Pear Nova and Flora & Noor Celebrate Self-Care Awareness Month

During the Flora & Noor and Pear Nova Self Care Awareness Month event women were able to get facials. PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLORA & NOOR.
During the Flora & Noor and Pear Nova Self Care Awareness Month event women were able to get facials. PHOTO PROVIDED BY FLORA & NOOR.

Pear Nova and Flora & Noor Celebrate Self-Care Awareness Month

By Tia Carol Jones

September is Self-Care Awareness Month and to celebrate, two locally based beauty brands, Pear Nova and Flora & Noor, teamed up for a two-day event that included yoga, hand massages, body massages, facials etc.
Pear Nova is a beauty brand that was founded by Rachel James in 2013.

 Flora & Noor is the Halal-certified skincare brand founded by Jordan Karim in 2020. Beauty and Wellness sponsors for the event included Baam Yoga, Ladybird Apothecary, Sabon, Unsun Cosmetics, Boxed Water, Sanzo, Davids, Rhythm Superfoods, Moodeax and LYT Method.

James said she started Pear Nova, hand mixing nail polish in her parent’s basement. She has a background in fashion and beauty and really wanted to merge those two worlds, while creating something for Black women. At the time, there weren’t colors that complemented medium to deep skin tones. Pear Nova Studio, located at 2150 S. Canalport, opened in 2019. Her advice for young women who want to start a business is that consistency is key.

Pear Nova is vegan, cruelty-free and 10-free, which means it doesn’t have 10 of the most harmful chemicals you might find in nail polish. James likes to create nail polish color collection, which are limited editions. Currently, there are 50-60 nail shades that comes in classic and gel polish. The shade that stays on James’ list as her favorite is called Novacaine, a sheer pink color that looks good in any season and is the best color if someone wants to add nail art.

Flora & Noor reached out to James and Pear Nova about collaborating on the Self-Care Awareness Month events and James said yes. “I love linking with like-minded clean brands, beauty brands, wellness brands. I feel like a lot of their company’s foundation is ours, as well. So, we really just wanted to, for Self- Care Awareness Month, just create a space where people could come relax, refresh,” James said.

Karim said it was really important for Flora & Noor to host a wellness event in Chicago with some of Flora & Noor’s favorite brands as a way to connect and speak to the community.

“At Flora & Noor, we are all about being proud of the skin you're in and encouraging mental health and wellness. As the founder and someone who lives in the South Loop, I wanted to bring my community out and partake with them in a weekend of peace and tranquility, share the meaning and inspiration behind Flora & Noor, and just have fun together,” Karim said. “Flora & Noor is meant to solve vacancies in the skincare industry for underrepresented consumers whether it be the lack of skincare for those with chronic skin conditions or those who need to use halal products. I loved being able to showcase and highlight our effective solutions for our community when it comes to clean and conscious beauty.

 We hope to have more weekends and events like this in Chicago. It’s important to me and to Flora & Noor that we are represented in our city first and foremost!”

For more information about Flora & Noor, visit www.floraandnoor.com. For more information about Pear Nova, visit www.pearnova.com.

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