Pradaolic Shares How Her Queerness Drives Her Popular Makeup Looks
Although Pride celebrations will look different this month — shifting from parades to Zoom parties — the makeup is sure to be the same: colorful, fanciful, and fun. We asked five makeup artists and creators to share their dream Pride looks and how they're using makeup as an artistic medium to not only explore their identities but also cope during this difficult time in our new series, Pride in Place.
At just 19, Myla – or @pradaolic – has taken over Instagram feeds with fun floral- and fruit-accented graphic liner. While sheltering in place in Manchester, U.K., she created an unexpected look for Allure in honor of Pride and the drag queens who inspire her. Myla also shares with allure.com's beauty editor Devon Abelman how her queer identity powers her beloved makeup moments.
I like to see my queerness as my alter ego. I used to struggle a lot with my sexuality, as every other label felt too restricting. My queer identity is much more than a label that clarifies who I date, who I like, and the like. To me, my queerness...she's the one in charge of making every creative thought I have come to life, the one that makes me who I am today, the one that lets each look's energy speak for itself; she's my artistic-ness.
Speaking of which, I've been artistic ever since I was little — thanks to my mother, who passed her talents down to me — but growing up in a Black household, makeup was a big no-no. My mother deemed it as "looking too grown," so I wasn't allowed to wear any sort of makeup up until I was around 16 or 17. Of course, little did she know, when I entered year 11 in high school, I would sneak into her makeup bag, grab her eyebrow pencil and mascara, quickly put them on, and rush my happy self to school.
Ever since I got the yes from her, I jumped at that opportunity and finally started to really get into makeup. I didn't start doing any eye shadow looks up until January 2019, but that felt very limiting for me. I wanted to do something more, something bigger and just out there – that's when I thought, "Hm, why not start drawing on my face instead of on paper?" and that's how I found my profound love for editorial and avant-garde makeup.
This look was heavily inspired by my love for drag makeup from watching RuPaul's Drag Race and constantly being in absolute awe of the creativity showcased by those drag queens. I've also been endlessly watching my favorite alien queen Juno Birch on YouTube. She was one of the many people who gave me the push I needed to start exploring and experimenting with drag makeup. This look is my first-ever attempt at a soft, pastel drag makeup inspired by the one-and-only Juno.
As with all my looks, I sat in my garden on the grass connecting with nature, as well as bathing in the sun. I started with my skin throughly moisturized. Then, I glued my eyebrows up with some good ol' Elmer's Glue to achieve the "no eyebrow" look. While waiting for that to dry, I mixed the Kryolan's TV Paint Stick with a red Supracolor to create a nice pastel pink for my base to completely cover my face down to my neck with.
After that, I contoured and defined my face with the Claropsyche Psyche's Box palette and the Anastasia Beverly Hills Norvina Pro Pigment Palette Vol. 4. Then, I used a Mehron palette to draw cute Pride hearts on my cheeks. To finish it off, I topped my lips with Fenty Beauty's Gloss Bomb Universal Lip Luminizer in Glass Slippers.
To me, Pride means doing and being whoever and whatever your heart desires. It's being able to let your energy express itself freely and not holding back within a judgment-free environment — not to mention, Pride is really all about being truthful to yourself. We owe that to ourselves.
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Read more from Allure's Pride in Place project:
Makeup Artist Bob Scott Shares How Makeup Is a Tool of Self-Affirmation
19 LGBTQA+ Black Beauty Creators to Fill Your Instagram Feed With
Now, watch Billy Porter surprise a fan:
Follow Devon Abelman on Twitter and Instagram.
Originally Appeared on Allure
