Dear ITG,
This past week in Mexico City, where I live and founded my makeup brand Aora, has been so busy and fun. Mexican Independence Day falls on September 16 each year, but my friends and I started celebrating Mes Patrio, or patriotic month, days ago. We weren’t the only ones—the celebration stretches far beyond the day itself.
The whole country transforms: Flags hang everywhere and the beautiful buildings along Paseo de la Reforma light up in the colors of the Mexican flag. During this month it’s also customary to eat chiles en nogada, a dish that tells the story of Mexico. A green poblano chile—stuffed with meat and nuts—is topped with a white walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds. You’ll see it everywhere, from fancy restaurants to mom-and-pop spots serving it as a taco. Piñatas are everywhere too. They actually originated in China and were introduced to Mexico by the Spaniards, initially carrying religious meaning: The seven points represented the seven sins, and being blindfolded while breaking the piñata symbolized defeating them. Now, of course, they’re filled with candy.
And then there’s El Grito, which happens every year on the eve of the holiday. The president recreates the Cry of Dolores, the call for independence delivered in 1810 by Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla. To have our first woman president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, give the speech in a country where women haven’t always felt seen or heard—and where femicide levels are dangerously high—felt emotional. She acknowledged Indigenous people and Mexicans abroad who might be struggling. I’ve seen friends from all over the world post photos, and it makes me feel very proud to be contributing to this country.
As a Lebanese person, I’ve always felt welcome in Mexico. Lebanon and Mexico have a long history that goes back to the 1800s, when Lebanese families immigrated during a famine. My grandfather’s brother came here in the 1920s, so different parts of my family have been connected for generations. For me, Mexico was mostly a place we visited when I was very young. Then about 15 years ago I watched Alfonso Cuarón’s Y Tu Mamá También and I became obsessed. They filmed in different parts, but someone told me about Zipolite beach in Oaxaca and I started going every year.
It’s funny: I was living and visiting cities like New York and Paris, places where you’re supposed to feel free and creative, but I never felt as good as I did on that beach. When COVID hit and I started rethinking everything—I was married, in New York, working for L’Oréal—my so-called dream life collapsed. The only place I wanted to be was that beach. I spent eight months there and met my business partner Rodrigo Peñafiel. One day he asked what I wanted to do next, and I told him I wanted to start a plastic-free brand from Mexico. That conversation became Aora. I’ve lived here ever since.
Rodrigo and I hosted a very cute dinner at his place to kick off our Independence Day celebrations. My beauty prep started with sunscreen—I like to apply some in the morning and also in the early afternoon, alternating between La Roche-Posay’s Hyalu B5 SPF and one from UTU, another plastic-free brand I helped launch a couple of years ago. Then I put on some makeup: my Admírame eye pencil in Rojo in my lower waterline for a bit of a discrete gunnery look, and Acaríciame lip serum in Vanta—it's very subtle but hydrating. After that Rodrigo and I made chiles en nogada and served tequila. We also used the night to launch our new Hablamé lip liners with a few friends from our community. Lorena Saravia, the first Mexican designer to collaborate with H&M, was there, as was my friend Rita Marimen, who runs the beautiful art gallery Ediciones Marea.
I know I’m biased, but our lip liners really can compete with the top ones out there. You can be very precise with them, and they glide on so easily. Plus, the packaging is 100-percent plastic-free—the inside of the wood pencil is coated with waxes that do not let the wood absorb the formula, so it stays creamy and doesn’t dry out. While we’re talking about plastic-free brands, I have to tell you that I love Nopalera’s solid shampoo bars, especially now that I have short hair. But if we’re talking about my body, I have to say, I’m obsessed with the Nécessaire body serum and I’ve worn the same perfume for 15 years: Penhaligon's Halfeti.
Of course, I also went out over the weekend. I kept my little routine—biking to the market for fruits and vegetables, stopping at Café Villarías for insanely good coffee—and then headed to a party called Por Detroit. Everyone showed up in red, white, and green, some wearing cowboy boots and even full mariachi outfits. It was all very special.”
With love,
Nour Taraya
—as told to Daise Bedolla
Photos courtesy of Nour Tayara