A heartfelt,Thank you

Small Business Saturday 

A happy dance, maybe not as pretty as this one every time, alas I promise you it occurs every single time I see the email confirmation that you placed an order for high performing, safer products, that together we help support this mission. For over 2 years now I have fit this awesome little biz into the pockets of my time. For 2 years I’ve dove deep into the science of skin, and elaborated my passion with colorful makeup creations. My girls have seen me grow in ways that they are so proud of me for. They love every time I go out for a Beautycounter event or sit down to do a makeup tutorial. They tell me I’m changing the world. We are changing the world, by using our voices and voting with our hard earned dollars we are telling this huge industry our bodies aren’t a science experiment. We deserve better, and we shouldn’t have to trade the performance we crave for that change.  

I could never on my own do all the things Beautycounter is doing to disrupt the status quo in the personal care products industry. Beautycounter looks at the details in this business. They are a female CEO led company, that still goes the extra mile to ensure males are equally represented. People of color are not only in high level positions in our company they are also a pertinent part of all product formulations, because In the United States, women of color suffer from a higher incidence of chronic diseases that have been linked to exposure to toxic chemicals. A company that puts as much focus towards the planet as the people, all before their own profits. Off-setting carbon emissions by 100% in 2018 at HQ. A company setting the pace for other companies to track all the way down the supply chain to ensure equality, fair wages and living conditions, sustainable practices is all throughout the process of a product creation. Third party testing our color cosmetics up to 6 times before they reach the client’s hands. Natural doesn’t mean safe, but safer is our mission and we stand by that. Part of the dollars you spend on a Beautycounter product goes towards funding continuing research on ingredients we use as well as their health risks and benefits. This is part of helping the entire industry by making these studies available to the industry. There are many more things going on with this company beside the products you see me sharing. The behind the scenes of lobbying for better with Congress, to create laws that protect us from harm. That is for the entire industry, it is for everyone. So thank you, thank you for supporting my little family, and this mission. My gratitude is not measurable in words.  

Having a special needs child is hard. It has pushed me into this advocate like no other space. This constant rabbit hole research for her to live as close to normal as a life as we can provide for her. If I hadn’t had the desire to fight for what I knew was right and fight for what I knew needed change, this sweet girl we all know and love may have had a different fate by today. I think this is a reason why this Beautycounter mission is so important to me. While it may not be directly related to our special needs child, it is possible that it is in fact related. When we conceived her we didn’t know a thing about products negatively affecting our health. I used what performed that I could afford at the time. It was around the time we tried to conceive her that organic foods started gaining a louder voice. It took me years to jump on board with that. years to believe that their could be corruption in the food industry, the daily fuel of our bodies. My point here is Zephie is a huge reason for this mission in my world. I would do anything I could to give her back those missing chromosome pieces. But I can’t. I don’t know why it happened, and we never will. I do wish had Beautycounter been a company that I had a friend then tell me I should be concerned. I do wish I would’ve had a friend continue to text and encourage me to check out this company trying to change things for the better. Because if that could have changed a birth defect for us, it would have been worth it all. What I know now is this company is a part of meaningful change, and this business is helping our family get her the medical treatment she needs to thrive and live as close to normal as possible.

I choose to be a part of this mission, because it is important. You are important! Your daughters, wives, aunts, moms, uncles, brothers and friends are important. I choose to be on this mission, because enough sickness and illness is enough. If I can do any little thing in my life to help others reduce their risk of cancers, reduce hormone disruptions, help infertility struggles then I consider my time and energy worth it.  I choose to be a part of meaningful change because change is happening and I am here for it. To be a part of a company doing good. To do good. Thank your your support. Whether you are a client, a consultant, just watching my stories on Instagram, looking up everything in the stores on EWG skin deep, thank you to all of you for being here. 

So much Gratitude and Love,

Shereen, Kevin, Zephie, Lylah and Lux