By promoting adaptive cosmetics and color diversity, Humanist Beauty hopes to make skincare … [+]
Humanist Beauty
“When you don’t see yourself represented in society, you don’t feel beautiful,” Jennifer Norman tells Forbes. As a Korean-American adoptee growing up immersed in white culture, Norman says she never felt pretty enough when she was younger. It’s this experience of not feeling seen that drives her efforts to “build a culture of self-acceptance” with Humanist Beauty, a natural skincare brand dedicated to radical inclusivity.
An affinity for aesthetics and art, combined with difficult financial circumstances at home forcing her to DIY her own wardrobe, Norman says she was drawn to makeup from an early age. But instead of pursuing her passion, she went to business school, “I was trying to force fit myself because it was popular at the time,” the beauty guru tells Forbes. “It wasn’t until I had an interview with L’Oreal that I realized there was a career path I can take where I can appreciate my love for makeup but also work the left side of my brain.”
20 years of witnessing the excessive waste and harmful messaging across the beauty industry inspired … [+]
Humanist Beauty
It wasn’t long before Norman’s experience in beauty marketing began to sour, as she repeatedly witnessed the retouching, harmful messaging and waste created by beauty companies. “After 20 years of building an extraordinary career I was like, I want to do things different,” she says. So in 2019, Norman set out on her own to create the lifestyle brand, The Human Beauty Movement.
“The Human Beauty Movement isn’t your traditional company,” Norman explains, “I wanted to create this platform that could then off-shoot a whole range of services and products to the marketplace about radical inclusivity, true holistic wellness and sustainability.” Her latest skincare brand, Humanist Beauty, is a physical manifestation of these values. As someone who says she learned to “strip herself of any humanity” to be taken seriously in professional settings, the founder hopes her skincare products will encourage people to embrace their unique selves.
Humanist Beauty’s brand ethos is inspired by Jennifer Norman’s experience witnessing her half-Black, … [+]<span class="…….