Growing up an Armenian-American millennial, I always felt pressure to de-Armenianize myself to fit the Beauty standards I obsessed over in the early aughts. Eyebrows couldn’t be too thick, so I over-plucked mine into oblivion much to my mom’s chagrin. My hair was slightly wavy, so guess what I did? I sizzled it flat with a flat iron, which definitely damaged it. I often tried to hide my Armenian heritage by giving in to Western beauty standards, and the fact that my mom, grandmas, and aunts refused to follow suit shocked me. “Keep it natural,” they’d say in stark contrast to what my peers and I were doing.

As time went on and the red flags of early aughts beauty standards reared their heads, I noticed a change in the atmosphere—my naturally thick, fluffy eyebrows were suddenly “feathered” and in fashion. Stick-straight, flat-ironed hair was replaced with voluminous, “beachy” waves. No longer an impressionable teenager, I realized it was high time I embraced every inch of my Armenian beauty.

I’m vocal about how proud I am to be Armenian and part of a community that’s setting many of the beauty standards we see today. The Armenian community is riddled with beauty trendsetters, one of whom is Rima Minasyan, the co-founder of Patrick Ta Beauty. I connected with her to talk about some of the traditions we grew up with, how she found the motivation to become a beauty entrepreneur, and the secrets to her success and beauty routine.

Armenian women are leading some of the biggest beauty brands in the industry right now. What advice do you have for young Armenian girls who want to start a career in this field?

Rima Minasyan: It’s important to me that we show younger Armenian women what’s possible when it comes to their careers. There are no limits to what you can do when you have passion for it. For me, this was entering the beauty industry. Finding my way into it took time, but thanks to always staying persistent, I was able to make it my reality. Armenian women are intelligent, strong, determined people, and I want to be someone who younger Armenian women can lean on to provide a helping hand when it comes to following their own passions. Always remember passion and loving what you do will get you there—be serious about it, and don’t worry about starting big. It’ll grow if you go into it with passion.

What beauty routines did you grow up with, and how did they influence you?

My mom was never into makeup the way I was. She would always encourage looking within first, eating clean with natural ingredients and natural antioxidants. I’ve always been a huge beauty fan, so I would experiment with makeup at a young age while incorporating my mom’s beliefs in taking care of my skin and inner beauty.

What is the secret to your beauty routine?

Staying true to bringing in natural elements. I’m a big believer in weekly body and facial massages. I feel it’s important for a reset of the mind and helps clear my head to take on the week.

How did you start Patrick Ta Beauty?

I found Patrick on Instagram, and I reached out and said, “I love your work. Let’s work together.” He started doing my makeup for events here and there, and we would have so much fun together. Being the product hoarder that I am, we would play around with it together, and he would teach me how to use it. We both love playing with a product and learning about it, and during glam, we would always say, “How awesome would it be to start a makeup brand together?” And one day, once my children grew up, I approached Patrick with a serious pitch to start the brand together, and we just did it. We found the right team and created the right products, and now here we are.

What are some of your favorite Patrick Ta products?

Major Glow Face and Body Balm, which a lot of people don’t know you can use on the face. It became big after Alix Earle used it on her body, but it’s meant for both. It’s my number one. I love our blushes, especially in She’s Wanted, and our lip liners—my favorite is in She’s Proud. I’m also a huge fan of our foundation. It looks so natural on, and it’s easy to use. I focus a lot on making our products easy to use for our customers so anyone can feel like they can use it.

Can you break out your step-by-step routine?

Although I believe in incorporating natural routines into my life, I also like to incorporate them into my daily skincare routine by opting for products that have natural ingredients, more or less. Every morning and evening, I start by double-cleansing using the SkinCeuticals Simply Clean Gel and Gentle Cleanser Cream. I then spray on Ion’s Skin Support Daily Defense Face Mist and follow that with the NeoGenesis Recovery Advanced Cellular Serum. For my fifth step, I love the Cosmedix Elite Eye Doctor High Potency Treatment. Finally, I’ll finish with the Eminence Organic Skin Care Strawberry Rhubarb Hyaluronic Serum and Dr. Esthé Rejuvenating Ampoule. SPF is used only in the morning.

Twice a week, I’ll deep cleanse with Decembre White Science Whitecaps Enzyme Powder, and I’ll incorporate Environ’s Focus Care Youth+ Revival Masque and Vita-Antioxidant Hydrating Oil Capsules once a week into my nightly routine.

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