Recently, we had had the pleasure of working with two inspirational young women, Angelina Sainas and Alysia Sainas, as models for The Empress and The Goddess photoshoot. We had the opportunity to interview the two, so we hope you enjoy getting to know these two genuine and kind souls, just as much as we did.
Sara: We know you are involved in various charitable/volunteer activities. Why do you think it’s important for young people to give back to their community?
Alysia: I believe it is important for young people to give back to their community because volunteers are often the backbone of virtuous, mission-driven organizations. Many charitable organizations rely on their volunteers in order to be successful. Volunteers are necessary for the organizations to meet their goals, raise awareness, and efficiently do good things for our society. I think it is also extremely beneficial for young people to volunteer as it opens their eyes to the true diversity that exists in both a local and global community, and it is simply a wonderful feeling to experience making a difference in someone’s life.
Angelina: As a young person it is important to contribute to society because it creates a cycle. When young people contribute to their community it positively impacts society as a whole.
Sara: What was your experience like working on this photoshoot? What did you learn?
Alysia: I loved working with you and the rest of the Amaterasu Beauty team that attended the shoot. They are all inspiring, encouraging people and it was an amazing experience I now cherish. You, the team, and the photoshoot helped me to understand the definition and the importance of empowering beauty. The message you promote through your business is so admirable and I am truly grateful to be a small part of it.
Angelina: Going into the photoshoot, I was nervous as I haven’t had any professional modelling experience. However, the Amaterasu Beauty team was extremely encouraging and made me feel welcome, confident and comfortable. You are such a lovely person to work with. I feel honoured to have represented Amaterasu Beauty in this photoshoot as I fully support their mission statement and the messages they are sharing to women.
Sara: We met you through your Mom, Karen, who is a dedicated Spiritual practitioner, what was it like growing up with a Mother like this and what kind of values has it instilled in you?
Alysia: My mother has had a profound impact on my life and how I view the world around me. She has taken my sister and I on multiple educational trips around the world, including India and Africa. These experiences have instilled a sense of gratefulness, appreciation, generosity, and compassion, in addition to developing a mature worldview that has changed me as a person. She essentially inspired me to major in political science, with a dream of attending law school and to hopefully work in the field of international human rights and public policy. My goals in life are a direct reflection of the values she has taught me throughout my childhood and teenage years.
Angelina: I am very blessed and fortunate to have been raised by my mother, Karen, who has exposed me to self-empowerment and spirituality at such a young age. Her love for helping people and giving back to those in need is admirable and inspirational, and she has always been and will always be my biggest role model. Without her support and all she has taught me about what is truly important in life, I feel I would be a completely different person today. I hope to have as much influence on my children one day as she had on me.
Sara: What is your favorite Amaterasu Beauty product?
Alysia: My favorite Amaterasu Beauty product is the Liquid Brow Liner. I love how easy it is to apply, how it lasts all day, and how natural it looks on! It is the perfect eyebrow product for both a beginner and a professional makeup artist, and for both an everyday look and a big event.
Angelina: My favorite Amaterasu Beauty product is the Massive Length Mascara. After trying this mascara, I will never go back to using a different product. It makes my eyelashes look very voluminous with only a few layers and doesn’t clump at all. I also love how it comes off super easily with just warm water.
Sara: What does empowering beauty mean to you?
Alysia: The beauty industry often receives a lot of backlash, as it focuses on certain global and local standards of “beautiful” and, as a result, we often forget the positive side of it. Empowering beauty to me is focusing on confidence, self-love, and freedom of expression. Allowing ourselves to feel beautiful through makeup is arguably a self-care practice. Beauty and makeup should be about improving our sense of self-worth and love for ourselves, as this is directly connected to our confidence and the attitude we carry throughout our day.
Empowering beauty and redefining what “beautiful” means is extremely important to promote and address as today’s society, specifically the media, has developed arguably toxic standards that girls expect themselves to meet.
Angelina: To me, empowering beauty means to empower and support yourself and others for who they truly are. In today’s society, beauty standards are about what you look like on the outside, as opposed to who you are on the inside and how you choose to express yourself. By forgetting about meeting society’s standards of “beautiful” and instead focusing on and promoting messages of self-love, we can empower ourselves, our friends, and our community.
We’d like to thank Angelina and Alysia for taking time out of their summer to be a part of The Empress and The Goddess photoshoot, as well as thank their mother, Karen, for allowing us to use her studio space. Changing society’s definition of “beautiful” is one step we can all take to empower ourselves and others to practice self-love and self-care.
