Little Magazine 8
P R I D E: Celebrating the Rainbow
(with our Makeup!)
Looking back,
many of my closest friends throughout my life, since early childhood, turned out to be gay. How fortunate I’ve been, in being able to witness (and subsequently appreciate) the oftentimes arduous journeys of self-discovery compounded with the normal duress of, well, life. Anyone with a smidgen of wisdom and life experience knows the grace, patience and strength it takes to be oppressed and to remain kind, positive, and optimistic! That being said, what a moment of revelry in history to be able to celebrate Pride month! Indeed, we are far from the ultimate goal, but I think it’s always a good idea to celebrate the moments that we can. To all of my dear friends and family in the LGBTQ community that I’ve met and friends that I haven’t yet, I dedicate this article to you! Love you!
Quick History: Let’s take a second to appreciate the Rainbow flag. 🏳️🌈 According to Baker’s website, each color has a meaning: ❤️Red= life, 🧡Orange= healing, 💛Yellow= sunlight, 💚Green= nature, 💙Blue= harmony, and 💜Violet= spirit. How beautiful! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🏳️🌈 Gilbert Baker designed this flag, and demand for the rainbow flag shot up after the assassination of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay elected official in the history of California.
My brother, Chris, bought me Kevyn Aucoin’s Making Faces ($22) for my 16th birthday, and here I am 20 years later, still swimming around in the Beauty Industry (and loving it!). Thank you, bro! Industry Pioneer, legendary celebrity MUA (makeup artist) and LGBTQ VIP Kevyn Aucoin, was my first official makeup teacher. RIP. He was also the doorway into my discovery of extraordinary, mystical, sparkling Drag Queens, who faithfully taught 16-year old me the intricacies of contouring (long before The Kardashians made it a thing). Bless. 🙏🏼 Here’s an article (with lots of pictures!) if you want a quick read-up on the illustrious history and fascinating evolution of the Art of Drag.
So, as an ode to my O.G. drag-queen education, I thought I’d pass along the baton of stepping out of our comfort zones by teaching you all… (drumroll)… how to apply color eyeshadow! GASP* Yes, it’s an appropriate look for all ages, lifestyles, and peoples. Take notes, y’all! It’s gonna be fun. YOU CAN DO IT!
Eyeshadow
It’s a scary word. And color-eyeshadow? I mean… forget it, right? It can seem daunting. So many questions. What brush do you use? Do you use your fingers? Why are there so many variations of the same shade? Where do you put what? What’s glitter, shimmer and matte? And whyyyyyyy. Like everything, start with one step. Today I used Too Faced’s Sparkling Pineapple Eyeshadow Palette ($34) to show you a step-by-step how-to for a very wearable look (seriously) to help you dip your toes into the world of color. And just in case you start to take yourself too seriously, the piña colada scent of the palette will bring you right back down to rainbow-earth!❤️🧡💛💚💙💜 (You’ll even be equipped with some Pro MUA tricks by the end!) Everything is intimidating until you learn the ropes. Baby Steps. Scroll down to take a look!
“True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are. ”
Til next Tuesday, slay all day, friends! -Renee