The South African-born, Canada-based content creator and mental health professional has been winning over women online with content that feels less like a lecture and more like catching up with your favourite girl.
From confidence and boundaries to fashion, beauty, motherhood and the realities of starting over in a new country, Tumi brings a playful but grounded perspective to the conversations women are already having. Behind the polished looks and TikTok moments is a wife, mother, sister, professional and woman still figuring things out herself and perhaps that is what makes her content so relatable.
We caught up with Tumi to talk about the woman behind Pretty Girl Talks, her journey from South Africa to Canada, and why being a “Pretty Girl” has far less to do with looking perfect and everything to do with knowing your worth.
I’m Tumi Mustapha. I’m a South African woman living in Canada, a mom of two, a wife, a
mental health professional, and a content creator. But beyond those titles, I’m also a sister to
three girls, and that nurturing, big-sister side of me shows up in almost everything I do. I love
people, psychology, beauty, fashion, and having fun. I’ve learned that we don’t have to fit
into one box. There can be so many different parts of who we are, and I think my platform
reflects that.
2. You have a background in psychology, but you also create lifestyle and beauty content. How did these two sides of your life come together?
For a long time, I kept them separate. Psychology was my professional world, while beauty,
fashion, and content creation were my creative side. Eventually, I realized women don’t
experience life in categories. You can be doing your skincare while worrying about work.
You can love fashion while building your confidence. You can be a mother while figuring out who
you are as a woman. Pretty Girl became a space where all those conversations can exist
together. I can talk about something I've learned through psychology and then talk about the
lipstick I'm loving, because both can be part of who I am.
3. Your 'Pretty Girl Talks' have become part of your content. Where did the idea
come from?
Pretty Girl Talks were actually inspired by my three sisters and by being so far away from
them after moving to Canada. I missed those everyday sister conversations, the random
phone calls where you talk about life, relationships, confidence, beauty, health, work,
something you're struggling with, and then somehow end up laughing about something
completely unrelated.
When I started saying, “Hi Pretty Girl, let's talk about…” I was really speaking the way I
would to one of my sisters. That’s the heart of Pretty Girl for me, it’s a conversation with
your sister.
Sometimes your sister is telling you about skincare; sometimes she's reminding
you about your boundaries; sometimes she's sharing something she learned about
psychology; and sometimes you're just laughing together over her silly views. As the
community has grown, it feels like that sister circle has grown too.
More than anything, I want women to feel like they have a sister in their corner. And
something that is really important to me is that Pretty Girl is not about creating another
standard that women have to live up to.
I'm not trying to define what a woman should look like, how she should behave or what she needs to do to qualify as a 'Pretty Girl' It’s also never intended to be misogynistic or to reinforce the idea that women need to perform a certain version of femininity to have value.
It's actually about reminding Pretty Girls of who they already are. Sometimes that reminder is about confidence. Sometimes it's setting a boundary, taking care of yourself, learning something about your mind or body, or simply remembering that you don't have to make yourself smaller for other people. I'm not saying, “I have everything figured out, so let me tell you how to live.” I'm figuring life out too. It's sisters sharing what we're learning along the way.
5. How would you describe your content style, and what do you think makes it
different?
I would describe it as lifestyle, beauty, wellness, and psychology, delivered like a
conversation between sisters. Today we might talk skincare and gut health, and tomorrow
people-pleasing, then motherhood, confidence, fashion, or something interesting about the
brain.
It sounds broad when you list it, but that's exactly how conversations between sisters
work. We talk about everything. I think the common thread isn't necessarily the topic, it's the
feeling. I want you to feel like you're talking with someone who wants to see you do well.
6. You speak openly about motherhood and everyday life. Has becoming a mother
changed the way you see yourself?
Completely. Motherhood has made me realise how many versions of yourself you can
become in one lifetime. I love being a mother, but motherhood has also made me think
deeply about who Tumi is outside of being a mom.
I can be deeply devoted to my children and still have dreams, build a career, create content, love fashion and continue discovering myself. I've realized that becoming a mother doesn't mean the woman I was before that disappears. I'm raising my children while still becoming myself, and I think many women can relate to.
7. How do you balance being a mother, a professional and a content creator?
I don't always balance it! And I think I've become much more comfortable admitting that. There are seasons when motherhood needs more of me, times when work needs more of me, and days when I'm filming content in whatever little window I can find. Hence the car videos, as I talk while on the move to do something.
I've stopped thinking balance means giving everything equal time every day. For me, it's
understanding what needs me most in that moment, accepting support when I need it and
letting go of the expectation that I have to do everything perfectly.
8. Your professional journey has taken you from South Africa to Canada. What has
that transition taught you about yourself?
It taught me that I can start again. Moving to Canada meant leaving my family, my sisters,
my support system, and a professional identity I had worked hard to build. Then I was
navigating a new country while becoming a mother, studying, working, and rebuilding my
professional life.
There were moments when I had to ask myself, “Who am I when so many of the things that
made my life familiar have changed?” I learned that my identity is bigger than my career, my
qualifications or where I live. I also learned that starting again can be incredibly uncomfortable, but it can introduce you to parts of yourself you may never have discovered
otherwise.
9. You have spoken about the challenges immigrant professionals can face when
rebuilding their careers. What is one thing you wish more people understood
about that experience?
Starting again doesn't mean you started with nothing. Immigrants can arrive with years of
education, professional experience, knowledge and an established identity, yet find
themselves having to prove themselves again in a completely different system.
There's a psychological side to that experience that I wish we discussed more. When your career has been part of your identity, suddenly not being recognized in the same way can
affect your confidence, sense of belonging and even how you see yourself. Rebuilding professionally can also mean rebuilding parts of your identity.
10. You recently stepped into a Mental Health Therapist role in Canada. What does
this new chapter mean to you professionally?
It means a lot because I know what it took to get here. My professional journey in Canada hasn't been a straight line. There has been studying, adjusting, motherhood, work, setbacks,growth and a lot of figuring things out along the way.
Being able to continue working in mental health and supporting people is incredibly meaningful to me because that part of who I am never disappeared. I'm still growing and
working towards bigger professional goals, so I don't see this as the final destination. It's another meaningful chapter in my story.
11. With your psychology background, do you ever find yourself looking at social
media and influencer culture differently?
Absolutely. Social media is fascinating psychologically because you see comparison,validation, belonging, self-esteem and identity playing out in real time. And because I'm also a creator, I have to think about what I'm contributing to that environment.
I love beauty. I love fashion. I love beautiful things. But I never want Pretty Girl to suggest that your worth comes from how you look or that there's a checklist you need to complete before you're good enough. That's where the sister approach matters to me.
Your sister might tell you about a lipstick she loves, but she can also remind you that you don't need the lipstick to be worthy.
12. What has creating content taught you about confidence, self-image and connecting with other women?
It has taught me that confidence isn't about everybody liking you. As your platform grows, you quickly realise that people will have opinions about you.
Some people will understand what you're doing and others won't. If your confidence depends entirely on approval, social
media can become a very difficult place.
But I've also seen how powerful community between women can be. Women encourage each other in my comments, share their own experiences and sometimes simply say, “Pretty Girl, I needed this today.”
Those moments remind me that this is becoming bigger than me. And that's also why I never want my content to become about creating standards for women.
There are already enough messages telling women who they should be. I would rather use my platform to help women remember who they are.
13. Looking ahead, what would you like to build with your platform and your
career?
I want Pretty Girl to become more than a social media page. I see a community where women
can learn, laugh, grow, have difficult conversations, enjoy beauty and fashion, and become
healthier versions of themselves without feeling pressured to be perfect.
And I want to be very intentional about what that means. Pretty Girl isn't about creating a new standard for
womanhood. It's about reminding women of their worth, their voice and who they already
are.
No matter how big the platform becomes, I want to protect what made it special in the first place: Pretty Girl should always feel like a conversation with your sister.
Professionally, I want to continue growing within psychology while exploring how psychology, storytelling, women's empowerment and content creation can come together. I don't think I have to choose between those worlds.
I'm interested in what can happen at the intersection of all of them and I think I'm still discovering what that can become.
.jpeg)
0 Comments