Jackie Aina Learned From the Best

Jackie Aina, 32, is an influencer, mogul, veteran of the armed services, advocate, and prolific vlogger, with over 3.3 million subscribers on YouTube. In her videos, she calls on cosmetics brands to release more inclusive shades for darker skin tones and calls out brands that miss the mark. Her expertise is such that e.l.f. Cosmetics, Sephora, and Too Faced have all partnered with her. In honor of International Women’s Day, Aina celebrates the transformative power of sisterhood.

I grew up in the 1990s and 2000s. Back then we had supermodels and traditional celebrities, and I was aware of them, but those women weren’t as diverse as the women in media that we have now. It was difficult for me to relate. For a while, that was fine; I never had the goal of being a public person. I wanted to work behind the scenes. When I was a girl at 9 or 10, I wanted to go to fashion school, learn more about design, and start a fashion line. Even makeup came later; I didn’t discover that until I was 19 or 20. Because I was so isolated and there were so few examples for me to follow, I didn’t have a clear sense of what I wanted to do with makeup or with social media. But I knew I was ambitious and I knew I wanted to give something back to the world.

It was because of social media and YouTube that I realized how important it is for people to be able to see people who look like them; even right when I started a channel, people would tell me how much it meant to them that I was doing this. But I knew I had a lot to learn. I was a working makeup artist and I wanted to take classes to get better, but I couldn’t afford that, so I would go to Borders or Barnes and Noble and look at makeup books and magazines. That’s how I started to realize that there were real professionals who worked in this business, and that’s how I learned about Pat McGrath.

Pat McGrath didn’t reinvent the wheel; Pat is the wheel. Now she has her own line, Pat McGrath Labs, but back then she was already trusted and so respected within the industry. The fact that there was a black woman that was the face, that was the head makeup artist at fashion shows and on photo shoots who was defining all these trends—it amazed me. It was such a turning point for me. I can’t even put into words what it feels like to see someone who looks like you, has that skin tone, doesn’t come from a well-connected background, and makes it. It made me think for the first time that there could be space for me in this business and that I had a chance, not despite who I am but because of it.

As soon as I learned more about her, I knew Pat would be an example for me. But I couldn’t have imagined the relationship I would build with her. We met not too long after I started getting serious about the channel, and Pat just made herself available to me. She’s taken me to fashion week in Milan. I’ve traveled to Japan with her. When she has opportunities, she thinks, “Who else can I include in this?” I can text her and be like, “Pat, I want to move into this area; I want to start this business,” and she’ll call me back with a plan. She’ll put me in touch with all the right people, she’ll give me advice, she’ll cheer me on. She supports artists who have small audiences and big ones, who are like her and different from her. She wants to share what she has. That has had a huge effect on me.

As black women, we’re sometimes put into this box. We wear something or pioneer a look, and it’s considered “ghetto.” Then a little later, people decide that’s a new cool thing, and we don’t get the credit. It doesn’t come from nowhere. I love the fact that Pat does what she does and no one can tell her whether that’s “allowed” or “appropriate.” She has this power where it’s like, “Oh, well if Pat did it, then it’s cool.” People admire her because of who she is, as an authentic leader and creative person. To me, that’s the goal. And when I look at other black women who are so creative and expressive, that’s what I want for them.

What women—and black women in particular—have shown me is that if we lift each other up, we all benefit. There are instances where I’m like, “I can do this, but I’m going to bring other people in because I can.” Every single time, I realize again that collaboration improves the work. It can be better and more magical with others than I could make it alone.

So just think of how incredible and how fierce it would be if women collaborated with each other more, if we saw each other as allies and not as competition. I have never regretted sharing opportunities with other women, and in those times that I’ve hesitated, it’s forced me to think about the misogyny that I’ve internalized. When people say women aren’t “cool” or that women are passive aggressive—those messages feed this idea that only a handful of women deserve to succeed. And who benefits when women see each other as a threat? And don’t work together? The status quo. And men.

Working with other women has also reinforced for me how important it is to tell someone what their work means and to encourage them. There are tons of women whose names I want people to know: Sharon Chuter from UOMA Beauty, is one example. She is a fellow Nigerian and her brand is just killing it. I tell her all the time, “Girl, you’re out here killing it.” Naomi Campbell is an icon. And Karen Civil, who knows all about music and hip hop—that woman is a big deal!

But supporting other women isn’t just about business or mentorship because there are the women that I know most people will never hear about who matter just as much to me as those bigger names. I think all the time about a woman I served with when I was in the U.S. Army. I was going through a divorce and I was at work; I had started the YouTube channel, but I wasn’t on social media full-time and I just remember feeling like I was going to crash and burn. A lieutenant found me in the bathroom at March Air Reserve Base, crying my eyes out, mascara running. I was the only girl who wore makeup on base in the whole company. She was obviously superior to me, but she saw me crying and could tell that I was just having a breakdown, just going through it.

I had never met this woman before, but she was also black and there weren’t a lot of us. Plus, she was so far above me in terms of rank. But she saw me just weeping and gave me the words that forever changed my life. She said, “Whatever you’re going through right now, this is not your final destination. You are more than this. You can make it through this.” It was a turning point for me, that this stranger would look at me and know that I was destined for something better than what I was dealing with at the time. It motivated me.

For every major moment in my life, a woman has been there, rooting for me. Even if we didn’t know each other that well or I felt like I didn’t deserve it, someone has seen me and said to me, “You can do this.” When I think about celebrating other women, that’s what I remember—how each of us can be that person for another woman. It’s a responsibility, but it’s also a privilege.

March 8 is International Women’s Day. To celebrate, we asked women like Jackie Aina, Cecile Richards, Andrea Mitchell, and more to reflect on how other women have lifted them up—mentored them, advised them, represented them, and above all showed them what was possible. We’ll be sharing their stories here all week.

Originally Appeared on Glamour