Meet Ashia Farrell | Mental Health Counselor & Business Owner Entrepeneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashia Farrell and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashia, how has your background shaped the person you are today?
Hello Shoutout ATL! My name is Ashia Farrell I am an Afro- Latina, Afro- Caribbean woman who was brought up in a military home but was brought up in the south. My mother is of Panamanian and Haitian ancestry while I have an African American father. My mother was a nurse, and always was helping others, she taught me about beauty and balance. My father was a well know cook, instructor in the army. I grew up in a strict household where education was top tier. That was never an issue for me, but my father was all on me about my education. There were times I couldn’t do things with other kids, and when your younger you don’t fully understand, but now I appreciate my father being hard on me because it pushed me into becoming a strong, intelligent, PhD student, and with my mother raising me the way she did it taught me how to be the best wife, and mother, and she taught me the importance of creating something fulfilling in my life which is helping others. For me this is starting my business for all women, but spec filly for black women to feel beautiful in their own skin….LITERALLY!!!!

Ever since I was a little girl at the age of 4, I have been into beauty and skincare, and always wanted to bake with my father. I used to watch my mother be a part of Mary Kay back in the early 90’s. I used to stare at her in such aww because she was so beautiful, she even did my makeup and skincare at night. I used to tell myself that when I get older, I am going to pursue beauty. As the years went by and the older, I became I saw how the world looked view black women in such a misleading light. I was confused growing up because I didn’t understand why the world didn’t view us as beautiful which is how I viewed Black women. My father always talked to me about who I was at young age, and how beautiful I am which is why I continued to pursue beauty. He bought me an easy bake oven at 5 and we would always make creations. My family used to call me Ashia’s Creations because I was always trying to create something beautiful. Later on, as years went by, we learned about toxins that were being used in cosmetics, which was ruining the beautiful skin of women, and I saw my mother struggling as she was getting older, my mother was concerned about toxins from hair products, makeup, etc. I researched when I got older a bunch of oils and studied natural hair types, holistic recipes educated myself on new, better, proactive, information that was beneficial to black women, and hair, and skin. I created a hair butter originally for my mother to help her with her hair growth, and once it worked for my mother then she told others, and before you know it others used it, and it was doing great. I believe that if it wasn’t for my family always teaching me about a sense of self. I would not have been able to produce the fun, cruelty free, skin loving products that I am producing today. We didn’t always have the most money growing up, so I learned to create and use my hands to make my own products, and success. Having faith in God was mandatory in our home growing up which impacted who I am today. I believe the success of my brand has to do with my faith in God, always remembering who I am working for, staying humble, and to have fun love what you’re doing.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business is a safe space. Allure Beauty Bar LLC is about making vegan, cruelty free all natural skin care products that are made with loving ingredients. What sets my business apart from others is the foundation that it was built on, and the products. Yes, there are other skin care products that may be out on the market, but I promise you none of them feel as luxurious as mine. I designed these products from all women but specifically for black women to feel luxurious and pampered. I am offering an luxurious experience every single time that you purchase one of my products, with great customer service, and you will always experience a gift with your purchase. I believe that the success of my business has been based on Innovation, Love, and Value, and understanding my audience. Here is a little bit of my story when it comes to my business. I am military grew up in Texas and started my own Black-owned business from scratch in WA State. The first time I started I had no support at all just my family, and I opened up a shop which was robbed, and it took me a year and half to rebuild my business over again. I created this beauty bar to give black women a safe place to be unapologetically themselves, and to experience a great service from the love of another black woman. Allure Beauty Bar was founded after that took place. I found strength to keep going even when I felt discouraged. This started due to issues that I noticed arise in the black beauty community. Especially during COVID this gave me time to focus, and study some of the issues so that I can perfect my craft with my products. I saw my mother losing hair, and I noticed that here in WA it is cold, nothing was working to moisturize my skin properly, so I created my own products, and that is how my business was born. What I learned from all of this is to never give up on your dreams, and that you can always succeed, have a plan, take your time, strategize. Also, what I want people to know about my brand story is that I was self-funded I never took out a PPP loan or asked for money. I worked hard for everything and made my own products when I could, I love making women feel beauty, I love giving back to my community, and even if it’s considered small gesture, I feel like my products is my way of doing that for my community, and for women. Black women’s bodies have been violated routinely, our hair was cut as a form of punishment, and being body shamed, as well as being told our skin is not beautiful! My products are a message to black women that you are beautiful in the skin that you are in, and we are going to protect it, cherish it, and nourish it, as well as our hair which is why I made a hair cream, skin butters, it’s love.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love going to Pikes Place here, trying out new spots. I am a mystery I will never be in just one spot. I love to look around and travel. One of my favorite breakfast spots is Biscuit B*tch in Seattle WA. As well as going to Bellevue Square Mall with my family.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my story to God first for always covering me in my life, my mother and father Susan and Christopher Jamison, my husband Jahmar Farrell who is always supportive of my dreams, and my son Joziah because that is who I do this for, also anyone who has ever supported me in my life. I appreciate Mrs. Janice Campbell for also having an influence in my life as a well as my sorority Sigma Chi Psi Sorority Incorporated for supporting me. Also, I would like to shoutout Viola Davis. I read her book on her life and pushed me even harder as a fellow black woman to keep shining my light and sprinkle my black girl magic in the world.

Website: https://allurebeautybarllc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allure_beauty_llc/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allurebeautyllc

Youtube: @Coco_babie

Image Credits
Jahmar Farrell for images