Hey Style + Spirit Sistas,

I was filling out a questionnaire about my blog + videos and thought I would share what I wrote: 

WHY DID I START A BEAUTY BLOG?

The inspiration for starting my blog was simply to help women learn to love themselves!  Yes, beauty products and developing your own unique personal style is a big part of it– but, the core of why I do what I do is to teach women to LOVE who they are.. inside + out.  Love your quirks and love your thighs!

WHAT DOES “BEAUTIFUL” MEAN TO YOU?

SOS is about sharing beauty and style tips, but the most important are the INNER BEAUTY TIPS– which are tips for nurturing your spirit!  It may sound strange, but I believe in the “Spiritual” aspect of Style.  We can rock the latest Louis Vuitton handbag, fit into size 2 skinny jeans and have flawless skin, but if we do not love who we are- the quirks, the flaws, the good/bad/ugly- then we will not SHINE and step into our greatness.  God created us all PERFECTLY the way we are and when a woman embraces that fact…and rocks it with her shoulders back and her head held high…. THAT IS BEAUTIFUL!!!

AN INSPIRING STORY ABOUT YOURSELF:

My ethnicity is a blend of Japanese/Czech/two tribes of Native American/English and was raised in a lower middle class neighborhood outside Houston, Tx with a variety of ethnicities, but predominately Hispanic and African American.  I grew up “color blind” and saw everyone as equal.  My favorite magazine when I was little was National Geographic so I was fascinated with other cultures and ethnicities.  I wanted to see the world and experience all these different types of people.

When I entered junior high, I began participating in sports.  My dad who is 1/2 Japanese and a bit Native American, a bit English–  attended my games and when my friends saw that he was Asian– I was ridiculed and they made fun of him.  See, I had dark blonde/light brown hair and didn’t have the normal Asian appearance.  I started to feel shame about my heritage.  I even told my dad to stop coming to my games.  It was so confusing because my best friends were African American and I had a crush on a boy who was Mexican.  I had no idea what racism was at 12 years old!

A few years into high school I began modeling and realized that me being “different” was a cool thing because I didn’t look like anyone else.  I had traded in my National Geographics for Elle and Marie Claire at this point.  I loved the creativity and glamour of the beauty + fashion industry.  Most of the models did not have the typical “All American” beauty so I started embracing my heritage and seeing other mixed ethnicities as beautiful and unique.  I even darkened my hair to look even more exotic and ethnic.  Funny, magazines and the media get so much flack for steering our young girls the wrong way, but they actually had a positive effect on my self-esteem!  Through my career, I went on to fulfill my dream of seeing the world and being “different” was a big blessing in disguise!  Again, God made us all unique and perfect just as we are.  Now, I’m so grateful for the opportunity to teach and mentor young girls to love themselves just as they are.  If we can break the cycle of comparison and competition before they reach high school years– WHOA, it will save so many women years of heartache! 

Love, Tiff