We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Amerrah Brown a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Amerrah , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
I learned resilience at an early age. I learned it by watching my mom. I saw her overcome a lot of struggles she was very resilient in making a better life for her children, and she was diligent to her beliefs but, I also saw her succumb to her worst fears. I vowed to learn from her resilience but to also live life fearlessly in my PURPOSE. The image and how I felt at the tender age of 4 is still vividly alive in my memory everyday. I remember waking up on a park bench which also happened to be my home. I have no memory of ever feeling cold or even shivering, my guess is that it was spring or summer. I recall wondering why is my “bed” was wet ? I looked up to the bluish grey sky, finally realizing that it was raining and the leaves from the trees weren’t much help at providing adequate shelter from the fat raindrops that were falling, ruining my favorite blanket, drenching my only toy a worn out Raggedy Ann doll. We struggled to salvage our belongings and I watched my mom wring out my blanket and doll. In her face, I didn’t see sadness or helplessness, I saw her determination to do what need to be done in that moment to make sure that I was okay. It was at that moment I felt something in my soul shift. It was something that I didn’t recognize until adulthood, It was resilience. I cant put my finger on the date we moved into our apartment but I do remember spending my 5th birthday in an actual bed with real pillows.
I learned so much from my mother, she had a loving spirit and giving heart. She loved children. She would set up a table in front of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and sell rice filled balloons that make sound when you shake it to the parents. I learned certain aspects of business from her. I learned to work hard, never be discouraged by the word NO, be authentic and to be unique in what I offer.
In 2001, when I first started making soap, she was my first customer and my largest order ever at the time. She ordered 200 dollars worth of soap from me! Of course, I was excited and surprised but I had to decline because I knew that she was still struggling to make ends meet. Little did she know I was going to do it for free… only for her because I saw how much she wanted to support my dreams and my goals, even with with the little she had. When I left her house, I dug my hands in jacket pocket to pull out my metro card to pay for the bus, to my surprise there was a wad of 20 dollar bills equaling $200 folded neatly with it. At first, I was upset because I wanted her to use that money for herself and her needs but then I realized what she was doing so I graciously thanked her and promised that she would get her order within two-three weeks. Sadly, I was never able to make good on my promise to deliver her order because she died very shortly after my visit with her.
Her legacy will continue to live on through me and my children for generations to come. Whenever someone buys a bar of my soap, I think of her and wonder what would she have done with all that soap she ordered! lol!
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
I grew up in Brooklyn, NY at a young age I watched my mother struggle to provide for myself and my 8 siblings. She is the first one who sparked my entrepreneurial spirit. When i was eight or nine years old, My mother and I would set up a table on the street in front of the Brooklyn Children’s Museum to sell these big colorful balloons. The balloons were huge and she put rice in them that way it would make a sound whenever it was shaken. As I watched those children who were my peers beg their parents for shaker balloons as they entered the museum, all I could think about was being on the other side of that table. I longed to have my first opportunity to enter the Children’s Museum but instead I had to stay at the table with mom. Maybe a year later, I finally got the opportunity to enter the Children’s Museum and it was the best day of my life as a young child. Today those memories stick with me because it laid my foundation… Perseverance, resilience and Work before play. My mother was very much into wholistic medicine, herbs and natural healing remedies. We barely ever got sick, she was adamant on us taking a spoon full of honey a day and that nasty Golden seal tea that was very much hated by my siblings and me.
When I became an adult, I started my business by mistake… Just so happens, everyone needed what I had. (I believe everything happens for a reason and this was my divine gift). My business came about because of an immediate need for healing. My daughter and I suffered from eczema and hyperpigmentation. As a result, created tinctures and a natural formula that helped soothe and alleviated the symptoms associated with eczema.
Now, I refer to myself as the “SKINCARE MOGUL”. I am the founder of Beautiful Amore Skincare. I have been making natural skin care products for over 20 years. Beautiful Amore Skincare, is a black owned, woman owned vegan skin care company focused on helping those who suffer from eczema. Millions of people suffer from eczema worldwide. Beautiful Amore Skincare products have become a serious staple in the lives of many across the country. My products isn’t something you use once, It’s something you can incorporate in your lifestyle.
My products help alleviate several skin issues such as, eczema, psoriasis, hyperpigmentation, and acne. I also make natural personal hygiene products for women. I serve the vegan community by offering plant based products that help support any vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.
I am also an advocate for self care and mental health. I help you to understand the importance of making self care and mental health a priority. My mission is to use my products as a tool to help birth more love into the world through self care. Self-love becomes a habit when one exhibits self-care consistently. A little bit of love goes a long way. Fill yourself up with love first, then share it with others.
You can find my products online at Beautifulamoreskincare.com
or visit my Kiosk at City Point Mall Downtown Brooklyn, 445 Albee Sq. West
we’re open 7 days a week from 11am – 7pm
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
The three most important qualities to make an impactful journey is Resiliency, Perseverance, and authenticity. Be resilient in finding your passion and your purpose. Persevere through the storms, hurdles and set backs… they are meant to build you up not break you down. Be Authentic… First to yourself then to others. You know when you’re not being true to yourself and ultimately other people will sense it too. Authenticity is one of the highest forms of self love. When you can look inside YOURSELF for YOUR truths. It leads to a healthier more fulfilling life.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
I think it is a good thing for us to display our strengths with humility, in such a way where someone else can learn from our strength. We are all called to be teachers in one form or another. The sooner we learn that knowledge and truth isn’t meant to be hoarded unto one’s self, the better we’d all be. We are also called to be students, We are meant to grow, learn and stretch ourselves everyday. I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room, I want to be in s room full of people that I can learn from. If we’re not stretching ourselves and growing, we’re dying.
Contact Info:
- Website: Beautifulamoreskincare.com
- Instagram: @Beautifulamoreskincare
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beautifulamoreveganskincare/
