Venus Launches New ‘My Skin My Way’ Campaign

Venus kicked off a summer of skinspiration on Thursday June 6th at the Sentry, a rooftop oasis in the heart of New York City. The event celebrated their announcement of using real women of all skin types without any editing. We started off the evening with refreshing summer cocktails and bites, and ended with a panel discussion of four inspirational women who shared personal stories, advice, and words of encouragement for those overcoming any challenges. 

After plenty of research and interviews by the Venus team they found that,

80% of women said they feel pressure to have flawless skin, and 87% of women said they wish they didn’t feel so much pressure to follow rules about how their skin looks

Even though our society has become more embracive and meaningful, women still feel pressure to have their skin look a certain way. With this new campaign of skin diversity, Venus hopes to work together with their partners to promote and share real skin stories. 

All the guests gathered around the poolside to listen to the evening’s panel which led by Marina Khidekel, Editorial Director of Thrive Global. The panel consisted of Jazz Jennings, a LGBTQ advocate and the youngest to publicly speak out about growing up transgender at the age of six, Shalom Blac, a Youtube beauty guru and burn survivor, Nadine Khoury from Sunday Morning View, a social platform that celebrates real women and Dana Brown, brand manager of Global Venus. 

The discussion started with the topic body image and skin insecurities we live through, especially during summer when our skin is most exposed. When asked what we are most self conscious about and how we were able to overcome that, Jazz Jennings responded with how she had lots of anxiety about her physical body. Jennings transitioned at a very young age by taking hormones to transform into a woman. She felt very insecure about any manly features, but undergoing surgery helped overcome those insecurities because she felt beautiful. 

“I learned self love and tried to be the best self. Focus on good things and you realize that you are beautiful and powerful even if you have insecurities. I’m unstoppable if I allow myself to be.”

Shalom Blac became a burn survivor at a young of nine in her hometown of Nigeria. She was hospitalized for 4 months and returned home to scared neighbors and bullies. Growing up in Nigeria was a roller coaster and she felt that she wasn’t the same. 

“Its hard to have people that will stand and support you,” stated Blac, but realized she had a purpose. She posted herself without a wig and makeup on social media, and her response was positive. People called her inspirational and others were not shy to showcase their scars in public because of her. When asked what her main driver was to make her youtube channel public after emotional experience of being mocked, she responded with how she felt freedom. She wasn’t gaining confidence because she was hiding under her makeup, so she decided to be her true self on youtube. 

“It’s empowering to say I don’t have makeup on today.” 

When Nadine Khoury was introduced to Sunday Morning View, she found her purpose to inspire other women to take photos and be themselves regardless of the image social media portrays. Many images on social media are retouched. It convinces you what reality should be, but that isn’t true. Khoury previously used face tuning, but after a while realized she couldn’t take a photo without using face tuning.

“It’s a choice, but you have to understand you have flaws and to love yourself for that.”

Dana Brown of Global Venus has heard everyone’s story. Venus launched in 2001 and the norm of that time was to be hairless and perfect. But culture changes, as well as how we choose to show our skin. Brown talked to people within the company, friends, and family about what they did not like about Venus in order to understand what they need to do to change. The response she received was that the products were amazing, but the advertisements did not include them. Because of this feedback, Brown was clear that the role of the Venus was to give voice for change. 

“It’s about telling stories.” Brown and her team were able to create content and asked for feedback from other women.

“What we say is what we actually mean from real people.” Her team kept refining from feedback, which got them to where they are now with the My Skin My Way Campaign. 

These women have opened up and shared everything about what they’ve learned in their lives. The panel discussion wrapped up with advice on how to overcome insecurities and challenges:

Jazz Jennings - Taking deep breaths. Be an active observer of your own mind. Emotions influence your reality so being able to take deep breaths, being in the presents, and being aligned helps with anxiety. 

Shalom Blac - Unfollowing people in social media who don’t impact your life in a positive way. Checking in on your strongest friends because you never know what they’re struggling through.

Nadine Khoury- Creating a giant vision board on the wall. It can include quotes, words of encouragement, and goals. Waking up to that plants seeds in your mind and manifests.

Dana Brown - Having a role model and a voice inside that is strong to remind you about what you care about. 

Thank you Venus for having So She Slays be a part of this amazing celebration of all women and skin types.

What a great way to kick off the summer!