These last 2 years have brought me so much growth, and it has been purely a blessing from Allah, I don't know where I would be without Islam, and because of this, my understanding on beauty, physical appearence, self esteem/value, and all things related to beauty have just become much clearer to me,
I use to think of this, as a very light thing to deal with....after all, it's just makeup and skin care, right?
wrong.
I see how, the wrong idea of beauty, and the value we think we have because of it, can affect us in such terrible ways,
not having our worth centered in the guidelines Allah sent to us, can lead us to a path of insecurities, depression and alienation....
Now, I have shied away from speaking about this, mainly because I didn't feel like i had figured it out,
i thought, who am i to speak about this?
And then, upon reflecting, I realize I must...that Allah has blessed me with the knowledge to create my products, to have an offer that benefits you, to be able to reach you through pictures, videos, captions and emails.
So how can I not share something that has brought me so much peace and change? When I know Allah will question us on every blessing we have been given??
How can I not tell you about this middle path, where you loove yourself in a real way, you treat your body as it deserves to be treated, where you are not left yearning for anything?
In other words...
Beauty as an act of worship-
and in a lesser degree: An act of resistance....
Now you might be wondering:
how can beauty be an act of worship?
Perhaps you already know, maybe you have experienced what it's like to act with the intention to please Allah and have felt the peace and serenity that comes from it,
But in case you haven't, I wanted to give you an idea:
Beauty as Ibadah:
It's knowing the worth of your creation, so your skin care is based on treating your body with respect and honor,
not to think about pimples, breakouts, and other "flaws" as something that has to be fixed, but as messages from your body telling you that there is something out of balance,
Which leads you to think of your skin and body as a whole, and makes you focused on healing yourself, instead of just patching up a part of you( like the skin on your face)
So instead of increasing your skin care products, your routine, and the time you spend on your face....you simplify your routine, you amplify the healing that happens from within, and you pay attention to your lifestyle and how it affects your body...
your skin WILL GLOWW differently this way...
It's also knowing that Intention is EVERYTHING,
So when it comes to makeup, it's not only about having products that are made with pure, healthy and halal ingredients,
but also the intention with which we use them,
It's understanding how society has shaped the way we see ourselves, sometimes for good and sometimes not...and beauty standards can then affect us differently,
So then we must hold the beauty standard that never changes,that always puts our well being first,
Allah tells us He IS beauty, and loves when we make things beautiful,
but not to an excess, not when it means we need to change, (and sometimes even hate) ourselves...
Understanding that there is a subtle difference between keeping ourselves well kept by evening our skin tone, concealing a breakout that wouldn't normally be on our face, taming our brows, adding some color to have a healthy appereance and still looking like ourselves...
Instead of going to the other end, when makeup becomes a tool to run away from ourselves, to shape our face, change the shape of our nose, the size of our lips, to bring on a completely different version of ourselves because it's what is "trending".
Some might call it self-expression....but is it self expression when everyone ends up looking the same? Is it really embracing yourself when you look nothing like you?
I've been wondering, (for a few years), is it possible to really achieve a level of
self-love (and care),
spiritual connection to Allah,
and understanding of beauty practices.,
that are all in harmony with each other?
It is, it's absolutely possible,
and it's incredibly rewarding and amazing when you see it all come together...
Stay tuned for more on the next blog post!
