Pride Month: 6 MUAs and Beauty Influencers we’re loving!
These are the LGBTIQA+ beauty experts currently at the top of our feeds
June is Pride Month, and to celebrate, we’re rounding up some of our favorite LGBTIQA+ makeup artists on social media. From up-and-coming beauty influencers to more established makeup gurus, these accounts embrace identity unashamedly, while serving up fabulous faces. Support, follow and bookmark their posts for your beauty inspo:
She had us at her Instagram bio description – “the unapologetic Queer black woman of your dreams”. London-based Char Ellesse, a podcaster and founder of online storytelling community “Girls will be Boys”' discusses all things gender, race, identity and sexuality on social media while flaunting bold beauty looks – think shaved head, bleached brows, neon eye makeup, heavily lined lips – the works.
Reviewing beauty products with engaging commentary and killer background tracks, LA-based Jakobe Jay is one to watch on TikTok and Instagram. Focusing on products like blushes (he MASTERS a beautiful rosy cheekbone glow) to sunscreens that suit melanated skin tones, Jakobe’s videos will make you smile – and motivate you to up your own makeup game – whenever they appear on your feed.
From perfecting the neutral, fresh-faced beauty look to nailing evening glam time and again on his roster of celebrity clients from Zendaya to Sandra Oh, Allan Avendano is more than just a name to know in Hollywood. A fashion stylist-turned-self-taught-makeup-artist, Allan was recently named an inaugural member of the L’Oreal Paris League of Experts, which is committed to inclusivity and sustainability.
A tattoo enthusiast and makeup artist with a background in painting, Toronto-based Malaysian-Canadian Mei Pang blurs boundaries with her wearable art. Appearing in a Fenty Beauty show and collaborating with the biggest names in beauty, her edgy-yet-ethereal aesthetic is absolutely breath-taking. Follow her for inspo, but good luck re-creating her spectacular looks!
“Stop labeling and start living,” says Indian beauty influencer Deep Pathare. His grid combines infectious charisma with colorful and experimentative beauty looks and occasional fashion #ootds. Talking all things makeup and skincare, Deep’s South Asian attitude is a breath of fresh air in a global community of beauty influencers that often lacks representation from the Indian subcontinent.
Butterflies, batwings, and serpent-like swirls around the eyes, and rainbow-hued cat-eyes completed with glossy nude lips. Need we say more? Michael Brooks’ beauty aesthetic is a concoction of bright colors and artistic expression. If avant-garde makeup and no-rules beauty fascinates you, then this London-based creative is definitely one to add to your “following” list.