#BLPFAM | Alma, Keeping it Real in the Ever-Changing Digital Society

Are you in a good relationship with yourself, BLP Fam? With Alma Tando, a rising beauty content creator, we tried to understand what it means to love ourselves and embracing our weaknesses. Read more to know her journey to self-love, gaining confidence and being true to herself in front and behind the camera. 

It’s pretty simple. I dreamt of being a lawyer and wanted to pursue a law major for my bachelor’s degree. Sadly, my mom didn’t allow me to pursue my studies away from home. She told me that I got easily bored and recommended that I find a major to help me make money immediately. By doing so, I can shop whenever I want to! [laughs] As I searched for a fitting college, my mom told me to enroll at Puspita Martha, just because I love watching makeup videos on YouTube – and I did.

After I graduated, I was facing today’s generation number one problem: being unemployed (before finally pursuing a career as a makeup artist). During that time, I didn’t have anything to do besides watching beauty YouTube videos, so I made one myself. The result was way different from my expectation. No one watched it! When people did, they turned out to be my haters. They told me to be realistic, that I would never be on the same level with all beauty content creators out there. My goals were crushed, I stopped making videos, and I gave up. I believe the beauty industry wasn’t meant for me – until TikTok came around. 

Creating TikTok videos is something I do for fun with zero expectations in my mind. One day, someone commented on my video saying my makeup was tacky. To be honest, I was annoyed and responded with another ‘tacky’ makeup video. Surprisingly, it went viral overnight! 

Back then, accepting my own weaknesses and being able to practice self love were not in my dictionary. I had always been trying to hide my weaknesses. When people commented on my physical appearance, I felt insecure. I was so caught up in my insecurity until I realized that my appearance will not change, unless I have plastic surgery (which I prefer not to). Strangely, it put my mind at ease. When people commented on my weakness, I would simply say, “You’re stating the obvious, is there any problem with it?"

Looking back, can you share the process to be this confident and self-loving?

Well, there’s a lot of downs in the process. When my dad passed away, our family’s economic condition wasn’t at its best. I had to help my family fulfill our everyday necessities. As we’re struggling to bounce back, my mind was occupied with more important matters than my physical appearance. I finally realized the good feeling when I stop overthinking the haters and focus on myself instead. 

We love that your TikTok videos are very chill with no formalities. Is there a reason behind that approach?

I don’t have any particular reason, it’s just my style. People warned me to stop being laid back because it’s not ladylike. For me, being beautiful is not limited to a calm, elegant personality. Everyone can be beautiful in their own ways. If we’re all exactly the same, wouldn’t the world be boring?

How do you feel about the hate comments on your social media?

Haters are always there and always will be. Honestly, I just think they don’t have anything else to do. They spend the time creating fake accounts, stalking me and sending hate comments. Sometimes it bothers me but I don’t think too much about it.

What is self-love to you?

It's the ability to fully accept who you are and feel proud of your uniqueness. When you’re able to utter the words “I’m beautiful” without anyone else's acknowledgement, that’s self-love. Whatever your skin tone or body shape, as long as you realize your value, you know there’s so much more than what meets the eye. However, it’s not always about being high and mighty. Being vulnerable, insecure, or overthinking at times is absolutely normal, it's a part of loving yourself because we are human after all.

Wardrobe: @ensemblethelabel