TextAlex Peters
‘When you are authentic and genuine with yourself there is a weight that will be lifted off of your shoulders that is inexplicable’
Pride collections can be a hit or
extremely miss affair. Limited-edition rainbow-branded products with vague ‘love is love’ slogans from corporation-owned brands often capitalise on queer identities for profit and then offer little – or, without naming names, literally nothing – to the community in return.
Of all the industries that will be putting out Pride-themed items this June, it is beauty that feels the most relevant and organic in its engagement with the community thanks to the role make-up has and does play, now and historically, in so many people’s expressions of gender and sexuality. Beauty brands also have a track-record of showing up for the LGBTQ+ community before it was trendy to do so. MAC Cosmetics, for example, set up the MAC AIDS Fund in 1994 and have since raised over $500 million for HIV and AIDS r