When I was in my 20s I tried as much as possible to avoid wearing bright or bold lipsticks.

I grew up in a time where being black or having African features was not seen as reflecting society's ideas of what beauty looked like.

Unlike today where black features are coveted and fetishized, I grew up feeling ashamed of my full lips, my round hips and my big butt. I would try as much as I could to minimise these features.

I did not see myself as beautiful. I grew up in the UK. I saw my white friends as beautiful. They were the norm. I was not. Whenever I tried on red lipsticks I felt like I was taking up too much space or drawing too much attention to myself.

Weren't my lips already big enough?

Wasn't painting them bright red like saying, 'Look at me! Look at me!' Besides, who wanted to look at me anyways?

It was only 2 years ago that I started giving myself permission to wear bold lipsticks. To have the audacity to stand out, to be seen and to actually love myself exactly the way I am. I did that in spite of what I and so many POC have been taught is beautiful. I do it to affirm to myself that I am a sovereign queen, and that nobody can make me feel ugly or unworthy without my consent.

Something as simple as a bright red lip can be a personal stand to say: I'm here. I exist. I'm willing to take up space. I'm willing to affirm my own beauty.

As I watch what is happening now in the US, and I see the racist and sexist violations that are springing up, I believe it's so important for so-called 'minorities' not to shrink down and minimise the beauty of who they really are.

Muslim women shouldn't have to feel afraid of wearing the hijab.

People of colour shouldn't have to be shamed by white racists telling them to 'go back to their country.'

Non-gender conforming people shouldn't have to fear being harassed for how they choose to live in their skin.

LGBTQ people shouldn't have to be scared of loving who they love.

What does this have to do with red lipstick?

Red lipstick (among other things) has been a simple but important way for me to reclaim my own power from the historical and still present forces of white supremacy and white privilege that say I am less beautiful and less worthy because of the colour of my skin.

Red lipstick has been both a symbol and a reminder for me to not shrink down and not act like I am less worthy, even when the very existence of white privilege says that's the case. It sounds frivolous, I know. But it helps.

To the people who are facing discrimination, abuse and hate because they don't fit into the privileged boxes of being white/male/straight/cis/able-bodied I want you to shine your inner and outer beauty as freaking bright as you can.

Take up as much space as you desire. 
Offend them with the amount self-love you have for yourself. 
Challenge them with your brand of beautiful.

Let them know you aren't going ANYWHERE and you will not be shamed by their ideas of what they deem as worthy of love and respect.

And if they don't like it, they can kiss your 💋

Layla xo

Sister-Queen,

It's time to stop fucking around.

Now, more than ever, is the time to step into your purpose.

The world NEEDS your medicine.

Stop being coy. Stop waiting for permission or waiting to be good enough or waiting to be approved of.

Stop being afraid of your power or of standing out or of being seen for who you really are. Stop caring about being judged or being criticised or being disliked. Stop minimising or underestimating the potency and impact of your magic.

We don't have time for you to second guess yourself. It's time wake up and remember...

...You matter. Your work matters. Your message matters.

Every single person who receives your soul medicine positively affects everyone else they come into contact with. In this way, you do your part to change the world.

You might not be able to change what is happening right now. But here's what you can do: channel the anger and grief you feel right now into power and purpose. Use it to destroy any remaining self-doubt you might hold about the importance of your purpose and your ability to carry it out.

Stand up, firmly take the reins of your purpose in your hands and Do What You Came Here To Do.

Layla xo

"You think too much."
"Lighten up."
"Stop taking everything so seriously."

My intense nature of deep introspection and soul contemplation has made people uncomfortable in the past.

Until I learned that those people aren't my people.

My people are The Deep-Divers.

The Soul-Seekers.
The Purpose-Explorers.
The Truth-Livers.

They are the souls whose thirst for self-knowledge is unquenchable.

Whose need for authenticity will have them willingly burn down every part of their life that is out of alignment with Who They Really Are.

Who measure their success in life by how much they live and work by their own values.

Who aren't afraid of mining their inner dark shadow places for the wisdom that lies within.

I love my people. They see my intense nature for what it really is:

A gift that helps them journey to the deep places inside themselves they long to explore and transform.

Layla xo

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should.

The online business world offers a smorgasbord of marketing strategies and ideas that you could possibly engage in to grow your business.

And the truth is, you're smart enough to do most of them, or to learn how to do most of them. (That's why we've bought so many e-courses, amirite?)

The thing is though, if you're choosing your marketing strategies based only on questions like...

• What will give me the highest conversion?
• What's everyone else doing?
• What will help me reach my target numbers fastest?
• What are the latest trends?

... Then you're missing one very important piece.

YOU!

• Your essence
• Your creativity
• Your joy
• Your spirit
• Your intuitive wisdom

These things may not be quantifiable, but believe me, they matter.

They matter because more and more people are becoming sensitive to the underlying energy beneath any marketing strategy.

People aren't going to believe you're authentic just because you say you are. Or believe you're soulful just because your branding and photography look soulful.

The priestesses, lightworkers, healers, artists and soul-led people you are here to serve are awakening to their own abilities to see beneath the surface. To FEEL whether your essence, creativity, joy, spirit and intuitive wisdom are the foundation of everything you are putting out into the world.

When that foundation is strong....when you are truly leading from within...any marketing strategy you use will:

• Look like art + self-expression 
• Feel like joy + passion
• Sound like fun + play

And who doesn't want to be served by entrepreneurs who have that approach to business?

The spiritual-entrepreneurial journey asks you to stop seeing 'possible marketing strategies' and start seeing 'possible opportunities for your joyful self-expression'.

Layla xo

As I was making the final touches to the Wild Mystic Women's Circle sales page I realised, my sales pages tend to read more like love letters than sales copy.

Which got me thinking about a question that we often ask ourselves as soulful entrepreneurs: How can I sell what I'm offering without feeling sales-y or sleazy?

My answer is this:

• Stay rooted in your intention to be of service.
• Write from the heart.
• Write to the hearts of your kindred clients.
• Let go of any expectations of how many people you want to sign up or how much money you want to make.
• Be clear about what is and isn't being offered.
• Fully own the power of your sacred medicine and how it can be of service to your clients, while remembering that you don't have to convince anyone to sign up for anything they are not ready for, do not need or do not desire. 
• Extend your service or product as an invitation, rather than a necessity. Don't proliferate FOMO (fear of missing out), shaming or manipulation. Simply extend heart-felt and clear invitations, and then trust that whoever it is most meant to serve at this time will sign up.

And lastly remember, even though we pour hearts into our offerings, we are not our offerings. We are not selling ourselves. Our inherent worthiness has nothing to do with our creations.

Layla xo