We speak to four members of the LGBTQIA+ community about their journeys to feeling beautiful & the role beauty has played in embracing their identities & celebrating Pride
We all know beauty is personal. What it means to each of us is so different and for so many reasons. Recently, the conversation surrounding beauty has expanded – it’s no longer simply about the make-up we use or the six-step skincare routine we adhere to. It now encompasses how we feel in ourselves and everything on the inside that contributes to that.
For some members of the LGBTQIA+ community, their version of beauty has played a pivotal role in a journey to self-expression and acceptance. With Pride month providing the perfect opportunity to celebrate this, we spoke to four LGBTQIA+ beauty creators and advocates, to find out more about what beauty means to them and how it helps them to feel like the most authentic versions of themselves.
Darkwah Kyei-Darkwah
(they/them)
Beauty, to me, is not about one set standard
Darkwah is a 29-year-old non-binary content creator, brand consultant, artist and an Allyship Ambassador for Sleek MakeUP.
“I’ve loved make-up from a young age – the first product I used was an I-Divine eyeshadow palette when I was four or five years old. I went into my grandma’s room and just started playing with it. After putting the eyeshadow on my face (definitely not sticking just to the eyes, ha ha) I wrapped some of her scarves around my head and I remember jumping on the bed, looking at myself in the mirror. I felt like someone completely different but also totally myself - totally free. I still feel like that when I’m wearing a look I love.
“I’ve realised make-up is a form of self-expression for me. On days where I don’t feel my best or my most confident, I won’t create a larger than life look to hide behind, I’ll use make-up to create something that just makes me feel comfortable – natural, with a slight enhancement by way of mascara and highlighter. I get to hone in on my features and really see myself, which helps bring me out of my shell. It makes me feel more me. That’s why my go-to look is beautiful skin, a glossy lip with a dark, well-blended lip liner and mascara.
“Beauty, to me, is not about one set standard. It’s not about a great brow, great lips or glowing skin. I think beauty starts inside of you - it’s all about the knowledge, love and acceptance of yourself. It’s the ability to see where you are and appreciate it, as well as what’s to come. When we see ourselves through our own eyes and create our own version of beauty – that is pride.”
Eva Echo
(she/they)
For me, make-up is such a special form of expression; it can tell a story
Meet Eva Echo, a 43-year-old activist, writer, educator, public speaker and proud trans woman. Since coming out at 37, she has been shedding light on what it means to be transgender and challenges the obstacles that gender-diverse people face within society.
“Beauty can be a difficult subject for me. I think I’ve always had a bit of a love-hate relationship with it. Who doesn’t want to look good? But at the same time, what is beauty other than some kind of standard? It’s this moveable and ever-changing entity or aesthetic, which makes it so hard to grasp, especially when you’re trans. Society expects you to fit in with cisgender standards, but I’m not trying to be cisgender, and as I’ve grown I’ve been able to move away from that way of thinking. My perception of beauty is now much more internal than external.
“The first piece of make-up I bought was eyeliner and because I was in a band, it felt like I could ‘get away’ with it. I had long hair, too, and it felt like the band was a cover for my androgynous look. On the surface, I had a bit of an alternative rock aesthetic, but on the inside, it was helping me to feel closer to the person I knew I was and opened me up to the notion of being queer.
“For me, make-up is such a special form of expression; it can tell a story. Whether we’re trying to hide certain features, emphasise others, blend in or stand out, it’s within our control. Everyday we get to choose how we visually present ourselves to the world and this was important before I came out. It gave me the opportunity to be who I was and, as I fell in love with it, I became more confident until I was no longer afraid to be expressive and reveal my authentic self.
Being visible is so important to me now
"My make-up has come a long way since I first started wearing it. When I first came out, make-up was almost a crutch. It’s what I relied on to feel feminine and to express who I am, while also offering a bit of a mask. Now, I wear make-up confidently - a statement to my visibility. Being visible is so important to me now. I want to be the person I never saw while I was growing up and to help normalise my community.
“Over the years, my make-up has become far simpler, thanks to how I now see and accept myself, but the need to be visible remains. I normally go for a natural face with brows and winged liner. A nude or even a red lip, if it’s a special occasion. Going for such a natural look now is a way of marking how far I’ve come in my medical transition and how I see myself. It’s also my way of showing that femininity comes from within and you don’t owe it to anybody.
“Pride is both a celebration and a protest. We celebrate who we are and our achievements, while protesting the cisgender heterosexual norm that has always been the default. As well as Pride being a community event, it’s an ongoing personal one. We don’t stop being queer at the stroke of midnight on 1 July and so the acceptance is ongoing, alongside my own kind of beautiful. One that transcends the physical and becomes spiritual. It’s helped me to see the world through a different lens; one that’s brighter and far more colourful.”
Lorenzo Cagliesi
(he/him)
Pride and beauty are so intertwined; my pride is my beauty
Lorenzo is a 22-year-old make-up artist and content creator who spends his days trying to spread positivity and encouraging others to embrace their own beauty.
“Beauty is such an important word to me; it’s the way I express myself. Some days, that’s just through playing with different looks and colours, but there are times when it’s about more than that. It’s about a feeling that comes from within.
“I always struggled with self-confidence and a lot of that was due to my acne. When I discovered make-up, I was able to cover my scars and it wasn’t like putting on a mask, it was like putting on my war paint. We all source our confidence differently but for me, this was the boost I needed that helped me to feel like myself, and that was beautiful.
“I think I first felt beautiful when I was five years old and discovered my mum’s make-up and my sister’s clothes. They weren’t happy about it at the time but I think we all realised early on that beauty was my thing. Now my favourite products are primer and concealer; skin is still my priority, but it’s far less about covering it all up and much more about brightening.
“Pride and beauty are so intertwined; my pride is my beauty. I spent a long time being brought down by people who didn’t appreciate or understand me, but I’m now in a place of self-acceptance. It took a while, but life is too short to hide.”
Marc Zapanta
(he/him)
Zahirah Zapanta
(she/her)
Marc is a Filipino make-up artist and influencer by day and drag queen, by the name of Zahirah Zapanta, by night. As well as beauty tutorials, Marc also makes vlogs about fashion and lifestyle and regularly works with 17. creating content. Here, Marc shares his beauty journey.
Beauty helped bring how I was feeling on the inside, to the outside
“I was always an artistic kid and when I was a teenager, I started to dabble in beauty. In fact, I remember going into Boots almost every day (true story!), looking at all the different products, switching from counter to counter, swatching lipsticks, testing foundations and concealers and buying my first-ever eyeshadow palette. Experimenting with different eyeshadow looks made me fall in love with make-up.
“Beauty helped me with my sense of identity, as it brought how I was feeling on the inside, to the outside. It felt like it was an extension of my creativity and this led to me documenting my journey online. To this day, there’s nothing I love more than creating looks to express myself – at the moment, I’m loving 17.’s eyeshadow palettes’ in Golden and Glitter. Their size and shades remind me of the excitement I felt as a teenage boy being able to play with make-up - plus, their pigment is incredible.
“I think the visibility of beauty vloggers has given queer people a sense of approval to experiment with make-up and beauty - there’s more and more representation as time passes. Representation is really important to me, as growing up, there weren’t many people I related to or people who looked like me in the media. I hope putting myself out there online with my videos has helped like-minded individuals explore themselves and their identity through beauty.
“I feel so privileged to have been born in the Philippines, where LGBTQIA+ citizens are aplenty, and then coming to the UK where I’m also free to be who I am. However, it’s not the same situation for so many LGBTQIA+ people. I receive a lot of messages online from people who are afraid to come out, whether it’s because of family, friends, religion or culture and are afraid of the backlash they might receive for revealing such a personal part of themselves.
“My definition of beauty is the ability to be and love yourself. As an Asian, queer and drag queen performer, it has always been important to me to love myself regardless of when I present myself as a man or when I'm glammed up in make-up doing beauty videos or performing on stage. There were people who told me growing up that I should feel less than, whether it was because I'm a person of colour or because of my sexuality. I never believed them. Because to me, how I see myself is what's important.”
