WELCOME
Stephanae McCoy: Welcome back to another edition of Bold Blind Beauty On A.I.R. podcast. The show that's clearing the air for more A.I.R. (access, inclusion, and representation). I’m Stephanae McCoy, and with me on my co-hosts,
Nasreen Bhutta: I’m Nasreen Bhutta
Sylvia Stinson-Perez: and Sylvia Stinson-Perez.
Nasreen: Unfortunately, Sylvia could not be here with us in this episode of Bold Blind Beauty On A.I.R. however, we can hardly wait for her to rejoin us in our next episode. In Sylvia’s absence, our beauty editor, Dana Hinnant, is sitting in with us here today. Hey, Dana.
Dana: Hey, Nasreen. Hey, Steph. It is a pleasure to be with you guys. As always.
Steph: It’s a pleasure to have you with us here today, Dana.
Dana: Gonna have some fun.
Nasreen: Definitely.
Steph: We certainly will, ladies, because today for the first time, our listeners will be able to meet our new Brand Ambassadors. If you all recall back in episode 10, we talked about our Global Ambassador Campaign from which we selected seven remarkable, Bold Leaders Illuminating New Directions.
So our lineup today begins with the introduction of the ambassadors. Afterward, Dana will share her Monthly Beauty Byte. Then Dana, Nasreen, and I will have a conversation about beauty. But first, I’d like to share a thought around access and beauty.
From an advocacy standpoint, when we talk about access, we’re mainly speaking to basic human rights. However, the cool thing about advocacy is that it can be done in a multitude of ways, and in a myriad of arenas. Take beauty, for example, out of all the major beauty and fashion magazines. Can you remember the last time you’ve seen a blind model grace the cover? It was partly because of this lack of access and representation that I created Blind Beauty, now known as Monthly Beauties, to showcase Bold, Blind, Beautiful, and Accomplished women.
It’s important to remember that beauty is not one-dimensional. And now it gives me great pleasure to introduce you to Bold Blind Beauty’s exquisite Brand Ambassadors.
ANISA
Anisa Proda 2:45: Hi, everybody, my name is Anisa Proda. I am based in Seattle, Washington, and I’m very excited to be one of the Bold Blind Beauty Ambassadors.
For me, beauty has been always a topic of importance, because first of all, my culture, I am originally from Albania, puts a lot of emphasis on a culture of beauty. So for me as a blind person, I had to figure out on my own, how to hold myself up to the highest standard that my culture puts on beauty. And over time, I discovered that beauty is not an exclusive territory of people that can see but people that cannot see, like myself, have many creative, nonvisual ways to stay beautiful and to be aesthetically pleasing for other people.
So I find myself very much related to the Bold Leaders Illuminating New Directions, the mission of our ambassadorship, because myself, especially in the last four or five years, I have to take many steps to really present myself first of all, to myself as a bold leader. And one of the new directions that I had to take was to start a new journey and immigrate and start all over again, my new life.
So I’m very happy for this great opportunity because I have many ideas in my mind, and I have some cool projects that I would like to implement with local partners here in the Seattle area where I live. So I’m looking forward to exploring this great opportunity. Thank you
ANNE
Anne 4:39: Hi, everyone. My name is Anne at Purpose In View, and I am from British Columbia, Canada. My vision is to inspire a barrier-free world with a clear vision and purpose to live to your full potential.
I applied to be an Ambassador with Bold Blind Beauty as my vision and their guiding principles align. As an Ambassador, I can positively empower, connect to be that person that someone can relate to, and break barriers through my voice and representation.
To me, beauty is a quality is an interpersonal skill, how you make someone feel through your everyday actions, by encouraging and empowering, nurturing relationships, and showing respect and compassion. It is also how you shape others to live in positive ways. It’s a way of seeing beauty from the heart.
As an ambassador, I hope to bring representation and diversity. As a visually impaired Asian woman living with a chronic illness, I want to be able to build up and inspire this community so that we can all continue to make a difference in our own ways. We can all be Bold Leaders Illuminating New Directions in our everyday lives.
I am a learner and a listener. I feel in life, you’re always learning something new. My passion has always been in interior design, and the use of space. I love the principles of universal design, and how it provides accessibility and independence. A fun fact about myself is that although I may seem quiet and shy, at home, I’m quite the comedian, and have a silly sense of humor. I also love to eat, but cannot cook.
AZIZA
Aziza 6:48: My name is Aziza and I live in Denver, Colorado. I’ve decided to try and become an Ambassador to encourage others to really embrace self-expression and kind of dive into beauty and fashion choices. And also to hopefully encourage people in the beauty and fashion industry to take a greater interest in the disability community and make these products as accessible and universal as possible.
Beauty to me is what makes you feel beautiful. So how do you feel inside about the things you’re wearing things you’re putting on your skin and in your hair? Because I think if you don’t enjoy the routines that you have every day, then we should change that. And so making beauty fun and part of self-expression, I think is this definition of beauty.
I hope to learn from my peers through this process and get more involved in the beauty and fashion industries and raising up disability voices. Some of my hobbies include reading I’m a really big bookworm, and I like advice column-type podcasts. And a fun fact about me is that I collect charms for a bracelet
BETHANY
Bethany 8:27: My name is Bethany, I’m from Adelaide, South Australia living on traditional Ghana land. I decided to apply to be a Bold Blind Beauty Ambassador to connect with others and share their stories and experiences to give back to the VI (visually impaired) community that always uplifts me and supports me and to join Bold Blind Beauty in dismantling harmful stereotypes about blindness and disability as well as to support their mission and goals.
Beauty is many things it’s a feeling a way of thinking, self-belief, passion, confidence, honesty. Beauty is timeless, ageless, and is a very personal and individual quality.
As a Bold Blind Beauty Ambassador, I hope to build strong connections with the community, spotlight their stories and meet new people. I hope to broaden my knowledge and the reach of Bold Blind Beauty to expand the impact of the goals and pursuits and to hopefully make lasting positive change.
I am a writer of short stories and poetry. And in my free time, I dabble with playing the piano and singing as well as art. I also love makeup and expressing my creativity with cosmetics. A fun fact about me is that I have a Braille tattoo on my left forearm which reads infinite vision. Which reminds me that blindness is a big part of my life. But it isn’t where my life stops.
CHRISTINA
Christina 10:04: My name is Christina, I’m from Georgia. The reason I applied to be an Ambassador, as I’ve wanted to be a part of B3 for a long time, I thought this would be a great way to contribute.
I define beauty as people who contribute to their community, have empathy toward other people, and do their best to help others.
What I do hope to accomplish as an ambassador is to show people that people with blindness and disabilities can advocate for themselves, and hope to be able to advocate for people who are unable to speak for themselves.
My hobbies and interests, I like to exercise, I run, I like to do yoga, all types of things like that, I like to try different things. And a fun fact about myself is I’ve traveled to 18 states. And my goal was to hopefully travel to all 50. And I want to thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of this. Thank you.
EMILEE
Emilee Schevers 11:22: Hi everyone, my name is Emilee and I’m from Ontario, Canada. In my free time, I love spending time outdoors by families and especially painting my nails all the fun colors.
A fun fact about me is that I actually run my own disability campaign called True faces alongside my sister, which inspired me to get more involved in things like Bold Blind Beauty. I applied to be a Bold Blind Beauty Ambassador to really be a role model to others with disabilities and show them how to embrace the beauty of being yourself.
To me, Beauty means that you’re really your true and authentic self. And a part of that, for me is embracing my disability. Something as simple as changing my cane color from red to pink really contributes to my own sense of beauty, and how I choose to represent myself and that’s a super important, important part of beauty for me.
As an Ambassador, I know I will be part of an incredible community that’s already existing. And I really hope to inform others about this incredible brand. I’m so excited to be a part of this team and I look forward to what it has to offer.
REBECCA
Rebecca 12:32: Hi, I’m Becky from Nevada, I applied to be a Bold Blind Beauty Ambassador, because I wanted to help bring awareness to the misconceptions that surround the spectrum of blindness. Mostly blindness as being in complete darkness and those anybody else is able to see. However, the majority of the visually impaired community actually live between being able to see and then complete darkness and it can be anywhere along that spectrum.
I see beauty as not the external but the internal. Those who walk into a room and give off kindness and inclusion in every one of their interactions are the true beauties of this world.
As an Ambassador, I hope to be able to help build community, provide resources, and ultimately advocate for those with visual impairments as well as other disabilities. Outside of this, I enjoy doing pretty much anything fitness-related. Some of my favorites are yoga, stand-up paddleboarding, running, and biking. And a fun fact about me is I actually named a Crayola Color when I was 10 years old and it is still in production to this day.
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SPONSOR
Dana 13:58: This segment is brought to you by United Health Care’s Medicare Advantage Program. Do you live in the DC, Maryland, and Virginia areas? Are you a senior or a person between the ages of 18 and 59 living with a disability? If so, you may qualify for United Health Care’s Medicare Advantage Program. It comes with great perks such as over-the-counter allowances and allowance for healthy food.
For more information, go to http://www.uhc.com United Health Care’s Medicare Advantage Program in DC Maryland Virginia is one of the official sponsors of our Ambassador’s Program.
DANA'S BEAUTY BYTE
Dana 14:57: Here’s what’s happening in beauty: new product launch from OPI. If you’re looking for a healthier alternative to nail polish, they have just released their Nature Strong comes in 30 shades and just in time for the spring and summer season. So get those toes and fingers ready.
Also trending and beauty is cream blush. Now cream blush can be very beneficial for somebody who has drier skin. It gives them a more natural look without looking too powdery or cakey and looks like you have an inner glow. So you might want to give it a try cream blush.
And the hair color that is trending this go-round is, can we say hello to Merlot? This beautiful wine shade is popping up on social media. Cheers. And that’s your Bold Blind Beauty Byte.
Nasreen 16:03: Merlot now, that’s a color Steph, I think I can support that. Last time Dana brought us a brown paper bag. So that was a little risqué, but merlot, hmm, I think I like that one.
Steph 16:17: Oh, I definitely could do merlot is just a matter of what style I want.
Dana 16:23: Oh, that’d be pretty on a wig Steph with a tinge of red into it. Why not?
Steph 16:29: That’s what I’m thinking.
Dana 16:31: Right? What do you guys think about cream blush? Do you use it, not use it?
Steph 16:37: When I was younger, I used it. I wouldn’t use it. Now. Actually, to be honest with you. I haven’t used blush in years, partly because my minimalist living trickled down into my makeup routine as well. And I found that there really was no need for it for me personally. Then when I began losing my sight, it just made it that much easier because it was one less thing to worry about. But the cream, to answer your question when I was younger, I had very oily skin and it just didn’t work out so well for me. So I was a powder blush girl.
Nasreen 17:15: Yeah, I think I like the powder blush as well because I have more control on the brush that I use. I feel like maybe if I didn’t do it right, or I need some help on learning how to apply it. Otherwise, I look like someone slapped me silly.
Dana 17:30 You know, I’m gonna give you a little tip if you ever want to try it. Like I said to me, I think it works a little bit better if your skin is a little drier. So if you take the stick forms, you take your little stick form, and just do one stripe on the apple of your cheek (smile so you can feel that bulge). And just do one stripe on each cheek and blend it just make sure the biggest thing in any type of makeup application is blending and blend it, blend it, blend it, blend it really well. So all you can see is like a high more of a highlight with a hint of color. I think if you just do it that way, just one stripe on each cheek and just blend, blend it. blend it. I think you can’t go wrong with it.
Nasreen 18:21: Yeah, I’ve seen some by the Fenty company, I really liked some of their packaging, and seen the cream blushes. But again, I’ve been reluctant to try that type of blush style. But I think with this tip that you gave Dana, I think this will be kind of like it’s a good help. To start it I just want to make sure that I don’t look like it’s too you know, too bold in one area too less than the other area. So it’s something to play around with. I’ll have to play around with it and see how it looks. But that one yeah, a cream blush is a little bit difficult, I think or it’ll take some practice that’s for sure will take practice.
Dana 19:05: And all makeup applications will take you know some bit of practice until you get the hang of it. And always remember the key with makeup and any makeup artist will tell you is just blend, blend, blend, blend, blend, and then blend some more. That’s the only way you can get it to look so natural. And in the future, I probably will share some of my brushes I like to use, what types of brushes I like to use, and even some of the beauty gadgets that I like to use to help blend the makeup so stay tuned for that too.
Nasreen 19:40: Oh, I certainly will because I think they’ll be most helpful to me and some of the listeners out there because you need a good brush and which one there’s so many.
Dana 19:48: Yes, absolutely.
Steph 19:50: Right and for those who are new to makeup or those who are just interested in experimenting with it. Another tip is to practice, practice, practice. Practice makes perfect and even for people who don’t have sight issues, they practice until they can just throw it on and go about their business. When you mentioned the stick blush, I do remember using that and I had much better success with that particular formula than just a creamy blush that comes in a little pot. And then there were those times when I’ve been out maybe I didn’t have any blush, and I use a little lip color and blended into my cheeks. Have you ever done that?
Yes.
Nasreen 20:36: Yes. Hold on that at some point, though, keeping that? Yeah, yes,
Steph 20:43: in a pinch, and it’s like, you know, you need a little bit of color. So you just swipe on a little bit and blend, blend, blend. And it worked. It does its job. But once I started using the powder blush, I really liked the ease of application. And even the way it blended, I think just for my skin type it worked out best for me. So that was my product of choice in the blush category.
Dana 21:09: Right. And I agree like the, I think the stick formulas, the ones that look like lipstick, but it’s actually a blush. I think if you’re going to use a cream blush, go with a stick. It gives you a little bit more control. If you stick to like the tip that you know gave out. It just gives you more control than getting maybe a pot cream blush or whatever. Hey, I’m all about easy.
Nasreen 21:37: Yeah, I hear you. Makeup should be easy, should be fun. Dana, that tip that you’re giving if I take my stick blush and put it on the apples of my cheeks, which way do I blend?
Dana 21:49: Go up towards the ear, towards your temple blend up that way. The key is just to get it blended. So it won’t look like you got stripes going on in your face. You want to look like your cheek, you know, somebody pinched her cheek and you got a little flush of color. So if you just blend, I would say blend upward towards your temples towards your ear. And if like I said, if you always have issues of trying to find where to put my blush, you can’t go wrong with the apples of your cheek. And all you have to do is smile to find that bulge, and you just can feel it. And use that as your guide to put your blush on and just blend towards your temple and your ear going up.
Nasreen 22:34: Well, that’s helpful. I’ll definitely try that next time I have to go out I’ll borrow my daughter’s stick blush and try that. And Dana what color of stick blushes is popular this season, do you know?
Dana 22:47: The rosy shades, I’m noticing a lot of the self-adjusting blushes meaning it’s your natural blush, I’ve seen it in powders too. So if you can get a hold of something like that, that would be great. Because what it’ll do is just will act with the pH in your skin and what you will naturally flush. So you’ll always have the perfect blush for you. But the rosy pinks, a little bit of the corals, and what like what you would probably if somebody gave you a compliment what would you naturally blush? You know maybe have somebody tell you “oh your cheek looks a little peachy or it looks pink,” when somebody gives you a compliment and then use that as your guide because that will look the most natural on you.
Nasreen 23:38: I know mine goes pinky so I but I love all these colors and that the other one that you said of natural that’s a no brainer because I think anybody can use that and not have to give it a second thought like am I what color am I? Because naturally sounds like the hues will come out so that’s a no-brainer. Oh my goodness Dana this is just absolutely wonderful. I love it.
This makes blushing so easy.
Dana 24:02: Yeah, because it’s a difficult thing. It’s probably the most challenging thing for you know, for a lot of people or they just forget it, they just like screw it. I’m not doing it all together. But it just you know, blush is pretty popular now because even though in certain parts people are still masked up. So what’s exposed is like your eye area and your cheeks. So to make your skin that’s like blush like the instant highlighter without the contour and all and all the powder and stuff but it’s the easiest way to highlight your cheeks and in a natural way.
Nasreen 24:44: I love that. I hope we’re taking the fear factor out of some women out there who resist blush because it’s so difficult for them. I'm hoping this encourages them to go out and try some and put a splash of color on their face.
WHAT DOES BEAUTY MEAN?
Steph 24:57: I’d like to interject while we’re on the topic of blush, makeup, and beauty, we asked our ambassadors to define what beauty means to them. And I’d like to throw the question out to the two of you, what does beauty mean to each of you?
Nasreen: Wow, that’s a good question. I guess when you’re visually impaired, sometimes you don’t think about what does beauty mean to me? So if I have to think about it, to me, it’s something that is unique to oneself. It is something that comes from within something that is not on the surface, but skin deep. How you feel how you carry yourself, I believe beauty is an attitude. When you put it all together and that’s applying your makeup, your blush, your hair color, and your outfit put all together, it’s an attitude. How you feel, how you want the world to see you, in what light, what is your mood for that moment. And you carry it with confidence head held high. So I think beauty to me means attitude, with all that. Dana.
Dana: I love your response Nasreen. And I would add to the fact that people’s true hearts. When you see their true heart, their kindness, their loving spirit, and their inner beauty just on the inside, and it transforms to their outer beauty. And they care about how they look and it’s an attitude and it’s a form of confidence. When you can see somebody it’s not cockiness, but confidence. And they feel comfortable in their skin of who they are as a person. They’re not worried about what people think, or being competitive with anybody. They’re just exuding what they want for themselves and I think that’s beautiful. That whole when you see somebody who’s confident in who they are, and that’s beautiful, the inner and the outer, all together.
Nasreen: How about you Steph?
Steph: Yeah, it’s like it radiates from within when a person feels really good about themselves. For me, I think the essence of real beauty begins with authenticity. And I think authenticity begins with being self-aware.
So to your point, Dana, when you know who you are, and you’re confident within yourself, it radiates from the inside and shines on the outside. I believe that real beauty acknowledges the value of a person, regardless of anything that might set them apart from other people. I think that it’s inclusive, and it accepts and embraces people where they are, as they are. And to me, that’s real beauty.
My grandmother, I remember saying when I was very little, that you can take someone who’s physically attractive, physically beautiful on the outside, but yet if they have no depth to them on the inside, once you really get to know them. You see them in a different light. And then, on the other hand, you can have a person who is considered plain or ordinary on the outside, but yet their kindness, compassion, and love in the way they treat other people, that just, it just shines. and you see that person in a different light. So for me, real beauty is just that intangible something that is, you know, within a person and it’s their humanity and how they treat others. That to me is real beauty.
Dana: Makes me think of a package like a Christmas package. It was like It looks pretty on the outside but there’s nothing on the inside. It’s just an empty box.
Nasreen: Hollow and shallow.
Steph: I agree with you. So we leave you with these final words. “Beauty is the illumination of your soul.” John O’Donoghue.
Nasreen: Thank you for listening to this episode of Bold Blind Beauty On A.I.R. Please subscribe and if you enjoyed this show, do recommend it to your friends and family. Thanks for listening everyone.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
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