OK so by now we all heard the story of Ressatessa on TikTok (If you haven’t seen it check it out here). I want to say it is nothing short of a lifetime movie but I think there are a lot of pointers we need to learn from her story. First, I think we need to talk about big points of accountability, overlooking red flags, and understanding ones self worth. Ressa takes us on this incredible journey of new found love and disappointments with failed expectations. Upon viewing the series its easy to think the antagonists Legion is fully to blame but our protagonists Ressa takes accountability  for her shortcomings and oversight. We are all about uplifting woman and improving ourself but also accountability for our personal wrongdoing.

  Accountability and overlooking red flags, what does a skincare brand know about that. I think that as you watch the full 50 part series you understand that the red flags were jumping out at the listeners. Ressa talks about the fake promises and the consistent overlooking of the obvious truth of not fully knowing her partner. Ressatessa stated that she was soo desperate for marriage and that she willingly overlooked the lies. But why and why does Gold Ivory care? I believe that as company connecting and knowing the people behind the brand is soo important. Gone are the days of willingly overlooking the the founders and simply focusing on the product. To fully support and love a brand we must actually know the brand and it has to align to our belief system which is why we are bing about being authentic and we are not afraid to be held accountable. When Ressa talks about willingly overlooking the lies because "she felt it was her time", reminded of the bible verse that talkes about there being a time and place for everything ( Ecclesiastes 3:1-11). She really wanted to believe that he was VP at the condiment company. She wanted to believe that he was going to get her to be in a blue BMW with cognac interiors. But upon realization she chose to stop the lies.

   Understanding ones self worth, I think another part of the story that we really need to dive into is the ideology a self-worth a common theme that I would listen to while listening to her story and others commentaries is this underlying theme of self worth. How does one understand their self worth and how does one actually love if they don't fully love themselves. Ressa stated that she felt that shacking up with a man was against her moral belief system but because she was soo desperate that she let him move in with her against her better judgement. Lets dive into that the truth is that Ressa didn't fully value herself. If you yourself don't understand what you possess you will go through life being taken advantage off. I know it seems very unconventional for skincare brand to be talking about a TikTok story about relationships with all of this is encompass, and what we believe of prioritizing self improvement. I think if we’re going to be fully authentic, we need to touch on the stories of what is going on in real life.

   Yeah, I believe in self-care and we stand very firm on self-improvement but self-care also comes with understanding that you are worth taking extra time out for yourself. I think her story was very inspirational. I think it was very authentic and I think there’s an element of self forgiveness in it, where you need to be able to forgive yourself for believing  in the fantasy and overlooking the red flags.

One thing that i've understood and a big dating advice i've heard is " You must be SOBER when dating you must be intentional in all you do. This is the time you must ask questions and make sure you get to know the person you are dating". Never date someone that makes you question your worth and makes you feel like you aren't important. You need someone to respect your boundaries not someone who’s gonna continuously lie to you . I’m just so thankful that we’re having these types of conversations where people are being completely authentic and share their vulnerabilities.

In this age of social media I am very glad that we are conversing about our shortcomings because it’s very easy to sit here and look at social media and be like oh everybody has perfect life. It's easy to be blindsighted in seeing what people want to capture and highlight. This aire of authenticity about how we feel and having the difficult conversations I feel like that gives us an avenue for growth .