart – anyone can contribute and we have really organically grown our community that way.

You feature many different contributors. Why do you think it’s necessary to have so many opinions?

As mentioned above, Your Zen Life is a platform where everybody has a voice. It is what it began as and I really want to stay true to that. I want it to remain a space where everybody can contribute and we can build a community where we can learn from one another. When re-designing the site, this was always at the forefront of my mind and was the idea behind developing a forum where our community can connect, interact and communicate.

Your favourite part of your online scrapbook?

This is a hard question as I love it all, especially since re-launching, I have been so excited by the new site and the community’s response to it. If I had to pick a favourite part, I would probably say the forum! It was something I have wanted to incorporate for a long time and so seeing it come to fruition is so rewarding.

And where do you hope to see it going?

I hope to continue to grow the community and affect positive change. I would love for it to become a ‘go-to’ in the health and wellness realm for everyone no matter what stage of their health and wellness journey they are at. I’m excited to launch in to ebooks, books, YZL products etc.

Between your son(s), blog & acting career, how do you find time to look after yourself and more importantly your skin?

I am fairly busy ha! However, I have learnt to make ‘me-time’ a priority and consciously carve out time (even if sometimes it may only be 15 minutes!) to look after myself. I make sure that I always have my water bottle with me, so even if I am on the go I can hydrate which is essential for skin health. I use Artistry products daily, it’s important to find what works for your skin and commit to proper skin care!

And what’s in your daily routine?

I am pretty ‘no-fuss’ when I have downtime. I like to let my skin breathe and usually wake up, shower, slather my face in Artistry’s Creme LX (super luxurious and hydrating), put a slick of lip balm on and off I go. When I am working or have an event, I go to a little bit more effort!

What’s your favourite product from my coffee-based skincare range?

The original scrub! I love that as soon as you rinse it off your skin instantaneously feels invigorated, smooth and refreshed. I also love that I can use it with my son, too. I’ve been rubbing it all over my pregnant belly and it feels like the most beautiful pampering, plus it exfoliates and leaves my skin feeling really luminous.

And one tip when it comes to your health that you want to pass on?

Sleep is so crucial to health. It is often something that gets brushed to the side but getting enough sleep is so important to overall health and wellbeing.

Lastly, who should I get down and dirty with next?

I think you should get down and dirty with Sarah Wright Olsen next. She’s the co-founder of Your Zen Mama, our parenting website, a dear friend and absolute beauty!

xx frank