Our expat community thrives on connection, and here at Jingkids, we’re all about our readers, and what they need and want in order to maximize their time here in Beijing. Every Monday, we’re going to feature a prominent member of our expat community and get to know them a little bit better.
My name is Irina Fan and I’m from Russia. I got married in 2000 and moved to Beijing, where my husband is from. I’ve been living in China for 22 years now, and I absolutely love this experience. We have two daughters (21 and 12 years old) and they also live in Beijing.
I was studying law at a Chinese university, but then I realized that this not something that I would love to do for a living. I didn’t enjoy it. At that time my second daughter was born, which changed my opinion about the lifestyle that I had been living. I became vegetarian, and started to eat healthy and exercise . As a result, I started to read the food labels and think more deeply about what we are eating. I learned a lot about ingredients and what we put into our body. I started to study Ayurveda and the way of balancing cooking. I was giving masterclasses on cooking, and healthy and beautiful cooking is still my big passion in life.
Around the same time, I discovered that the cosmetics that we use contain a lot of chemical ingredients that our skin doesn’t need. I looked at a lot of labels but couldn’t find something that I would be satisfied with. That’s how my new business started. I started to make the cosmetics myself, in order to know exactly what is inside. I must tell you this wasn’t as easy as cooking! I have already studied this for 12 years with the best experts, and am always consulting with experts. I’m proud to say that my cosmetics really work, and you can see visible results. Plus, they’re absolutely safe for us and for the environment, and are cruelty free.
What’s on your mind?
My family and my work. I live what I do and I’m always thinking about creating a new product or about fresh ingredients. I take two hours every day to continue my study of cosmetic formulations.
What’s your motivation to get up every morning?
I base my life on spiritual principles. I do meditation and prayers every day, and I also do a lot of service to people who are in need. That gives me a lot of energy and motivation to keep going.
How do you stay sane in all the madness?
Praying, meditating, service, and my family, which includes our pets. We recently adopted two dogs and they are so cute that it’s impossible to stay in a bad mood around them. They are so much fun. My work also helps because it’s a creative process and meditative at the same time. I love making all the products myself.
What’s your favorite thing about Beijing?
I love Beijing, especially the people and places. Beijing has a great international community of people. I have met a lot of wonderful people from all over the world through the years, and even though some are no longer here in the city, we still maintain our friendship!
Besides that, Beijing is a very family-friendly city. Sure, Covid brought some changes to the activities we can do with family here, but there are still so many interesting things that you can do with your family and places that you can go, be it restaurants, parks, masterclasses, concerts, and so on.
Have someone you believe deserves some recognition for their outstanding contributions to our community? Nominate them for our weekly spotlight by writing their name in the comments below!
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Images: Courtesy of Irina Fan
