Buy A New Perfume AND Send A Lifeline To A Domestic Abuse Survivor In Need
Beauty products only go skin deep, but beauty doesn't.
Divona Nothing bothers me more than people dismissing my passion for beauty products and makeup as something superficial.
Sure, this stuff is going onto my skin, so in a literal sense they are right: beauty products only run surface deep, if that.
What people often fail to realize is the healing power of self-care. They dismiss the idea that a bright red lipstick could help you ace a job interview by making you feel strong or powerful. They can't understand that sometimes a dab of scent behind your ears can make all the difference in the world between you getting out bed to look for a job or staying in your room in the dark and crying.
Beauty products may only be able to change the face we present to the world, but how we feel about our faces and our bodies and our whole wonderful selves can be utterly transformed by the right products.
No one is trying to make me sell you anything: This is how I live.
I had a panic attack in Penn Station yesterday, and it was only darting into Sephora and furiously huffing Jo Malone perfume in Orange Blossom that kept me from a full-blown meltdown.
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Call it superficial if you want, but ultimately that's just revealing how little you understand about the role beauty products play in the lives of most women in this world.
You know who totally gets that? DIVONA, a perfume line that is about more than helping you find a signature scent (though they do that like gangbusters).
Through your purchase of a perfume from the DIVONA connection, you are supporting the production of self-care packages that are sent out to thousands of women who are survivors of abusive relationships or trafficking.
If you think a box full of items to help a woman look and feel her best isn't going to help build her back up as she picks up the pieces of her life and rebuilds after escaping an abusive relationship, then you need to look at things a little bit more closely.
The site's founder, Mylene Paquin, is a life-long scent addict who dreamed of starting her own perfume company for years. But like so many of us, her life took a turn that put that dream on hold. She says:
"I always had the dream of creating my own perfume since I was a little girl. As I grew up, years of being victimized by abuse damaged my self-confidence and courage to pursue my dreams. One day, a friend gave me a loving care package filled with items that helped me start a new life. It had a simple note: 'I believe in you.' This was exactly what I needed to have a fresh start and it encouraged me to move forward with my longtime dream to create DIVONA! I found an amazing co-founder and together we want to bring the same support I received to countless other women. This is why at DIVONA, a portion of each perfume purchase goes toward creating care packages for women surviving traumatic events."
So not only do you get to find a scent that helps lift you when you need lifting or helps make you feel sexy on those days where the negative voices in your head just won't stop, but your purchase is literally helping thousands of other women.
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If you're anything like me, you get paralyzed when you think about the women out there who are in need. Where to begin? What can you do? Well, it doesn't get easier or more fun than buying a perfume, does it.
Check out DIVONA's Kickstarter campaign to learn more about everything they do and then watch the video below. I promise you'll be hooked: I know I was!
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