CIIN’s Exclusive Interview With Amina Mango Founder Of Amina’s Skin Care
I have always seen Amina Mango, our kids once attended the same school. Tall, beautiful and eccentrically dressed, it is hard to miss her. In my mind she has always been the Marni girl, with her chunky colorful jewelry and artistic flair. There is another thing about Amina than makes her attractive to me, she is unaffected, she had no idea what I was talking about when I mentioned Marni… With all the social pressures imposed on well-to-do women today, her disinterest in a particular lifestyle impresses me, because to me, that is particularly cool…
If there is one thing that reflects a person best, it is what they put out into the world. It is much easier said than done to make something and then offer it to the world to critique, you are putting yourself out there… When I came across her line of products, Amina’s Natural Skin Care, my interest in Amina was piqued. The precision involved in creating this line of creams, soaps and serums, was something reserved for neurosurgeons. Her product line, all made in Jordan was of international standards. Her bevy of impressive accolades only reinforcing my impression of excellence.
If I were to tell you that Amina doesn’t wear a drop of makeup, her nails are cut short and clean like a school girl. Her naturally blonde, waist-length hair is invariably tied and then braided like a woman in a Nordic novel. She lives on a property in the beautiful hills of Jerash with her husband and two children (which she breast fed for longer than ripped jeans have been in fashion). They make their own bread, have a vegetable garden and oh yeah I forgot to mention, she is an artist. I am guessing at this point you are assuming that Amina is a bit of a hippie, living in her la-la-‘land’… and I wouldn’t blame you. The truth is so much more interesting though, because she isn’t, in fact she is, quite the opposite. Amina has the pragmatism of a true capitalist, yet she is able to live an uncomplicated life, that is the true magic of Amina Mango.
I first met Amina at her Amman offices, a clean modern space, intelligently furnished, in my particularly creative mind a reflection of her maternal Scandinavian roots. Actually it’s simpler than that, Ikea on Airport road. Do you get what I mean… because Amina is so original, we are always searching for hidden meanings in her lifestyle, when in actual fact all it is, is practical.
I laughed to myself when I asked her where they buy their poultry and meat, imagining a green field of clucking chickens. She buys her goods from Meatmaster… And yes she was a vegetarian till her son’s dietary requirements forced them to reintroduce animal protein to their diet.
As she talks me through the story behind her product line, I am pensively silent, disheartened by her family’s struggle and shocked by the lengths she took to fix it. What didn’t break Amina and her family, truly made them stronger.
