Epp Kärsin: Balance and self-awareness – the beauty secrets of a happy woman!

Dear Epp, how would you introduce yourself? How would you describe yourself?

I feel that I am first and foremost a teacher of pleasures and awareness – all I share comes through this lens. To be completely honest, I should start from the very beginning. As a child, I was already interested in sexual topics, and fortunately, there were books about this at home. Therefore, I am grateful to my parents because they let me explore this realm without shame or embarrassment.

Everything I have done and experienced in life has prepared me to be who I am and what I do today. Sex and sexuality – I wish that people would understand that this is the most wonderful part of life. Living your life as you dream and desire is awareness with great power.

Being aware of your sexuality helps to make braver choices in life that are right for us. Some years ago, I wanted to find out the state of sexual education in Estonian schools, so I visited nearly one hundred schools at my own expense and gave free lectures. Today, I do not do that anymore. However, the situation has changed so much that schools contact me now, because pupils want to hear my lecture. A reform of sexual education is needed in Estonian schools – one of my big dreams is filling this void.

This is fascinating. The work you do is truly excellent! However, when talking about beauty, who have been the greatest role models for you in beauty? Who did you admire as a child?

My cousin Merle was a true beauty queen for me. Her makeup rituals, jewellery boxes, clothes, shoes – all of it was captivating. She was a little older and whenever I visited her in Võru, watching her beauty rituals was fascinating. The way she did her hair, framed her eyes with a liner, and did the rest of her makeup. It was like magic – all the cosmetic products, jewellery, and nice things. They took me to another dimension. I could not wait to grow up and be like her and have my own dressing table, jewellery, lotions, and perfumes! Just like a real woman!

How many cosmetic products do you use in your skin and body care? What do you mainly look for when selecting products?

I must say that Kaire (creator of the Magrada brand) has educated me the most in this domain. She has taught me which components can be in a beauty product and which ones I should avoid. It is unbelievable how many parabens, silicones, and other harmful substances can be in a cosmetic product. I still have room for growth. Not everything I use is natural, but I am moving towards that.

For this reason, I mainly use only Magrada products now. My particular favourite is the Algae line. I could not believe that something could work so well! It makes my skin heavenly and silky and helps lose centimetres in areas where they otherwise simply refuse to disappear.

My favourite scent has always been jasmine, so naturally, the Jasmine Body Cream is one of my favourites!

Could you share with us some of the beauty concerns that you have had to face? How did you find a solution?

I have had to shed plenty of tears because of my hair. After I had COVID, it was in such a terrible state that I had to cut off my lovely thick hair. For me, hair is a source of pride for women, and when I lost it, I felt like I lost a part of myself. I bought every single serum and shampoo and conditioner I could think of after reading the reviews and learning about everything that would revitalise my hair. Nothing helped. I kept losing it by the handfuls so my scalp was visible through the thinning strands and my temples were bare. However, Kaire came along and recommended that I try the Magrada Solid Linden Flower Shampoo, which supports hair growth and nourishes the scalp with much-needed active ingredients. Organic plant extracts, such as birch, linden flower, and aloe, promote hair growth and improve the elasticity of the strands.

It actually worked and I could not be more grateful! Estonia has its own products that are created in Estonia and natural. What more could anyone want? Now, I share this success story and my hair is growing faster than ever before. I have given this solid shampoo to my friends because it really works. After all, it also saved my hair from its sorry state. My crowning glory is now full of life, stronger, and glossy again!

What do you see in your daily work that diminishes the attractiveness of women and men the most? How is it expressed?

One thing that depletes a person’s looks is a job that they do not love. It is equally destructive to women and men. The second factor that accelerates ageing is an unhappy relationship. When a relationship is not happy and people are miserable, it could age a person by a decade in a very short amount of time.

Whereas if a relationship is happy and deeply harmonious, then I can assure you that women grow younger, men become radiant, and life becomes much more wonderful. When someone is overweight, then the excess weight seems to melt away and the person radiates good energy! Naturally, lots of great enjoyable sex – that is the elixir of life!

What do you consider important in hair care?

For me, a drastic change happened when I stopped dyeing my hair and reduced the amount of heat that I used and started to use the Magrada Linden Flower Dry Shampoo and the Rhubarb Hair Mask. When I replaced my ordinary straightener with the Dyson Airwrap, I realised that I have lived in darkness. That was the best investment in my hair!

How does your care routine change with the seasons? Is it different in summer and in winter?

In summer, I naturally use sun screens. I never go out into the sun without it. In winter, I have more baths. I particularly like to use the Magrada Jasmine Bath Bombs. You light some candles and just love your life! In winter, I also use deeply moisturising creams.

Every 3 weeks, I have an appointment with a beautician. I have been doing this for the last 15 years. My beautician is excellent and she always gives me a breast massage. As far as I know, beauticians have been trained in breast massages. While you have your facial mask on, the beautician will pamper and massage your breasts with a nourishing cream. Breasts need great attention. Massage tones their skin and has an extremely therapeutic effect. I would like to send greetings to my excellent beautician Rita, whose soft hands make miracles!

Wow, this is exciting! Could this be a part of your perfect self-care day? Or how would you describe your perfect day? What do you do to care for your beauty and wellness?

Of course. However, when it comes to my perfect self-care day – I visit a beautician regularly. I have been active in the beauty sector for over 15 years and have also taught this subject. I do all my manicures/pedicures myself because no one does it as perfectly as me! (laughs)

I have been to various manicurists but I cannot keep my opinions to myself and start to dish out instructions. I realise that this is the so-called professional cretinism. So I do it myself and keep my skills sharp. In addition, I have a couple of friends who come to me for manicures and I also take care of their eyebrows and cut their hair.

Only recently, I asked my friend whether his wife knows that he comes to me for manicures during his work days. He replied that his wife would not understand even if he told her about it. Dear women, pay attention to your men. They need care and attention too!

At least two or three times a month, I have a home beauty day for a whole body exfoliation, hair, body, and facial masks, and massaging with lotions – it takes me more than half a day. ‘I am primarily responsible for my looks!’ Epp laughs.