Fresh Faced
We’ll Have What She’s Having
INTERVIEW WITH TARA RASMUS : MARKETING COPY & CONTENT AT SOL DE JANEIRO SOL DE JANEIRO
A quick glance at Tara’s instagram feed reveals not only an-ever-glowing woman-about-town, but a mother of two that’s most truly a cool mom. Tara has been in the thick of the beauty buzz most of her life, and she’s graciously spilled her secrets on her favorite products to where beauty might (finally!) be headed.
Down to earth, totally real, and inspiring to boot.
Enjoy.
You’ve been in the beauty industry for over a decade, in both brand and editorial aspects. From where does this passion for beauty originate, and how do you stay engaged in a constantly changing field?
I’ve loved beauty…basically, since birth. When I was a baby, my mom once found me destroying a beautiful eyeshadow palette of hers, gleefully grinding the pigments into the carpet. When I got a little bit older, my mom had to warn her friends when they came over, because I was known to dig around into ladies’ purses to find their lipsticks. I spent my first tooth fairy money on a CoverGirl Lipslicks lip gloss and a powder foundation (!) from our local Family Discount store. I would stash makeup in my pencil cases at school. This passion was just in my blood—I could never get enough.
My mom and grandmother are both beautiful women that love beauty. My mom modeled for a few years in the 80s and picked up lots of makeup tricks while she was on the job, like how to apply eyeshadow properly, and how to and tweeze her eyebrows just enough, which she passed on to me. I never really considered a job in the beauty industry when I was growing up—I figured that beauty was my hobby, something I engaged in for fun, and I didn’t want to “ruin it” by making it my job. Thankfully, once I had graduated from college, a good friend who worked in the industry was kind enough to offer me a beauty PR internship, and I quickly realized that writing about beauty was exactly what I should be building a career around.
The industry is certainly changing, all the time. Brands and publications need to be willing to pivot constantly, or risk becoming irrelevant. After my PR internship, I went into editorial, and the media industry now is almost completely unrecognizable from what it was when I started out at Refinery29 and magazines almost 10 years ago. It’s been so sad to watch print magazines fold one by one, and even digital media outlets struggle to stay afloat. However, there are great things happening in beauty, too—namely, independent, women-founded brands going gangbusters, and much, much better diversity and representation in the industry. We have so much farther to go, but I love that it’s now standard to offer a wide range of products for every type, color and age of skin and hair. And—this is key—in beauty marketing and advertising, we’re seeing this diverse range of skin tones and hair types actually represented and celebrated. Representation matters so, so much—it can be the difference between someone feeling amazing about themselves or feeling less than, and I think that brands have an immense responsibility to make sure that all women (and men, too!) are served and represented in their product offerings and campaigns.
Up until just recently, the media would have us subscribe to a very specific “brand” of beautiful. Where do you see us moving as consumers in terms of our own self-image, body confidence and freedom to decide what is beautiful…? Can these ‘standards’ be redefined, and how do we prop ourselves up when perhaps we’re not seeing a version of ourselves on the daily IG scroll?
Oh, my favorite topic! In addition to beauty brands better serving a wide range of consumers, something else that I love is the trend of embracing one’s natural beauty. When I was growing up, the beauty standard was Gwyneth Paltrow or Jennifer Anistion—thin, white, blonde, clear skin, perfect blowout, white teeth. Then, Kim Kardashian was “It.” Now, it’s much more common for women to embrace what makes them unique—their curls, their curves, their freckles, their tooth gaps. Girls are growing up with women like Mindy Kaling ruling Hollywood. Gendered, racist and ageist standards of beauty are being questioned and challenged. While, again, we have so, so far to go (SO FAR) with embracing individuality, self-identification and diversity, I do believe we’re headed in the right direction, and I am THRILLED to be a part of it.
As the mother of two (adorable!) boys, how has becoming a parent changed your beauty routine?
You know, it’s funny…I don’t know if becoming a mom to my older son changed my beauty routine that much, but the pandemic and becoming a mom of two certainly did. When the pandemic hit, I had a full time, in-office job, and I got DRESSED for work every day—and I really loved it! Full makeup, hair, and a thought-out outfit. It was fun to dress up after being a stay-at-home mom for 18 months with my older son…but once the pandemic hit, I realized that I had been kind of overdoing it. The full foundation felt too heavy; the constant heat styling had fried my hair. I may love beauty and be a (slight) product junkie, but I’ve always been into a more natural, low-maintenance look—so it’s been nice to get back to that a bit and spend less time and energy on my hair and makeup.
photos courtesy of Tara Rasmus
Beauty and wellness as self-care…or another marketing trope?
Not a marketing trope at all—this is why I work in beauty! I absolutely love working in an industry that brings JOY to women. Men too, of course, but to generalize for a moment…women often give so much to those around them. Society is hard on us, and we can be hard on ourselves. Especially now, my friends and I have been balancing working, parenting, taking care of family or pets, trying to survive and adapt in an increasingly uncertain and brutal world. And let me tell you—I’ve never been so grateful for ten minutes with a face mask, or a swipe of a cushy rose-scented lip balm, or a bit of mauve-y blush to bring life to my cheeks. It makes a difference. I have a sister-in-law who is in her residency to become an OB/GYN right now—what an incredibly difficult, stressful, heart-wrenching time to be a medical professional. I can’t make her life easier or safer, but I can send her beauty products to bring some peace and joy into her days, which she more than deserves.
Beauty and wellness aren’t self-care for everyone, for sure. But I can think that it can be a meaningful way to care for oneself, relax, be in touch with one’s body, and feel confident and beautiful. And when women feel relaxed, confident and beautiful, we can accomplish anything! We’re able to better show up for those around us and be great examples to the next generation. To me, beauty is anything but frivolous—it impacts how we see ourselves and others, and that can be immensely impactful. It’s not that you need an incredible mascara or luxurious lipstick to feel confident—but if caring for yourself in these ways makes you feel awesome, then that’s a beautiful thing.
Where to splurge, where to save?
Splurge: Fragrance, facial skincare, foundation & concealer, and whatever products are tried and true for you—it could be a favorite body cream, blush or mascara. If you absolutely love it and it makes you happy, re-buy without guilt. Also, a sunscreen that you absolutely love and will wear every day. Which reminds me, I need to buy a new tub of Supergoop Play for summer!
Save: Hair care (Kristin Ess’s line at Target is salon quality at a fraction of the price), lipstick and lip balm (L’Oreal lipsticks are great, and I have Burt’s Bees classic lip balm in every drawer and bag), and specialty services. Don’t get me wrong — if you absolutely love getting spray tans, microblading, or eyelash extensions, you do you, boo! But I promise that your natural skin tone is beautiful, and brow gel and mascara take seconds to apply—you don’t need to spend a ton of time and money if it’s not something you love doing.
Your cannot-live-without-no-matter-what product:
Gah. This is such an unfair question. You’re going to have to give me five, lol!
This is the product that I feel like I’ve been looking for my entire life—a product that would make my skin look like my skin, but better. It is truly incredible. Like Instagram’s Paris filter, but in real life
It’s amazing; you just have to trust me on this.
MERIT Flush Balm
One of the best blushes I’ve ever used. Creamy and delightful—the closest thing to a true flush I’ve found.
I used to use a lash primer with a drugstore mascara. Then, I tried this mascara and Oh. Em. Gee. One step to your darkest, longest, most beautiful lashes—and it’s a super-clean formula to boot.
I started working at Sol a couple of months ago, and one of my favorite products that I’ve tried from their range is their Hair Repair Treatment. My hair is fine, but super dry, so I use it as a pre-shampoo treatment (mask first, then shampoo, then condition) and it leaves my hair perfectly nourished, soft and shiny. It’s amazing—and the signature Sol pistachio-and-salted-caramel scent is absolutely delicious).
Before I landed at Sol, I worked at Fresh for many years, and I will be a lifetime user of many of their products. There are so many I love—don’t miss the Black Tea Eye Serum, Rose Face Mask, or Sugar Lip Treatments—but if I had to choose one product, it would be their iconic Soy Face Cleanser.
Smells like cucumbers (OBSESSED), and it melts away makeup in seconds. There’s truly nothing else like it on the market.
What makes you feel beautiful?
I feel like the expected answer here is to say that I feel the most beautiful when I’m home with my kids in sweatpants and no makeup, and that is certainly me at my happiest. But listen, I come from a long line of women that liked getting dolled up—so that’s what I love doing! Styling my hair, applying makeup to bring out my features, wearing a fabulous lipstick and my favorite perfume (Le Labo Jasmin 17) and putting on a dress or a killer pair of jeans—like, yes. As a work-from-home mom, I’m often in leggings and a stained t-shirt (it’s what I’m wearing right now, haha!). So, any opportunity to really get dressed up and take on the world is always refreshing—and exciting!
Leave your love & comments below :)
Until next time,
xx
B