Josie Maran, model, actress, and founder of the Josie Maran cosmetics line, is more concerned with inner beauty than with outer beauty - truly. It comes from her mother who was "obsessed by natural, inner beauty - the beauty of life and color and food - never talking about outside beauty." Her mom would make comments about the essence of beauty such as, "'Do you see that woman's confidence? Do you touch that fabric and feel the beauty,'" says Maran.
But what's also important to Maran are organic, chemical-free cosmetics. Growing-up, her mother had chronic fatigue syndrome, which pushed the family into a healthier, more organic lifestyle.
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Seven years ago, Maran decided to fill what she saw as a gap in the market place and sought to create a "high-end, highly healthy cosmetics line." The signature ingredient in Josie Maran Cosmetics is 100% Pure Argan Oil and is available at Sephora, QVC and Josiemarancosmetics.com.
Maran, the mother of two girls, 8-year-old Rumi Joon and 2-year-old Indi Joon, opened up with me about her recent engagement to Ali Alborzi, the girls' father. I talked with Maran about motherhood, marriage, and the message she wants to give her girls about beauty.
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Redefining Marriage
Maran has a history of being skittish about marriage, partly because of her parents divorce. "I grew up saying to the press that I would never get married," she says.
However, now feeling empowered by the idea of redefining the meaning of marriage, she recently became engaged to Iranian-American, Ali Alborzi who she has been with for 10 years. For Maran, the key to a good relationship is "co-creating a shared vision."
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There has been a perception in the press that Maran and Alborzi are already legally married, yet the marriage was a spiritual one as opposed to a legal one. "I've called him my husband because we feel like we are husband and wife, just without the official wedding, but now we're going to be creating the ritual and the ceremony of the wedding. We are creating what that means for us."
Maran and photographer, Alborzi met at an elaborate and stylish five-day fete hosted by the creator of Cirque du Soleil, Guy Lalibertᅢᄅ, at his house in Montreal. Next year, Maran and Alborzi plan to have a wedding reminiscent of their first encounter. "We met at a five day party and we are going to celebrate in a five day party way," she says enthusiastically.
A Beautiful Message for Her Girls
Maran is deliberate about the messages she wants to give her girls about beauty. "We are surrounded everyday by the idea of beauty so we have decided to become very conscious of that word, how we use it, and what it means." For Maran, in many ways, this comes down to empowerment.
The lesson is sinking in with her girls and it's clear that Maran is a proud mama, particularly in response to someone who told Rumi she looked beautiful. "Someone said, 'Rumi you look beautiful today,' and Rumi said, 'It's not about how you look on the outside, it's about how you feel on the inside.' And she's very committed to that. When we look in the mirror we are very conscious to comment about how she's feeling or how I'm feeling and go in instead of out."
Of course, this doesn't preclude joy from outer beauty either. "We like to have fun with our beauty. We are very playful and creative with make-up and clothes," says Maran.
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Makeup Tips for Young Girls
When young girls start using makeup, there tends to be some over-enthusiasm. "They love color -- they're all sparkly little fairies that love to go crazy," says Maran. Her advice: "Less is more is definitely a good starting point, especially when you are just beginning the makeup journey. I think that especially when you are young, use creamy, hydrating, transparent and sheer formulas. Stay away from the powders -- they love to play with powder -- you get so much pigment. But the best is to find creamy, pastely formula so that you can start mixing and matching with your fingers, blending and playing. Let that beautiful skin that you have when you're young and juicy shine though! Don't mask that. Let that natural glow happen... and accent your beauty, don't hide your beauty."
Home Birth and Adoption
Maran has no plans at this time for a third child, but if they ever chose to have another, she and Alborzi would adopt.
For both of her children, Maran had highly-publicized at home, water births, which proponents say leads to a more relaxed, less painful state for the mother. "It was so life changing for me to realize the power in my body, and to realize that I am incredibly strong -- I didn't need drugs to get through it," she says. At each birth, there were two midwives present, the children's father, as well as family and friends - it was a community experience for Maran.
Independent and Gifted
Josie describes herself as a positive mom who is not apt to stress out. "I'll let them have adventures and excursions a little bit further than I find other moms allowing. I'm finding that it makes them really independent, adventurous risk-takers and more courageous in their lives to try new things. I'm comfortable with trusting them to be a little bit bold."
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One of the biggest gifts Maran feels that she can give her children is to pay attention to their gifts. For instance, with Rumi she notices a penchant for imitating people, reenacting, and putting on shows. "I believe everyone comes here with a purpose. You have to listen and watch to figure out what your children's purpose is so that you can support it."
For Maran, children's gifts are too often consciously "shut down" by their parents or go unnoticed. "Pay attention to clues about their gifts, then read and learn how to foster a gift," says Maran.