Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary Jallow.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born in New Jersey but raised in Atlanta, I am a first generation Gambian-American. Both of my parents were born and raised in the Gambia and they both come from the Fulani Tribe. I recently graduated from college last year from the University of West Georgia and immediately began working full time as a licensed stockbroker. Although I am blessed and extremely grateful for my job, I must say the finance industry is not a passion of mine. The main reason being that I am creative and visionary at heart, I guess it’s just the Pisces in me. I also cannot sit with the idea of working for someone else for the rest of my life. I am a very fluid person, I embrace being able to live life on my own terms and being able to move around when I want. I strongly believe that in order to truly live a fulfilling life, you must do what you love and love what you do. With this personal mantra of mine, I told myself that I will begin to start creating avenues and business ventures for myself that align with my passions. I have a few businesses that I will be creating, so far I have already created one of them. Less than a year after I graduated, Fulani Beauty Complex was born.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Of course, there were many obstacles that I could go on and on about. However, if I’m being honest with y’all…the main obstacle was myself. Self-doubt, lack of self-confidence, lack of self-love were definitely detrimental to my wellbeing. While in my senior year of college I had begun a journey… a journey of self-discovery, self-acceptance, and self-love. I began to spend more time with myself in order to really get to know myself. Through activities such as meditation, writing, painting, reading, reciting daily affirmations, and so on, I was able to reach more milestones than I’d ever thought possible. Throughout the journey I felt liberated, I felt lighter, I felt more clarity, I felt freer, and most importantly, I felt love… love and appreciation for myself. After spending time with yourself, you really start to notice how dope you truly are. I wanted everyone who was going through what I went through to experience the same shift as I did. It felt so good, I feel amazing every day now. What this taught me was that most of the time your enemy is you. Nobody else.
Fulani Beauty Complex – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
During my personal journey, Fulani Beauty Complex came to me in the middle of the night… it literally woke me out of my sleep. I said to myself that I will create a beauty brand that will showcase the beauty of peoples of all shades, of all shapes and all backgrounds. Don’t hide the beauty you were born with, express it to the world! Fulani Beauty Complex is a hybrid beauty brand that features both skincare and makeup products! Many of the products can be used for both purposes, in fact, the first collection of products are all dual usage products. This minimalistic beauty brand was designed to enhance your natural beauty, not mask it. I am proud of the fact that the story behind the brand is raw, real, and true. What sets us apart is that unlike other beauty companies whose goal is to point out your insecurities for profit, we aim to teach people to love every bit of themselves. Once we love ourselves, we’re able to healthily express love to everyone surrounding us. This brand aims to do its part in the community by showing more love, and less negative energy. After all, love is the highest form of energy. Our first collection is set to launch soon so stay on the lookout!!!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment so far has to be when I got my hands on the final products. Just to see something that literally just started out as an idea come to actual fruition was an overwhelming feeling. It all began as a thought, and then I was able to manifest it into a real object. The process was agonizing at times because as a visionary I can be a perfectionist sometimes. I wanted the products to be exactly what I had envisioned them to be. At times, I felt like giving up, but what kept me going was faith. This was my proudest moment because I was able to make a dream of mine come true!
Contact Info:
- Website: fulanibeautycomplex.com
- Email: info@fulanibeautycomplex.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/fulanibeautycomplex
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fulanibeautycomplex/
- Twitter: twitter.com/fulanibeautycom
Image Credit:
Ida John, Quin Austina
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