This Beauty Brand Was Created Especially for the Trans Community
It's taken a long time — too long — for the beauty industry to catch up when it comes to inclusivity, but this year it's felt like there have been some important strides made, with megabrands like L'Oreal signing trans models as spokespersons and uberpopular companies like Glossier and Fenty Beauty providing products in a range of shades actually made for a diverse array of skintones (a revolutionary concept, we know). Still, there remain hiccups along the way, with moments of inclusivity often feeling like cringe-worthy tokenism — which, thankfully, is not the case with new beauty line Jecca.
Working with makeup artist Jessica Blackler, Jecca was created specifically with the transgender community in mind. "I was getting requests from transgender women for makeup lessons, where they could come and feel comfortable in a safe space," she told The Cut. "I set up a studio where I would have ladies come to my house and we’d do makeup. I had a really good response with that from members of the LGBT community and it evolved from there. Lots of my clients have similar struggles, such as beard shadow. They couldn’t cover it up with regular products. They also didn’t feel comfortable going into the store and getting a makeup lesson or asking for advice. Jecca overlooks gender and celebrates individuality."
Backler is also an ambassador for LGBT charity organization Stonewall, to which a portion of the brand's profits are donated, proving that this isn't just some sort of marketing gimmick, as some have accused beauty brands of using (including Rihanna). "People tell me a larger brand could do what I do on a much bigger scale in less than 24 hours," Backler continued. "The thing is, those brands are doing it for the wrong reasons. It’s brilliant to tap into this market because it’s something that they’ve needed to do for a while, but I’m not doing it for marketing reasons. We’re not just made a brand that jumped on a trend. This is something we’ve done from the beginning and we support the LGBT community."
Jecca officially launches online on December 18th. In the meantime, you can pre-order products on their website now.
