I’m a Cool Mom: TooD Founder Shari Siadat On Unibrows, Vintage Slip Dresses, and Feeling Sexy

I’m a Cool Mom! is a column for Vogue where we explore how moms get dressed, what’s in their diaper bag (or if they are anti-diaper bag!), and how their style has developed while having kids.

Shari Siadat entered the beauty industry this past year with a whole lotta sparkle. She launched TooD, a line of eco-friendly, gender-neutral makeup in a trippy range of intoxicating colors back in January. Since then, Siadat has also developed the first one swipe biodegradable glitter for hair and the skin. The company was born out of Siadat’s love of her unibrow, which she highlights with plenty of sparkle.

Siadat, who was born to Iranian immigrants, and grew up in small towns throughout America, had long been bullied because of her unibrow. As an adult, she plucked, waxed, bleached and lasered it. Her outlook changed when she had her youngest daughter, Selene Soliel, who is now seven. Her other two daughters, Scarlett Sage (12) and Savannah Olivia (10), had a fair complexion, but Solene had inherited more of Siadat’s dark features. “I was like, ‘This girl is about to inherit all my hairiness!’” At that point, something clicked. “It was like the universe hit me over the head and said, ‘You need to stop grooming these eyebrows,’” she says. “I was so insecure over my appearance because I got so bullied over that as a kid. It gave me the confidence to grow back my unibrow. I can’t believe I used to walk in the world with these overarched, really sharply defined eyebrows.”

This newfound confidence, which she also wanted to instill in her daughter, inspired Siadat to start writing a children’s book about a superhero girl character who boasted a unibrow. In her book, Siadat wanted to include a gift for readers; something to paint the face and highlight features, but for children. “It’s about highlighting what makes you different and is your superpower. I thought for children, ‘What’s more fun than painting yourself?’” says Siadat. “Then also it just gives agency to someone to feel like, ‘I am going to define what makes me special and it won’t be based on society’s rules.’” Her agent told Siadat to hold off her book, but connected her with a cosmetics lab. After much trial and error, Siadat developed TooD, created colorful brow creams and now the first biodegradable glitter in the market. While other glitters are formed from plastic, TooD products come from eucalyptus cellulose, meaning this beauty product is harm-free.

While Siadat’s world revolves around beauty, she still gets dressed up. She favors everything from basketball shorts to vintage slip dresses. At her launch event for a biodegradable glitter this past June, Siadat wore a hot pink Balenciaga jumpsuit. What’s more bold than that?

Here, learn more about Siadat’s beauty life and how it impacts her children and how she is dressing for her confident new world.

How did you see yourself as a woman before and how do you see yourself now?

The way in which I view myself as a woman under the lens and identity of being a mother literally changes for me weekly. I’m an Iranian and we’re so into family. I got pregnant at 28, which I guess nowadays is kind of on the younger side. I was indoctrinated into thinking like, "You get married young, you pop up the kids and you live happily ever after." What has been so beautiful to witness, I think, is that I don’t feel my children are mine. What I mean by that is there are three souls that the universe gave me as a gift. They were my awakeners of sparking consciousness, noticing generational patterns, leveling up into understanding that if I don’t love myself and if I don’t embody all the things that I teach them, they don’t have a chance. They completely transformed who I am. I am not even one shell of who I used to be prior to being a mom.

How has motherhood changed how you think about your personal style?

Prior to being a mom, I think I was more traditional. Part of being a mom allowed me to understand that I’m getting to know myself. My personal style now it’s so reflective of the eclectic mix of who I am. I honor every part of my identity, so I can dress up like a basketball player or I can dress up like super feminine in black ball gowns. Before becoming a mom, I was following the masses. I just wore trends but with no sense of self. I was just the sheep following the masses.

Do you have any staple designers or labels that you like?

I swear by vintage. In my mind, every time I get a piece or go to a shop, the soul of that clothing speaks to me, but I also wonder who wore it before and what they are transmitting to me. I like Geminola [by Lorraine Kirke] and I actually just got some more vintage slip dresses from her today. They fit my body really well. I really like the shape of the feminine form. In terms of other brands, my friends run NOAH, so I love a good NOAH moment.

Has your mom taught you any lessons about being a mom?

My mom came to this country when she was 20 years old and had me at 22. So she was in college, really a kid having a kid. While I think the one thing my mother always gave us was unconditional love. I didn’t have boundaries growing up. I watched Dynasty when I was three years old and drank Coca-Cola until I was 18, and I didn’t have the structure of what we define as “good motherhood” in today’s modern age. At the same time, my mother always made sure that she was very dutiful. She cooked and cleaned and she was a very traditional Persian housewife. I think her mothering taught me the importance of stability. I think children want to be loved and they want to feel safe and they want to feel seen.

How do you dress your kids?

Scarlett’s really into vintage. She has a very old soul, like very high-waisted jeans, vintage tees, hoodies, oversized hoodies. Jemima [Kirke] buys her clothes and sends them to her. [Ed note: at this point, Savannah weighed in by saying, “I like shirts, shorts, pants.”] Selene is a Leo and she really likes to be a little bit more over the top. They all have their own eclectic style.

Do you have a life-saving mom tool?

Egyptian Magic. Whether it’s a scrape on their leg, a bug bite on their arm, or a rash from dry skin, gliding a dab of Egyptian magic ointment on my daughters keeps the whining to a minimum.

What are some misconceptions about motherhood and style?

While we are seeing a trend toward disrupting how we perceive roles and what they look like, as a whole, we are still biased and have been conditioned to feel that motherhood equals mumus, zero sex appeal, and loss of personal style. For me, I have never felt sexier and freer to experiment and use fashion as a mechanism for exploration and self-discovery than after becoming a mother.

What are some pieces that you’ve let go of?

To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever given much of my clothes away because I believe you never know when it will come back in style or how I will reinvent that piece or reuse that fabric to create a new look. Clothing for me is just a material and textile to adorn myself with.

What are you wearing now?

Bikinis, wetsuits, tank tops, and vintage slip dresses.

Originally Appeared on Vogue