How Lindsay Colameo Peragallo Is Turning Surplus Into Self-Care Magic
As a longtime beauty editor with bylines spanning the likes of Allure, Byrdie, and InStyle, Lindsay Colameo Peragallo was no stranger to overflowing shelves of beauty products. But when this mom of three relocated to Naples, Florida during the pandemic—and soon found her community reeling in the wake of Hurricane Ian—her relationship to beauty transformed in the most profound way. What started as a joyful tradition of gifting her beauty “stash” to friends each holiday season quickly blossomed into a full-fledged mission of love and healing.
Now the founder and president of the nonprofit Beauty Holiday Inc., Lindsay is on a mission to deliver thoughtfully curated self-care gifts to women and families navigating life’s hardest challenges—from hurricane displacement to NICU stays and beyond. With over $647,000 in donated products and more than 1,650 families served to date, Lindsay’s efforts are a powerful reminder that even a small act of care can spark a big wave of hope.
We caught up with Lindsay to hear how motherhood shaped her purpose, how she balances her nonprofit and her littles (Raphael, Bosco, and Siciliana!), and why a great blowout still counts as soul care.
What inspired you to create Beauty Holiday? When did you realize that this was the work you were meant to do?
The story of Beauty Holiday began during my early days as a beauty editor at Allure magazine in New York City, when I’d host an annual holiday party to share my overflowing beauty stash with family and friends. I became known as “Beauty Santa” and got to play the role of Oprah (“you get a lipstick and you get a lipstick and you get a lipstick”). Beauty Holiday quickly became a coveted invite and evolved from me dumping piles of product on my apartment floor, into me hand-wrapping hundreds of gifts to surprise family and friends to kick off the holiday season.
In 2022, we were living in southwest Florida, when Hurricane Ian devastated our local community. This is when Beauty Holiday took on new purpose, and I decided to use my beauty stash to create personalized self-care packages to deliver to women and families who lost their homes. I shared a casual ask to industry contacts to see if any brands wanted to donate additional products for these packages, and I was overwhelmed by the generous response. Thousands of product donations arrived at my door and brands showed up in big ways to give back during this time of need.
In July 2024, we formalized as an official 501c3 nonprofit organization, and in December 2024, we went bigger and better than ever. With over 7,000 product donations, valued at more than $125,000, we curated more than 400 self-care gifts for multiple organizations that support women facing hardship (shelters, grief homes, hospitals, fertility clinics…).
What started as a once-a-year holiday initiative, quickly took on new form in January 2025, when we mobilized to support families impacted by the LA wildfires, shipping over 1,100 pounds of personalized care packages across the country. Since January, we have hosted over 15 different events, across multiple states and cities, touching the lives of even more women and families. We currently have amassed over $647,000 in product donations, touching the lives of more than 1,650 women and families, and were just named a winner of the TJ Maxx You Sponsored contest. The excitement that continues to surround this mission, serves as a testament that this is my life purpose. And we’re just getting started!
Can you share a moment when Beauty Holiday’s impact was really apparent?
The “ah-ha” moment for me was witnessing the overwhelming support from the beauty industry rallying to help families who had lost everything in Hurricane Ian. It was so impactful to see how brands showed up, sending thousands of products to help provide comfort during such a devastating time of loss. The responses I received from the recipient families was also deeply moving. It was so clear that the impact of these products went far beyond a coddling formula or pretty pigment. They served as beacons of hope and a reminder to these women and families that they were not alone, but also had a community of supporters rallying behind them. For many, it was also a reminder to pause, take a moment of self-care, and feel human again. This type of support and feedback solidified the heart of the Beauty Holiday mission.
How do your experiences as a mom influence your work with Beauty Holiday?
Being a mom has changed my perspective on everything in life. While there are certainly tough realities to face in the world—more today than ever before, it feels—I strive to continue to show my kids the power of kindness, compassion, and community. If nothing else, I want them to see that even in hard times, there’s always a way to create light for someone else, and a small gesture can make a big impact. That belief is at the heart of Beauty Holiday.
So much of what we do is rooted in that same maternal instinct to nurture, to comfort, and to remind others they’re seen and card for. My experience as a mom has deepened my empathy and further fueled my mission to help others feel supported, valued, and loved, especially during their hardest days.
It’s my understanding that two of your children spent time in the NICU. How did those early NICU experiences shape your perspective as a parent?
Our first born, Raphael, was born at 31 weeks and spent about 1 month in the NICU, and our second born, Bosco, was born at 34 weeks and spent 1 week in the NICU. I always say the NICU is the best place you never want to be. It's certainly not somewhere you hope to find yourself, but if you do, you're so grateful that it exists.
I remember celebrating every gram gained, milliliter drunk, and wire unhooked. It was a far cry from the milestones I expected to celebrate as a first-time mom, but gosh did it change my perspective on what actually matters.
The NICU teaches you a level of patience, resilience, and respect—for those caring for your tiny fighters, and those parents facing the same unexpected realities alongside you— that you never knew possible. The most profound lesson of all was witnessing first-hand the strength and resilience of these tiny humans, and what a miracle life truly is.
Self-care is at the heart of your mission. How do you find ways to care for yourself while juggling your children’s needs and your nonprofit?
It’s certainly a juggling act balancing little ones and building my nonprofit, but I am insanely grateful for my village who lend their helping hands to gift me the time I need to strike that ever-so-delicate balance. Despite a never-ending influx of new products into my home, my daily self-care tends to come in the form of journaling. I try to gift myself even just 5 minutes in the morning to go through my “happy notes”, jotting down some things I’m grateful for, things I’m looking forward to, and set intentions for the day. I’m typically testing products for a story and analyzing so many details you don’t think about as an everyday consumer, so traditional self-care feels more like research and “work” for me. Also, blowouts. That is the epitome of self-care in my books. There is no greater feeling than a head massage, freshly washed hair, and a bouncy blowout to add a little pep in your step.
What advice would you give to moms who feel like they’re struggling to keep it all together?
SAME, GIRL, SAME. You are not alone. We’re all out here doing our best in this crazy, chaotic, juggling act of life and motherhood. I think the biggest shift for me has been learning to slow down and anchor myself in the present moment.
When I’m with my kids, I aim to be unplugged, leaving my phone in another room, and truly immersing myself in their silly, curious world. When I’m working, I keep to myself in my office and hone in on that time to pour myself into the Beauty Holiday mission. And at night, when the kids are asleep and the house is quiet, I try to enjoy a moment of quality time with my husband too.
It’s so easy to get caught up in the endless to-do lists, doom scrolling, and pressure to have it all together, but the truth is, no one does. The only thing you have to have together is your mindset in the present moment—that’s all that really matters. When you focus on what’s right in front of you, that moment becomes your gift, not your burden. That, to me, is the essence of self-care. It’s not always about doing more, it’s about being more intentional in the present moment that’s right in front of you.
What kind of legacy do you hope your kids see in your work and your parenting?
I hope my kids see that purpose and kindness can go hand in hand, and that they can make a difference in this world. I want them to know they can build something beautiful that makes the world a better place.
Through Beauty Holiday, I want them to understand the importance of using your gifts to lift others up, to lead with empathy, and to find joy in giving back. As a parent, I hope they see that I worked hard, but always made space for love, laughter, and gratitude. That even small acts of care like a note, a smile, a self-care gift, can ripple into something much bigger.
More than anything, I want them to know that the most meaningful legacy isn’t success, it’s impact. And it starts with showing up for yourself everyday.
What’s next for you and for Beauty Holiday?
This question gets my heart racing in the best way possible. For myself personally, I just stopped nursing baby girl after 13 months, so I’m excited to reclaim my body for myself again. I’ve been either pregnant or breastfeeding for the last 5 years, so this is very liberating.
As for Beauty Holiday, we have so many exciting initiatives ahead including scaling our operations to reach even more women and families facing hardship across the country. We have upcoming Beauty Holiday events to support women battling cancer, survivors of sex trafficking, NICU moms, and so many more. We look forward to bringing Beauty Holiday to the west coast in 2026 and collaborating with even more brands to curate sustainable, purposeful, and impactful ways to deliver the gift of self-care to uplift women and families facing life’s hardest challenges.