Self-love is progressive, and everyone has their own way of getting there. It can be nurtured through playing with your hair and makeup, experimenting with different scents, and embracing your natural beauty. Robin and Aamna encourage listeners not to fade into the crowd but to celebrate their uniqueness.
Self-Love and Fragrance:
How to Embrace Your True Self
In today’s society, and the world that we live in, people are in a rather constant aiming competition with each other, referring to images in social networks and in television programs. However, change has occurred and a new age of body positivity and body acceptance is slowly emerging, especially among the youth. This episode of The Intense Podcast is the sixth one and features special guest Robin Wermutah with the host Aamna Hassan.
In this candid and heartfelt episode, Aamna and Robin discuss how society puts pressure on physical appearance and how one can escape such pressure to appreciate oneself. I understand that their conversation is a glimpse into how a woman feels about herself and what little things she can do to show that her beauty is more than enough. They also discussed how fragrance is a very important part of someone's life.
The Pressure of Image: Real and Relatable Struggles
The episode kicks off with a topic, body image struggles. Robin shares her own experiences in the process of implementing the approach, noting that she is sometimes less than happy with what she sees in the mirror on a particular day, especially when it comes to hair issue. She talks funny but very relatable about waking up in the morning with a ‘bedhead’ and feeling annoyed with her hair. Like many of the women in the target demographic, she develops an urge to change her looks, something that culture has conditioned her for.
This episode really shows us all, what we go through in life at one point or the other. From having a bad hair day to not feeling good in an outfit, society tends to condition us to dwell on these negative aspects. However, both Aamna and Robin found this kind of thinking as restrictive. Beauty is not skin deep and this particular lesson could teach a man how love them, and accept them despite their imperfections.
Self-Love: The New Generation’s Journey
Another very strong concept that runs through the entire podcast is the concept of self-acceptance and how this generation has embraced it. Robin, who has worked as a customer experience manager and a perfume enthusiast, who also shared her own perspective as a content creator, echoed this opinion as she said that the younger generations are refusing to live the way society wants them to live and instead, they are learning to love themselves. This is not something we grow up and can wake up one day and achieve without the effort of a process that takes time. Robin shares her own experience telling her audience about how she came to love herself and her hair, makeup, and even her perfume. Aamna starts by discussing how social media will always post images with beauty standards that cannot be met in real life. Robin emphasizes that people need good role models or friends or followers who accept one as a person with unique features and preferences.
Fragrance as Self-Expression
Passing on to the topic of perfumes Robin and Aamna discuss the importance of scent as part of a personal declaration. Ever the perfume lover, Robin talks about her passion for fragrances and how they became a significant interest in her life at a very early age.
In the case of Robin, she embraces fragrance as the icing on the cake of her personality. It’s not the shirt you wear or your hair that defines you or the comb you use, it’s about the feel when you spray a scent. Those scents, Robin says, make her feel more confident, more polished, and more like herself. She said that her adventure into perfumes began at an early age, during her experimenting with scented products, but it was when she began working for a famous beauty brand that she discovered her passion for luxury fragrances.
They also discuss how fragrance connects with our emotions and memories. Just one spray of a parfum brings memories of a single moment in time or that unique and special someone in our lives. This is one of the reasons why Robin has always associated herself with perfumes—they make people feel certain ways and can help one feel more confident.
Arabian Fragrances:
A Journey of Discovery
Another captivating subject that Robin discusses in the podcast is the appearance of Arabian scent in her life. Since inspiring the Western woman into Arabian fragrances, Robin’s discovery of Arabian fragrances was prompted by her fascination with other cultures and perfumes specifically. She further explained that her friend brought her a small vial of perfume oil from Pakistan and that scent led to her quest for Arabian perfumes.
As a result, Robin Smolan makes it clear that this was a long time before Arabian fragrances became popular in the West. For instance, she says that back in the 1980s, people in the West had no idea of the depth, richness, and the kind of complexity of Middle Eastern perfumes such as oud and musk. However, due to increased exposure of people to such luxuries, the sales of Arabian fragrances have progressively improved. Aamna goes further explaining that there’s been more awareness created recently about the beauty of Arabian fragrances.
The Fragrance and Dating Connection
The interview then moves to the fun part, where Aamna and Robin entertain the audience by discussing the connection between dating and fragrance. Robin has some pretty interesting ideas as to how an odor is an essential component of her dating process. She says that the first thing she notices on the date is the cologne her partner is wearing. To her, applying cologne is the way a man presents himself and looks for the best on social events.
Robin provides some comedic tips for men — don’t wear Sauvage on a first date. She says the problem is while the scent belongs to the old and fine accord, they are overly in existence and slightly uninspiring. Rather, she insists that people should go for fragrances that are exclusive to them and their personalities. To Robin, fragrance is much more than a smell because fragrance conveys experience and feelings. She has realized that a good scent lasts and thus considers choosing one that reflects who we are.
Breaking Free from Image Expectations
While the conversation is approaching its end, Aamna and Robin discuss how essential it is to free themselves from the standards that society wants them to adhere to. They talk about how self-care is a rebellion against such cultures, and understanding how to love your natural self and the life you lead, including via appearance, scent, and lifestyle, is liberating.
Conclusion: Embrace Your True Self
The Intense Podcast Episode 6 is something that all of us should listen to because loving ourselves begins from within. Points discussed by Aamna Hassan with the help of Robin Wermutah include anorexic images, the power of fragrance, and the process of coming to acceptance of skin and shape. For a society that makes us feel ordinary, out of place, and unworthy, this episode teaches us to be ourselves, value our differences, and know that we are all enough. Every fragrance enthusiast, people trying to find themselves, and everyone who wants to become kinder to themselves will find useful tips in this episode full of both pleasant memories and captivating ideas.
If you want to hear from Moni directly, you can check out her episode on The Intense Podcast here.