AMBER BLASCO

WHEN​ ​AND​ ​WHY​ ​DID​ YOU​​ ​DECIDE​ ​TO​ ​CREATE​ BEAUTY​ ​​ADORNED​ ​AND​ ​PURSUE​ YOUR​ ORGANIC​ ​VEGAN​ PRODUCT ​LINE, AŞKBOTANICALS? COULD YOU TELL US​​ A ​ LITTLE​ ​ ​BIT ABOUT ​BOTH?

"I’ve been a makeup artist my entire career. It is something that has been a huge passion of mine! Beauty Adorned is the service portion of onsite beauty services. I wanted a name that reflected love for one’s self, and that indicated “YOU ARE ENOUGH” and your “I AM” should be celebrated with the adornment that makes you feel like an enhanced, celebrated version of your authentic self.

The beauty industry has dictated for a long time what it means to be beautiful, and I wanted to switch gears with that line of thinking. I wanted the expertise, training, and experience of myself and the team of Beauty Adorned to amplify natural beauty on the terms of what makes our clients feel their most authentically beautiful for their special occasions. This is the basis of what we do.  If you look through our portfolios, you will see a wide range of natural looks to avant garde, all of which reflect admiration, love, and an amplification of individuality. I think of it as hearing a beautiful song, and turning the volume up! You are already the perfect song, and we are here to turn the volume up. Be you; the world will adjust.

Aşk Botanicals (pronounced “aw-shk) is the product portion of Beauty Adorned. I had a time where I just wanted to learn more, so I went back to school for Aromatherapy, Herbalism, & Perfumery. It ignited a beautiful journey, in which I discovered the healing properties of scent association, botanicals, and wellness through having a connection with nature. From there, I brought aromatherapy temple rollers, diffusers, and all of that yummy goodness to photo shoots, weddings, special occasion gigs, to help calm and center my clients. I didn’t intend on launching a line at the time. It was mainly to create a safe atmosphere of love, self-care, and zen.  The products were intended to set a tone for the day, which is something makeup artists and hair stylists always hope to do for our clients before their special occasion. Clients started asking where they could purchase these products, and from there, Aşk Botanicals started! People could feel the love and wanted to enjoy everything on their own time! I wanted a name that had a double meaning, and reflected the sentiment behind the line. This is where more soul searching happened. Aşk means “Love” in Turkish. In English, to Ask is to have curiosity instead of judgement. I feel love and curiosity are two important elements of approach to one’s self, to others, and to nature. The line is centered around love for yourself, caring for others, and connecting to nature through our products while on the go. In the spirit of honoring Mother Nature: we are vegan, organic, sustainably and responsibly sourced. We are mainly sourced to female farmers, distillers, and businesses for our raw materials, and it is on a global scale! So much love and care has gone into every element of every product from start to finish! Even the Mandala logo is completely symmetrical to be a visual metaphor for the idea of balance and I want people to know that self-care can be redefined with busy lifestyles- it can be the sum of small things! You don’t have to book an hour at the spa or take a beach vacation in order to recalibrate. It can be as simple as making your commute peaceful with our aromatherapy based vent clip diffusers, or easing tension on the spot with one of our botanical temple rollers. Real life stress happens in traffic or during a big work meeting, and we wanted to fill that gap with something portable you could utilize on the go. Our products address these stressors in real time, and the idea is that they provide immediate relief through our proprietary blends of powerful, time honored botanicals."

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DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF A FEMINIST? IF SO, IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU FIND YOURSELF EMBRACING THIS LABEL? 

"OH YES!!!!!!! It all started for me when I read “Proud Man” by Katherine Burdekin at 19. It completely blew my mind and helped me let go of the conventional thinking that was around me at the time. It literally changed my life on so many levels for the better! OMG I NEED TO RANT BECAUSE I AM SO EXCITED ABOUT FEMINISM!!!!!!!!

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I think as a feminist, it is about encouraging and contributing to equality in any capacity. This includes my personal life, my business, and my social interactions with everyone. My hope is that it inspires a domino effect. To me, feminism is an action, a way of being. It encompasses so many things.  It is my hope that people see it as an idealogy that doesn’t just allow the individual to operate at their full potential, but it is also an idealogy that enables SOCIETY to operate at its full potential. When the individual is held back, so is society! To have an environment that fosters equality, and therefore enables full potential to be attained, it is extremely beneficial to even those who don’t necessarily understand the beautiful domino effect feminism can have. I think beyond sensationalism, if we think about what this really means and how it would be, most people would absolutely support the feminist cause of equality across the board. It could only make things better! And if I can exemplify these ideals in any way to others, be it personally and/or publicly, I would be SO proud! YAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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DO ​YOU USE​ BEAUTY​ ​ADORNED​ ​​AND​ AŞK ​BOTANICALS​ ​AS​ ​A​ ​VOICE​ ​FOR​ ​CHANGE?​ IF ​​SO,​ ​HOW?

"That is always the goal! Through Beauty Adorned, I volunteer makeup services to Dress for Success. It is an organization that helps women get back on their feet with their professional life. We also regularly canvas others to donate clothing and products to help the DFS cause. And hopefully when people check out our website, Pinterest, Facebook Group, and/or Instagram see that we are hoping to ignite a love, honor, and appreciation for yourself and others.

Through Aşk Botanicals, the voice is how the business is run. It is super important that consumers know they have a voice with how they spend their money. Want to be known as a business that is earth friendly, sustainably and responsibly sourced, recyclable, vegan, cruelty free, and organic/wildcrafted. Those are our values. We hope consumers realize that they can hold businesses accountable by how they shop! There is power in banding together for standards on how things should be. There can be a wave that redirects businesses that wouldn’t necessarily operate responsibly otherwise. We hope to inspire people to shop in a way that looks at the big picture (environment, veganism, etc.); not only with our products, but with other businesses they choose to support."

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WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU?

"Travel is always inspiring! It is a fast track to creativity, as it forces me out of my element and into another way of life. My son inspires me. I feel that if he sees me pursuing my dreams, he will understand how important it is to pursue his dreams.

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Nature inspires me. I am so grateful to live in one of the most beautiful places in the country. Even a simple walk outside can inspire with color, scent, and vibe. And I think having a priority of living life with childlike wonder keeps the inspiration flowing! It is a way to continually engage, find out, play, and learn! Wonder is the enemy of complacency and stagnation! 

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Lastly, this may seem kind of cheesy, but Instagram is REALLY inspiring. Seeing pictures of daily life, travel, what people love- it keeps me on the pulse of collective consciousness and where society is on an emotional level. And who? JANE GOODALL. The spunky mom in the film Ponyo. Freya Stark.  Frida Kahlo. Georgia O'Keeffe.  Banksy. Iris Apfel. Anyone who goes against the grain, questions the set up, and forges their own authentic path."  

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WHAT’S​ ​BEEN​ ​THE​ MOST​ ​DIFFICULT​ ​AND​ ​MOST​ ​ENJOYABLE​ ​THING​ ​ABOUT​ ​BALANCING BOTH ​BEAUTY​ ADORNED​ AND​ AŞK BOTANICALS?

"Seeing both ideas grow and become validated through people booking services or purchasing products- it helps me understand my dear clients need and love.   The most difficult thing would be that sometimes I am super exhausted but need to keep following through on things.  I try to keep reminders close by (pictures of family or screenshots of positive client feedback) to remind me why I need to keep going.  I call it “emotional fuel”." 

HOW ARE YOU REBELLING AGAINST THE BEAUTY INDUSTRY NORM?

"Love these questions! I started an Instagram a few years ago, based on a daydream. I wanted a space where women were admired, not objectified. I wanted a space that celebrated diversity. From there, I started posting a mix of culturally diverse portraits, inspiring editorials from across the globe, and some of my own work as a makeup artist. It features the concept of Beauty Adorned without the conventional standards of beauty we so often see marketed towards us. It is meant to be a celebration of feminine energy."

WHAT’S BEEN YOUR BIGGEST SUCCESS IN 2017? IT CAN BE BUSINESS OR PERSONAL RELATED.

"I think finally seeing Aşk Botanicals come to fruition. The entire process between education, sourcing, branding, creating, and perfecting took 7 years! It is literally a dream come true!"

HOW DO YOU THINK WE CAN CREATE A BETTER PLATFORM FOR FEMALE/FEMME-IDENTIFIED ENTREPRENEURS?

"That is an awesome question!  In the space of a creative industry (which is all I really know), I think it comes down to encouraging individuals, and if time allows, mentoring. I would not be where I am at today had it not been for my mentors. They gave me a wealth of encouragement and continual guidance. As far as response and accountability goes, I think remaining open to constructive feedback (which is SO hard to do when you love what you do!) and staying self-motivated (thank you google calendar, deadlines, and Panda Dayplanner!) is KEY for the person being mentored. There are so many amazing online groups for entrepreneurs; so if there is difficulty finding a mentor nearby, there are always resources online to help get you going! Don’t be afraid to reach out to the people you admire!"