Beauty Looks Like — Allison Elizabeth Brown
We are excited to introduce you to our next beauty-ful lady Allison Elizabeth Brown, entrepreneur, entertainment/branding strategist, fashion designer, and educator, who practices self-love and positive affirmations on a regular basis. We invited her to take us through her personal journey in discovering “Beauty looks like ME!”
What does beauty look like to you? I actually use a quote I heard from Cardi B all the time.”I think Beauty is looking like you take care of yourself” — I just add inside and out to my version. It’s so important that we take care of both!
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Tell us your journey to seeing and saying beauty looks like you. I was skinny and needed braces as a child but you couldn’t tell me I wasn’t fly! My family ALWAYS made me feel like I was AMAZING! I was always shocked when an occasional boy at church or friend of my brother teased me. Lol. I was often confused by what they saw. I remember my mother would always tell me to eat carrots cause they would make me have pretty (and give me good eyesight). So I ate tons of carrots! Especially as I approached my teenage years. She would also often have me play in the mirror and acknowledge what I saw that made me beautiful and unique. She has been a key figure of a very supportive, loving village. But essentially it ALL starts with our thoughts...In my case my family set me on a path of thinking about myself a certain way. As an adult I understand even more that what you think about over and over (particularly about yourself) becomes your reality and I’ve since learned that we believe our own inner voice above all others. So it’s extremely important that we think of ourselves as beautiful and even spend some time in the mirror honoring what God made. I still practice these things on a regular basis.
How do you exude beauty on a daily basis? Again it’s all about taking care of yourself inside and out. I guard my thoughts from negativity, I occasionally exercise (lol), I eat fairly well cause I never want to see a physically unhealthy Allison staring back at me. I definitely take good care of my skin and fashion is in my blood (my momma is a Jones Lol) so looking fly is something I definitely do for me. Lastly, I constantly nurture my relationship with God and am CONSTANTLY thinking of ways to invest in the truest version of my God given identity. All of this together makes me feel beautiful! Even when I struggle and fall short, the striving toward it is a beautiful journey.
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What woman embodies your definition of beauty? Personal or well-known? Ooooooo!!! So many!!! I have always felt like I’ve been surrounded by Queens! -Beautiful regal royal women who’ve brought tremendous beauty to the world on their own terms. From my mother to my aunts. I grew up too being exposed to women like Naomi Sims, Pat Cleveland, the late Cicely Tyson, Maya Angelou, Nina Simone, Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Alien, Pam Greer, Diana Ross, Diahann Carol. These women, especially the last two, have always been the epitome of Beauty both in appearance as well as their pursuit of purpose.
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What could you share with a young girl who struggles with seeing beauty in the mirror? You define what beauty is not the world. Take the utmost care of yourself. Shower yourself with loving affirming thoughts and in time the world will catch up and see what you see!
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What does beauty look like? Join us throughout the month of March as we celebrate our second annual #BeautyLooksLikeME — showcasing beauty through the faces, stories and backgrounds of beautiful African American women. Beauty. Looks. Like. YOU! See it. Say it. Share it.
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