A year ago today I launched TooD Beauty. I could have never predicted what would have unfolded for me psychologically,
Yes, I wanted to bring the world clean, sustainable, non-toxic products paired with non-toxic thinking...but it was never simply about selling or pushing products. As important, is the journey of integration, a story that needed to be told; the story that almost anyone from any ethnic background has...shame.
How we channel and chase our attitude toward ourselves and each other is the greatest and hardest work I have ever taken on. It's an unwavering commitment to taking my emotional temperature. By facing it with honesty, by removing the biases that I learned and created toward myself and others; doing the work daily has felt exhausting. It's challenging enough to be a CEO and launch a makeup company, smack in the middle of a global pandemic. It's also a whole other layer to have that brand be a reflection of my life's work and purpose while also healing.
None of this work has been done in vain. I care deeply for humanity, for Mother Earth, for my ancestors and descendants, and of course, my community and self. My love is endless. My heart is filled with activism and hope to create systemic change so each of us, including myself, recognize the power and magic that lives inside of us.
When we know we can self actualize anything; we believe it with our whole heart and soul. Our frequencies shift and it unfolds before our eyes. Most problems in the world stem from insecurity and ego. I start with myself; holding a mirror to my patterns, rewiring them with creating new neural pathways where the joy of being myself, as I am, full stop - is all I need to do. By understanding that my only job is to continue to develop, grow, live and embody who I am, as I am, then perhaps that can also spark a curiosity within you to ask: who would you be if you could write your own rules?
So Happy 1st Birthday, TooD Beauty.
In just one year, we shot four campaigns and launched an entire range of products, including the world's first one-swipe biodegradable glitter. We were featured in VOGUE, Allure, New York Magazine, and Hypebae, among tons of other publications. Kelis wore our Freestyle Color Cream in a music video that played in Times Square and Azealia Banks strutted down the Kim Shui runway along with dozens of other models at New York Fashion Week. Oh, and we launched in two of the greatest retailers in the world: Credo and Nordstrom.
Yes, I was a vessel that brought TooD to the public domain, but it's taken off and has shown me more lessons personally, professionally and spiritually than I could have ever dreamed of. To my friends, family, collaborators, colleagues and community - thank you for witnessing this journey, for holding a mirror to me and for walking me home.
xx Shari
