Journey to Beauty NYC: A Full Day of Beauty Workshops

Global beauty cannot be fully understood through a photo, a blog post, or a video. That’s why we create experiences. When you get to hear other women’s stories, take the time to meditate, experience making an ancient product, your eyes are opened up. That’s what we hope to create at every workshop, event, and tour.

Our Journey to Beauty took place on April 26th at The Alchemist’s Kitchen, and our goal was to share why global beauty and diversity is so important today, and how our favorite products are more than just products. The morning featured a series of workshops to enlighten guests on the meaning behind the cultural beauty practices that shape our world today. Meditating on hair, skin, makeup, and body, Stephanie spilled the best-kept global beauty secrets and ancient DIY recipes that guests got to try on one another and bring home.  We had women of all colors, nationalities, and different beauty beliefs come to together and share in beauty. Each guest shared their own personal stories and experiences of what beauty means to them.

BeautyTraveler Erica smiles as she wears her homemade kajal eyeliner

We shape how we see beauty with an open conversation with our sisters, so we began the morning sharing what beauty meant to each and every one of us. Then, House of Dayburn guided a meditation with soothing music while Stephanie burned sage and blessed the sacred space, and each guest.

Kajal Eyeliner

Kajal, or kohl, is a deep black powder that has been used for centuries. It is such a powerful ancient beauty ingredient that our first workshop was all about understanding and creating kajal. The ancient Egyptians used it to adorn the eyes and protect from the harsh rays of the sun, as well as ward off evil spirits. Kohl is created by many different cultures. The methods of making it all vary, but it is essentially a soot that is made from burning natural oils. In India, it is made by burning a muslin cloth in ghee within a brass vessel, and collecting the soot residue. This is the method we used to create our kajal.

We burned a cotton cloth in ghee within a brass vessel, and held a brass spoon to the flame to collect the black powder that is kajal

Clinique sponsored this event and provided us with their High Impact Custom Kajal Eyeliner, so our guests got to try this beauty ingredient in its modern setting.

Our lovely goddesses came together to help make this Indian beauty staple

When you meditate on a product, it transcends its material worth. Understanding beauty rituals and discovering the rich history behind our routines today helps to bring more meaning into what would otherwise be just makeup. 

Lipstick

Our next workshop was on lipstick. Stephanie talked about the importance of red lipstick throughout many cultures, and the different methods of making red lipstick. (Check out our post here on how they make lipstick from bugs in Mexico!)

Sponsored by Tarte, each woman applied a beautiful pink lipstick to one another. There’s something about lipstick that completes any look, and makes you feel like a goddess.

Inner Beauty

Inner beauty is what shines through to create outer beauty. When you feel good, you are more beautiful. To speak on this, a herbalist from The Alchemist’s Kitchen came to talk to us about herbal remedies. She shared wisdom from Mexico, her home country, and shared recipes and supplements to support natural health. The Alchemist’s Kitchen carries a number of tonics, supplements, and home-made elixirs from natural and plant-based origins that support wellness and inner beauty. Our favorite is Anima Mundi Herbals that incorporates Rainforest Beauty.

Hair Braiding + Flower Crowns

Our next workshop was Latina hair rituals with flower crowns and hair braiding. Hair Yarn is a mostly Peruvian tradition. Long, braided hair represents the marital status of Peruvian women. Two braids reveals that a woman in the tribe is married, while one or many braids means that she is single. Peruvian women weave yarn into their braids to make their hair appear longer, as well as colored fabrics as an adornment. We even used flower essences from Lotus Wei that got our crowns to their most relaxing self.

Everyone’s favorite part was definitely the flower crowns, they were even more beautiful than our favorite Snapchat filter!

The morning workshops from our Journey to Beauty were nothing short of amazing. It was touching to meet so many empowered, beautiful women and hear their stories. A few of our guests agreed that meditating on a ritual and contemplating the meaning behind each and every step in your routine helps bring more awareness and appreciation for our very own beauty rituals.

By the end of the day, everyone felt like their true goddess.

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1Comment
  • Michelle Collins
    Posted at 02:57h, 13 September

    Really looking forward to doing this with a friend.

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