Six Queer Beauty Gurus You Should Be Following on Instagram
Beauty gurus are all the rage, but as in everything, queers just do it better. Who are the hair stylists, nail experts, makeup artists, and drag queens you need on your feed? We compiled a seriously snatched list of our favorites.
Ryan Burke: The SFX Artist
What do you do?
I mostly work as a makeup artist and photographer, and I occasionally host nightlife events for Ladyfag and Susanne Bartsch.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
To be honest, probably Disney princesses and Star Wars characters like Queen Amidala. I wasn't aware of the fashion or beauty industry, so fantasy was my introduction. It's different now. I wonder, if I was 10 years old currently, how would I perceive beauty differently?
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
Nothing is more important than a good moisturizer. I change mine each time I finish a product. Currently, I'm using Le Soin Noir by Givenchy.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
Lately, I've been into deep shadow in the bottom inner corner of the eye. It's a great trick to mask dark circles.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
I explore beauty without a focus on gender or commercialized beauty standards. Because I grew up as an outsider, being queer is about being unique in many ways other than just sexuality. I look for that in myself and in others in order to create and be inspired.
Beau Nelson: The Glam Guru
What do you do?
I'm a celebrity makeup artist, photographer, and fine artist.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
My grandmother applying her searing hot-pink wet n wild lipstick with a matching nail color.
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
My Chanel eyelash curler. This beauty tool is magic for everyone. It opens your eyes, making you look awake and refreshed.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
I use a short, flat stiff brush dipped in Lancome Bi-Facil Makeup Remover to sharpen and perfect lip lines and liquid eyeliner. It makes perfection easy.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
I see women in a way that sometimes straight men -- and maybe even those ladies themselves -- don't. There's nothing like giving someone a new way to look at herself, and sometimes seeing my vision of her gives her a new perspective.
Bob Scott: The Brow Boss
What do you do?
I am a makeup artist and brow specialist.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
There were definitely times when I was tempted to try to play with the makeup my sisters got as holiday or birthday gifts, but my earliest and clearest memory of beauty was in third grade when I decided to deal with my unibrow. One day, I got a razor, locked myself in my mom's bathroom, and shaved my brow straight down the middle, so they ended up as far apart as the razor was wide.
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
A bentonite clay mask.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
It's one that helps my foundation look more natural. After I apply foundation (I love NARS Sheer Glow), I take my hands and rub them together until they are warm. Then I press my hands on the skin to push the foundation in. This helps the makeup sink into the skin and takes off any excess. This way, you can keep your overall face very light in coverage, and it helps the foundation look more natural.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
Beauty (despite all of the glorified rules and standards) should be an affirming part of everyone's daily life beyond just expression through color, down to skincare and grooming. It should always be about celebrating your body and what you have, and should be free from conventional gender rules. When I am shaping someone's brows, I hear them out when they say they want to emulate this or that person's, but I always try to get them to see how good their own brows can be.
Juan Alvéar: The Nail Provocateur
What do you do?
I've gained recognition for my nail art, but I would consider myself a fine artist, as I also paint, sculpt, and make furniture and jewelry.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
I used to carry a doll with me everywhere, and one day, I scribbled on her face with a blue Sharpie. I remember feeling anxious that I may have ruined her, but I also knew there was no turning back. I think this moment added a layer of sentimentally to her -- to our already extremely strong bond -- as if we had gone through an important milestone together.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
I like to take something I'm accustomed to and find beauty in, then add or change an element that I also find pretty, cute, or interesting--like adding a dangling crystal to a French tip.
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
Floss Gloss's Disco Dust Nail Polish.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
Being queer to me, in very general terms, is about embracing failure. My approach is to involve concept, shape, and experimentation before practicality and functionality, creating an alternate reality to the everyday.
Japanese Faces: The Beat Master
What do you do?
I use makeup and creative direction to transform and change lives. I have a true love for art and beauty and, through them, I found a way to be a vessel.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
I was 8 years old, and I remember actually watching my mother apply her eyeliner and dark red lipstick lined in black. So effortless and classic.
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
Beauty is all about the glow. And what better way than to glow using Lueur Naturelle? It's the perfect all-natural highlighting product to give your face that shine while still giving skin.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
My favorite beauty trick is actually adding a dewy highlighter glow to a matte face. I do it by using cream and liquid foundations all over and powders in only certain areas to avoid moving the moisture from the cheekbone area. Then, I apply my Lueur oil-based highlighter glow on the moist spots to create a skin-like glow.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
Because I identify with both "him" and "her," I can relate to one's inner beauty rather than their masculinity or femininity.
Creme Fatale: The Drag Queen
What do you do?
I'm a drag queen! I accept no other title.
What's your earliest memory of beauty?
When I was younger, my godmother would do her makeup in the morning after my mom dropped me off, and I would watch her while pretending to sleep. I would sneak over to her vanity to take sniffs of her Coty powder. You know the one that definitely smells like your grandma? I loved it. I use that powder still.
What's one beauty product you can't live without?
Eyeliner. I use INGLOT #77 Gel and Sephora Collection Colorful Waterproof Liquid Liner. I remember stealing my mom's eyeliner on Halloween in middle school and never giving it back. I locked myself in the bathroom every day after school for weeks, trying to draw a cat eye until my face felt raw from removing and reapplying. A good cat eye is a Latina badge of honor, and I earned mine quick.
What's your favorite beauty trick?
Blush on the nose, in and out of drag. I love that slightly sickly, overly flushed look, and this gives you the perfect blushing angel look -- but with a cold.
How do you approach beauty through a queer lens?
I didn't have friends to whom I felt connected until I met my queer family. I felt trapped in my own voice and body. I finally felt understood in my vision of creation and art when I began doing drag. So, for me, beauty is about the freedom to become anything you desire.
