LIFESTYLE

F/W 2022


Begin your healing journey with Yas’ Apothecary


In conversation with the mother of Yas’ Apothecary on all things healing and self-care


January 9 2022


Meet Yasmin Madmoune, the mother of Yas’ Apothecary - a Moroccan-inspired self-care and wellness brand. Born in Queens, Newyork to Jamaican and Moroccan parents, Yasmin grew up creating her own skin-care and hair-care concoctions. Now, years later the success of her business is what she shares to be a “full-circle moment”. Inspired heavily by a period of soul-searching and Moroccan culture, Yasmin is encouraging us all to begin our healing journey by being intentional about taking care of ourselves through holistic practices. Yasmin expresses that the holistic way of healing will not only heal ourselves, but heal the world.

Continue reading as Yasmin chats with Trutuyou about her personal healing journey, her everyday skin-care routine and a few products that she’s loving at the moment.


Heal  w/ Yas’ Apothecary




TRUTUYOU : Who is Yasmin and what do you do?



Yasmin :

My name is Yasmin Madmoune. I’m a junior communications major at Morgan State University, which is an HBCU in Baltimore, Maryland. A little about me, I'm first generation. My mom is from Jamaica and my dad is from Morocco. I'm bilingual. I grew up going to Morocco so I'm fluent in Arabic. I grew up in Queens, New York. I am the mother of Yas Apothecary and we are a Moroccan-inspired self-care and wellness brand. We sell all-natural hair oils, body oils, face masks, and soaps.




TRUTUYOU : Can you share the backstory of the inception of Yas’ Apothecary?

Yasmin :

My brand started during quarantine. I usually get a job in the summertime but COVID hit and I was trying to figure out a good way to make money. At the same time, I was starting to get passionate about healing and self-care. I started thinking of a bridge between self-care and making money. I was like ‘let me try making soaps.’ With my parents being immigrants I grew up around a lot of natural products. Growing up I was always making concoctions for my hair and different masks. Being able to bring the brand to fruition was really a full-circle moment.

 





TRUTUYOU : Talk a little about your  healing journey and how it has inspired your passion to help others heal.

Yasmin :

My healing journey started when I was in boarding school. It was an all-white school and it was very different for me growing up in Queens and then moving there for such a long time. This was also around the time that Trump got elected so it was just a tough time. It affected my mental health a lot, having to deal with getting acclimated to a new culture, going to school and doing everything that everybody wanted from me. I moved out of my house when I was 14 so it was a lot starting from a young age. This is when I started to neglect myself.

When I got to Morgan State that's when I really started putting myself first. Then quarantine hit and I think it was just an extensional question that a lot of people got hit with... What am I doing with my life? And I couldn't answer.  I knew I needed to figure it out. I spent a lot of time in solitude and tapping into myself. Seeing what I liked, what I wanted to wear, and what I needed to hear. That's when I started getting into herbal and natural ways of healing. After a while, it grew to where I was able to take on something myself.




TRUTUYOU : What words of encouragement would you share with someone who is currently going through a healing journey? 

Yasmin :

Whatever you are feeling now, is not what you will feel in 5 or 6 months. And whatever you feel in 6 months is not how you will feel in a year. You are always going to be evolving and you are always going to be weathering a storm. Life happens in cycles. You shouldn't even stress over anything you can't control. Just figure out what you need to feel better and see how you can provide that for yourself. 





TRUTUYOU : How do you want people to feel when they use your products?

Yasmin :

I want people to feel good about themselves. The main goal of my products is to uplift people's spirits. I always talk about smelling good. When you smell good, it's a certain way you feel about yourself. When you feel good about yourself, you act differently and when you act differently, you will reap differently. When people see this they are going to be like ‘oh okay what is she doing?’ I want people to feel like they are in control of their lives, at least the portion of taking care of themselves, presenting themselves, and expressing themselves.





TRUTUYOU : What is your overall goal for Yas’ Apothecary?

Yasmin :

To build something that is ultimately healing so many people. I want to walk in anyone’s bathroom and see my shit in their crib. That's what I want.





TRUTUYOU : Can you share  your everyday skincare routine and some of your favorite products from your brand?

(All Yas’ Apothecary products mentioned are linked)


Yasmin : 


Step 1

 “I have to start with my Tumeric & Seamoss soap. This is my best seller. People go crazy over this soap. I use it every day. It's a very good hydrating cleansing bar.”

Step 2
“Next, I use my toner, The Rose Water With Blue Nila Toner.”


Step 3

“After I’ll do a spot treatment or use Argan Oil as a serum for any of my problem areas.”

Step 4
“Then I go on with my Black Girl Sunscreen moisturizer with a couple of drops of Black Seed Oil in it.”

“Very simple, nothing too crazy. “




TRUTUYOU : I have oily skin. What would you recommend from your brand for the girls and guys with oily skin?


Yasmin :

First, I have a skin type quiz on my website, it only takes two minutes and shows which of my products will work best for your skin type. But for oily skin, I recommend the Aiche Aloe Vera Soap, my black soap, and mask which are both very hydrating and smell mad good.  I will also say the turmeric soap and rose water which helps keep oil production to a minimum.




TRUTUYOU : What would you say has been your biggest lesson since starting Yas’ Apothecary?

Yasmin :

That every person in your life has a timeline. And that's okay. People come into your life and maybe yall are meant to have certain experiences, learn certain lessons or maybe yall are just meant to experience each other for a certain moment. But when they are gone or when their time is up, it doesn't have to be this whole thing. It can just be that. Like we had our time and now it's up.





TRUTUYOU : How do you stay inspired?  

Yasmin : 

I am tapped into a lot of people who are doing their thing. When I see other people, especially who are my age, doing their thing.. I really love that. It really puts something in me to do what I'm doing. Like you said, when you are doing something that you are passionate about its limitless, you can go wherever you want to go with it. It’s really dope to see people making it happen. It makes me want to make shit happen.





TRUTUYOU : What would you call this chapter in your life and why?

Yasmin :

The season of preparation.




TRUTUYOU : What are some things that you have been loving lately? (products, places, music, etc) 

Yasmin :

I'm loving my new perfume Marrakesh Mami ! I am loving the black girl sunscreen because I do have dark marks and I just got a facial the other day and she was on me because I don't use sunscreen. I always love New Girl (the show). I used to watch it a lot in high school and now I feel like it's a comfort thing for me.





TRUTUYOU : Let’s talk about the sunscreen because I don't put it on either and my sister is always on me.


Yasmin :

Yes, because they always tell us that black people don't need sunscreen but we do! When we don't use it, it just makes our dark marks worse so I’m going to stop playing.






TRUTUYOU : Yes girl, me too!  To conclude our conversation, in your own words, what does it mean to live true to yourself?



Yasmin :

Being true to myself means honoring my values. It means knowing what I want and not being afraid because of the setting or because of what people might think. Not altering what I know deep down to be true or what I know I feel. Being true to me is really just honoring my feelings, my thoughts, where I am in life, and my decisions.






THANK YOU YASMIN! ︎







︎ : Badgalyas

︎ : Yasapothecary

︎ : Yasapothecary.com



Interview by

 
︎ Daija Green
Founder


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