By Sable Yong, Allure
Many of us don't think about makeup beyond what we use to make our faces up for whatever the day brings us — work, school, a date. If you're someone who couldn't fathom the idea of leaving the house without a smidge of makeup on, imagine feeling that way after surviving serious burns on your face or body.
[post_ads]It's a reality for some people, and understandably something that could completely warp one's whole perspective on makeup and beauty, never mind the techniques for products geared towards people who don't have those issues.
[post_ads]It's a reality for some people, and understandably something that could completely warp one's whole perspective on makeup and beauty, never mind the techniques for products geared towards people who don't have those issues.
Who would know better about the transformative powers of makeup than a drag queen? We stumbled upon the work of Athena Dion, a Miami-based drag queen with serious makeup skills who decided to use her gifts to help a group of girls at the Jackson Burn Center. Upon seeing the smiling faces after a day well spent swapping glam tips on her Instagram, we reached out to Dion to talk about her experience.
Well interestingly, I started doing drag before I learned how to do makeup. I had a friend that would get me all dolled up in the early days until I started getting more work and had to really learn the techniques on my own. After studying different YouTube channels and many trial and error sessions, I got the hang of it. Since then I’ve worked for numerous makeup lines — Elizabeth Arden, MAC, DIOR, Chanel, e.t.c… I love doing makeup because of the relationship you build with your subject. You get the opportunity to enhance their beauty and features in a way that they may have never seen before. So it's always fun and rewarding when they see the final product! I love smiles!!
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How did you get connected with the Jackson Burn Center? Was there a similar event in your life or in the life of someone close to you that connected you to this organization’s cause?
Logan Toledano, a great friend and community activist who is also a head nurse in the burn unit approached me and asked if I would be interested in having a glam day with some of his past patients. He is truly an angel with such a kind spirit and had mentioned me to his patients and they loved the idea for me to come in and show [them] some makeup tips. I have worked with cancer patients before but never burn survivors so this was fairly new to me and honestly we had a blast! It was fun and I learned a lot from them, probably more than they learned from me.
How did the girls react to you visiting them to do their makeup?
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Did you have any expectations or goals for your visit with them? What did you hope to leave them with?
Honestly I really didn’t expect too much, but my goal was definitely to leave with them feeling empowered and beautiful! To be honest I left with more from that day than I think they did. These were some of the absolute most confident, bright, fun, and good-spirited girls I have ever met. They are not the victim of their circumstance, they are regular girls with a great outlook on life. Some came so close to death and yet today are so motivated and full of life. It was a big lesson to me to appreciate moments like this and love yourself and those close to you dearly!
Was anything about your experience surprising or particularly impactful for you?
All Drag All The Time:
