Mother Teresa once said ” Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love”.
These fine ladies have certainly done just that, if not more and made an impressive impact in today’s modern world. We love them for they are groundbreaking and have turned up the volume in their respective fields. But most of all, they make us proud to call ourselves, women.
Victoria Beckham (VB)
Her Story: Of course we all knew her from the girl power group Spice Girls, Posh Spice to be specific. However Victoria Beckham’s real talent lies in fashion. First, she designed her own line of jeans called VB rocks for Rock & Republic. She moved on to publish a fashion book entitled That Extra Half An Inch: Hair, Heels & Everything in Between. With that, she found her true calling in fashion and went ahead to establish herself in the fashion world. VB created a stellar brand empire by launching her designer sunglasses, her own line of jeans and her first clothing line of dresses which made it to New York Fashion Week. Her unwavering drive in fashion and retail, brand and marketing skills has earned her a Brand of the year award at the British Fashion Awards and Business Entrepreneur of the year by Management Today.
Why We Love Her: Being a mother of 4 will not cease your opportunity to pursue what you truly love and VB is living proof of that. We admire her determination, her strong passion for fashion and how she expresses it through her amazing work. Nothing is impossible when you put your mind to it. Passion owns!
Out Favourite VB quote: I think the sexiest thing about a woman is confidence, but confidence in a humble way not in an arrogant way. Sense of humour is definitely important too. And sunglasses always hide a multitude of sins. Sunglasses and a great pair of heels can turn most outfits around.
Jessica Alba
Her Story: From the silver screen to the business world, an actress turned entrepreneur, Jessica Alba is no stranger to the Hollywood world. She is now the co founder and chief creative officer of a non toxic beauty and household products company called Honest. Honest was launched 7 years ago after Jessica Alba developed a rash on her arms while using a mainstream brand of baby detergent during her first pregnancy. Honest was created with that concern in mind; how the use of chemical substances in household and baby products can cause harm to people in the long run.
Why We Love Her: Her genuine charm, sweet demeanour and unceasing care for human health that led her to create safe and naturally derived products. These are just some of the qualities we love about her. On top of that, we absolutely look up to her hustling attitude. Jessica Alba has been working since the age of 12 and has lived independently all over the world. With The Honest Company, she is constantly involved with business marketing strategies and she is extremely hands on with Honest’s product development. All of that while raising 2 children. Jessica Alba is undoubtedly a woman of steel and a driving force of success.
Our Favourite Jessica Alba Quote: Hustle. Work freaking hard. Be endlessly curious. Be grateful. Be satisfied and do it all again.
Beyonce
Her Story: Beyonce dominated the music industry with R&B group, Destiny’s Child. After 9 years or so, she sets off independently on her solo career. Things weren’t always a pie in the sky as her first record label dropped her, she was faced with major rejection, which resulted in depression. Beyonce did not give up. She researched stars like Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears to learn how they did it. With all that immense hard work, great determination and incredible talent, she is now our beloved Queen B and has become the most awarded artist in award show history.
Why We Love Her: Her music is ground breaking. It is so close to your heart and it tells the story of your life at any stage. Beyonce makes her fans feel empowered to leave their own marks in the world. We look up to her strength and her strong spirit for women empowerment. She is the walking proof that women can run the world too!
Our Favourite Beyonce Quote: If you live your life with kindness and give other people great energy. That beauty and great energy come back to you.
Malala Yousafzi
Her Story : A passionate advocate for children and women’s education. Malala is the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Prize. Malala attended a school that was founded by her father. At a very young age, she was already an activist and gave a talk entitled ” How Dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education? She also began blogging about living under the threats of Taliban. She continued to speak up about the right of all women to an education. She was awarded Pakistan National Youth Peace Prize and nominated for International Children’s Peace Prize. As she became a more prominent voice, the Taliban issued death threats against her because of her activism. In 2012, on the way home from school a gunman boarded the bus that Malala was in and demanded to know which girl was Malala. The gunman pointed a pistol at her and fired 3 shots in her direction. With multiple surgeries, she survived. After her recovery, she gave a speech at the United Nations and wrote an autobiography entitled I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by A Taliban.
Why We Love Her: Her extraordinary bravery and courage to fight for what she believes in with her life. Malala’s unparalleled and unequaled achievement in becoming a global teacher for women and education is truly commendable. She is living proof that nothing can and should stop you from standing up for what you believe in.
Our Favourite Malala Quote: One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.
Karlie Kloss
Her Story : Karlie Kloss is an American sweetheart model and is deemed the nicest model in the industry. She is actively modeling and has ad contracts with Diane von Furstenberg, Kate Spade, Joe Fresh and is also the face of L’oreal. She is not just your average model. She has enrolled in Gallatin, New York University’s independent study program and studied computer coding at Manhattan Flatiron School. After completing her coding program, she started Kode with Karlie, an initiative aimed to encourage girls to study computer science. Karlie Kloss also has her own YouTube channel called Klossy, an intimate Vlogging channel where she shares the story of her life with her fans.
Why We Love Her : We absolutely love the fact that she has the best kind of ambition that propels forward to the power of success. Her undying never give up spirit is highly commendable. Most importantly, she appears genuine, relatable and she cares for the future of girls. Karlie Kloss is the epitome of beauty, both inside and out.
Our Favourite Karlie Kloss Quote : Be patient. Be confident in yourself. Anything can happen if you really work at it. Never give up. It’s corny but never give up.
GIVEAWAY!
It’s all about celebrating the women we love and admire and one of them as mentioned above, is Jessica Alba. For that, we got our hands on Jessica Alba’s Honest Beauty Kit containing some of her favourite products and brought it back all the way from USA. And guess what? We want you to have it! Simply tell us in the comment section below who your woman of influence is and why? The realest answer wins!
*Contest ends on 6th April and is only applicable to those living in Malaysia*
Lim Foong Lin
My woman of influence is my late mum Siow Kim Thai. She was a farmer in a small village in Negeri Sembilan. She survived lost of parents & 6 siblings during the Japanese invasion era. Her life was not only packed with mere challenges, but many life threatening ones.
Hearing & soaking into her life stories since young, infused me with sense of contentment & thankfulness with whatever basic i might have in life. Her wisdom, strength, superb social skills & intuition in couping with life impacted me.
She may be an illiterate, but mum is a PHD holder of living knowledge to me!
Valerie Tan
The woman who has influenced me the most? My mum. Yes, I know it may sound cliche, but it cannot be any more true than that. She left her career to take care of us kids at home and groomed and raised us to who we are today. She supported us in our dreams and passions and sacrificed her time help us do what we want to do. My siblings and I grew up spending our schooling days at home, with my mum dedicating all her energy and time to teach us even though she is not a trained teacher herself. Through her selfless effort and love showered on us, it has affected the way I want to live and the kind of person I aspire to be. Her authenticity is what makes me strive to live a life that is honest and true and not be someone or something I am not.
Wei Ziee
Hi Megsmesh! The woman of influence of mine is DaphneCharice, one of the Malaysian bloggers. She is famous but the realest figure that I can relate myself to. Her passion and taste in music has broaden my horizon in music genre. I knew good music by reading her blog. She is selfless to share her personal thought about music. You can see that she is a genuine person by reading her blog. She shares her life there. She shares her insecurities, her sadness, her happiness, everything with her readers. She has readers writing emails to her regarding relationship and life problems. See, this is how down-to-earth she is. She is a grateful person. Although she keeps claiming herself as a negative person, but she sees good in every small matter. Her blog is lively in terms of it is full of emotions instead of writing about paid advertisements. I wish to meet her in person and tell her how much she influences me.
XOXO
Junaidah Ibrahim
The woman of influence is absolutely my Mother. She’s a valor striker, a motivator, a critically-acclaimed advisor, a dedicated caretaker and also a breadwinner, she can do more than a superheroes can master, but she prefer to be called as ‘mother’. No great outfit to wear and no special gear, but she have nothing to fear, no matter how big the responsibility she bear. The woman that dares to tread to place where most men would be filled with dread. Mom … thank you for make us feel glad.