Itâs a phrase that has become synonymous with the trans community â a rallying call to arms to defend and uplift our trans brothers and sisters at a time where insidious forces and global governments are hell-bent on erasing them entirely.
With that said, itâs more important than ever that our voices are louder than ever in celebrating trans people and what better occasion than Trans Pride? After events taking place in Brighton and Scotland earlier this month, itâs time for London Trans Pride+ to kick off.
Now in its seventh year â with a record-breaking 60,000 attendees last year â the event is a time for trans joy, remembrance and resilience in the face of the UKâs dehumanising trans toilet ban and workplace witch hunts.
To mark the occasion, we spoke to five of our fave trans trailblazers to discover more about their relationship with beauty, their makeup, skincare and fragrance must-haves and how theyâre celebrating Trans Pride this year.
su, i think
What is your earliest beauty memory?
In truth, it would be hanging around with all the emo and scene kids in Titchfield park in Mansfield. I desperately wanted to be like them, but my mum was so strict about hair dye and piercings. I suppose I remember desire; in retrospect I am quite happy she said no. Thanks mum.
When do you feel the most beautiful?
Is it dreadful to say all the time? I think inherently Iâm a good person who tries my best, external factors donât really count. However, Miss Universe answer aside, I think in the morning I feel the most beautiful in myself; before turning on my social media.
What does being trans mean to you?
It means knowing. Having deep knowledge of self and deep knowledge of the binaries, being educated in patriarchy and actively stepping back from it. Being educated on injustice within the world and removing yourself from involvement. It means standing up for yourself and others and accepting everyone as they are.
How has your relationship with beauty changed throughout your transition?
It really hasnât. I was gorgeous then, Iâm gorgeous now. I think people want you to say that ânow I got this done, I finally feel like myselfâ, but I was always myself. I just am different now; the beauty was there throughout it all.
How are you celebrating Trans Pride this year?
I release my new single a couple of days before Trans Pride. Itâs called âHit Me Thenâ and is about standing up for yourself. Iâm debuting the song at Nottingham Pride, which is the place where I grew up. Itâs always such a gorgeous time as all communities come together to support one another. Itâs a blessing to be able to share my music with everyone there.
What three beauty products canât you live without?
I have to shout out La Roche-Posay Anthelios UVMUNE 400 Ultra-Light Invisible Fluid SPF50+. It keeps me glowy all day and protected from the sun over summer.
I love MAC Lipglass in Oh Baby layered with MAC Lipglass Clear, it leaves your lips soooo plump and gorgeous.
Finally, I need to shout out Burt because his Bees are the reason I am alive today.
What is your best beauty tip?
Girl, be nice to people, youâll look so ugly if youâre not. No shade.
What is your signature beauty look?
I always paint my face the same, giving bronzed diva hair up in a bun. Quite Pam Anderson, no eyebrows kinda chic. I hope that makes sense.
What is your signature scent and how would you describe it?
I have been using Gucci Bloom since I can remember. It smells like fresh flowers and lasts FOREVER. Itâs so good wearing it before a show; coming off stage and still getting compliments. Gucci girl, I donât mind being in your next campaign. MWAH.
Charlie Craggs
What is your earliest beauty memory?
When me and my brothers were kids and we'd get our faces painted, I'd always ask to be a girl. I have the best parents who let me be the girl I wanted to be metaphorically and literally.
When do you feel the most beautiful?
Sometimes it hits me when I'm doing my makeup how far I've come in my physical transition â aligning my outside to match my insides and how far I've come in feminising my face and body to align with my idea of beauty and femininity. We live our lives doing mundane tasks like our makeup on autopilot going through the motions, sometimes when you stop and think about what you're doing and actually look at yourself, you see how far you've come and who you really are today.
What does being trans mean to you?
Free.
How has your relationship with beauty changed throughout your transition?
The older I get and the further I am into my transition, the less I've become focused on chasing beauty. So much of my (and most trans girls) early transition is hyper focused on looks and surgery, there comes a point where you need to stop chasing perfection and accept yourself as you, just like cis women have to. They aren't perfect Barbie dolls and we donât need to be perfect Barbie dolls either.
How are you celebrating Trans Pride this year?
Everyday is trans pride for me.
What three beauty products canât you live without?
Thanks to surgery and laser, I've luckily gotten to a stage where I prefer a natural makeup look rather than full coverage glam. I feel like it helps me pass more, making my everyday life easier. Blendable products like Milk Makeup Sculpt Stick are perfect for gentle contour and for blush: I like using MAC Mineralise Skinfinish Natural Powder instead of foundation. I love MACStack Mascara Mega Brush (butMaybelline Sky High Lash Sensational Mascara is a good dupe).
What is your best beauty tip?
Embrace your natural skin colour. Girls in this country are obsessed with being more tanned than they are, but wearing a foundation that's too tanned for you means you have to make every other part of your body on show the same colour. Ain't nobody got time for that.
What is your signature beauty look?
Pale skin. Freckles. Loads of mascara.
What is your signature scent and how would you describe it?
I donât really have a signature scent, I just wear what I'm sent by brands (lol), but I wish they'd bring back the Lady Gaga Fame perfume. *THAT* was 2012-little-gay-boy-me's signature scent.
Tiara Skye
What is your earliest beauty memory?
My earliest beauty memory is the first time stepping into drag, being able to express myself, really identify with how I felt and understanding what beauty meant, for me.
When do you feel the most beautiful?
I feel the most beautiful when I'm happy, when I can exude and when I can shine.
What does being trans mean to you?
Being able to express myself and live my truth. To be trans is to be myself and to be part of a community of many others that have been there before me and who will continue to be there long after me.
How has your relationship with beauty changed throughout your transition?
Beauty and I have become closer, not necessarily the outer beauty, but the inner beauty of people when they are able to just be themselves and grow.
How are you celebrating Trans Pride this year?
The plan is to be there and be a key part of the event, showing up for the community and being visible, loud and proud
What three beauty products canât you live without?
Kryolan TV Paint Stick is always a must for me, nothing else matches it. A nice red lipstick too, preferably from MAC, and a brown eyebrow pencil is an absolute given.
What is your best beauty tip?
Using a straight edge card to get that sharp cat-eye look.
What is your signature beauty look?
The cat-eye, each and every time, always!
What is your signature scent and how would you describe it?
My signature scent is a mix of Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue and Jean Paul Gaultier Classique. The scent of a strong woman that has been around the block and back. Confident, experienced and street smart, with a bit of rich bitch energy.
Talulah Eve
What is your earliest beauty memory?
Watching my mum get ready for a night out in the 90s, the whole roller-set hair, frosted lip gloss, a cloud of Impulse body spray. It was like witnessing a transformation ritual. I remember thinking, âThatâs power!â. Not the makeup, but the performance. I clocked that early. The moment she was not there, I would do the same. I would wrap the towels around my head and envision I had long hair. Even back then I was never crazy on a red lip, but I used to love the blusher!
When do you feel the most beautiful?
When Iâve got nothing to prove. When Iâm in my skintight athleisure, skin is dewy, hair is laid and Iâm walking through the world with the kind of unapologetic energy that makes people turn around. True beauty is in your own creation, knowing that this is your beauty. You feel a connection to yourself on a soul level when you show up as you and not necessarily as a version of whatâs hot right now. Beauty isnât in the mirror, itâs in how you take up space.
What does being trans mean to you?
It means knowing yourself beyond what the world tried to assign you and still choosing to be authentic. Itâs divine rebellion, itâs punk and soft and holy all at once. Being trans is art, itâs truth, itâs coming home to yourself and throwing a party when you get there.
How has your relationship with beauty changed throughout your transition?
In the beginning, beauty felt like armour. I always felt as though the bolder the statement I made, the more I was throwing it back at those that had the strongest opinions of me. Now it feels like expression. Iâm no longer trying to convince anyone, Iâm just showing up as the full fantasy. The pressureâs off, the fun is on.
How are you celebrating Trans Pride this year?
Iâll be out in Soho being loud, glittery, and visible. Taking up space and reminding the world weâre not going anywhere.
What three beauty products canât you live without?
The Ordinary Saccharomyces Ferment 30% Milky Toner. I love a milky toner and this one just makes my skin look like glass when I mix it with my foundation.
Recently Iâve been using the NYX Professional Makeup Buttermelt Glaze Skin Tint + SPF30 Foundation and it just makes me look so barely there when paired with the milky toner.
My friend got me onto the Nudestix Nudies Matte All Over Face Bronze Colour in Bondi Bae and wow itâs so dreamy, I love it.
What is your best beauty tip?
Never underestimate the power of a white eyeliner in the waterline, itâs like adding eight hours of sleep back into your face. Using a good LED mask three times a week works wonders for bringing back the plumpness. I use the Simple Kind To Skin Coconut Water Hydrating Mask first and then the Dr Dennis Gross LED mask after.
What is your signature beauty look?
I like to look sultry. I like hydration on the skin, barely-there foundation. Earthy eyes, lots of browns and nudes, understated winged lashes. Freckles on the nose, feathered eyebrows and a simple liner on the lips.
I love the TikTok astrology theory which is that everyone should align their image with their Venus sign. My Venus is in Virgo and it really does explain why those earthy colours really suit me because Virgo is an Earth sign.
What is your signature scent and how would you describe it?
Iâm obsessed with Jasmine Oud at the moment. I mix it with sandalwood and I get compliments for days! It gives soft, sensual and creamy.
Alexandra Diamond-Rivlin
What is your earliest beauty memory?
My entire childhood was motivated by an obsession with beauty, with dress-up, makeup and dolls. I was a creative child, meaning I drew a lot, but I also had a fascination with repurposing clothes â tearing them apart, wearing them in strange and exciting ways. It could be a glove transformed into a hat, or trousers into a frayed skirt. I loved pairing my âpiecesâ with red lipstick and mascara, which looking back, feels a bit Jean Paul Gaultier. Gag it!
I had an instinct for creating alternative beauty, but the problem was that I had no cultural references to understand this better. Then âPoker Faceâ by Lady Gaga came out, and I was hooked. Seeing her rise heroically from a swimming pool for the first time like some sea God clad in a latex bodysuit (which looked like a piece had been torn off and fashioned into a hat), lightning erupting behind her, I couldnât help but see so much of my beauty instincts shimmering back at me. She wore the costume with a face of wet, heavy concealer, thick mascara and a nude lip. I thought it was so fierce, so electric and I still do!
When do you feel the most beautiful?
I feel most beautiful when Iâm alone in my bedroom, dancing in the mirror to âTimes Like Theseâ by Addison Rae.
What does being trans mean to you?
Free parties that everyone else has to pay for.
How has your relationship with beauty changed throughout your transition?
I recently wrote a personal essay for Teen Vogue about how my makeup routine developed the further I progressed into my transition and the more passable I became. âMakeupâ, I wrote, â[became] less about expression and more about fitting in â a way of polishing myself into a seamless blend.â I described my journey with beauty in this way because, particularly during the start of my transition, I just wanted to assimilate, and that meant removing as many signifiers of queerness from my style as possible: No lashes or bright lipstick, just minimal, clean-girl vibes. But really, whoâd want to live without glamour?
I still love a minimal look, but Iâm back to serving cunt again when I can. Missed it.
How are you celebrating Trans Pride this year?
Kissing cute boys at Club Are.
What three beauty products are you obsessed with right now and why?
ISAMAYA Metal Lip Balm in the shade pantomime, Jecca Blac Brow Seal, and Dior Backstage Eye Palette.
What is your best beauty tip?
To get a proper 90s/00s lip combo, I line my lips with an eyebrow pencil. I find it stays longer!
What is your signature beauty look?
I want to look as wet and dewy as possible. I literally want to look like the doctor told me that my liquid oestrogen needs to be rubbed into the skin on my arm or upper thigh, and I said, âno, itâs going on my face, and Iâm not washing it off ever.â I want to look hot and sweaty, like Iâve just danced for the filming of Eric Prydz âCall on Meâ music video, or like itâs my natural state to be utterly soaked in the oils of my own femininity. Other than that, I like super thin eyebrows.
What is your signature scent and how would you describe it?
Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir. Sultry. Sexy. Transsexual.
