JACKIE AINA: I still remember the very first time I
approached the makeup counter.
I was a little bit of a late bloomer at that point at 18,
but I was ready.
So I drove to my local department store,
and I walked straight toward a counter.
And when the salespeople saw me heading in that direction,
they looked panicked.
Oh, my god, the girl with dark skin is here.
What do we do?
But I didn't turn away.
I went right up to that counter, and I walked right up
to a polite young lady and asked her to do my makeup
for the very first time.
Let me tell you this lady made me look horrible.
I walked out of there looking like "Fifty Shades of Gray."
And in that moment, I decided I am never
going to put that much trust into someone else
to decide what I would want to look like.
So I started playing around with makeup on my own
and practicing on literally anyone that would allow me to.
Fast forward a few years later, I joined the Army,
and then I faced a whole new challenge.
Who the hell is going to take me serious in uniform while
wearing lipstick?
It was tough for me.
But the one thing that really kept me going
were these videos on YouTube by a few makeup
gurus that were really starting to take off,
creators like Michelle Phan, pixiwoo,
Dulce Candy were using YouTube to teach
a new generation of young women how to look beautiful.
But the thing is beauty is so specific.
If I'm going to buy the shade of lipstick or this eyeshadow,
I'm kind of going to need to see it on someone
whose features resemble mine.
So I would look around on YouTube,
and I would ask where are the people that look like me?
I was a little reluctant to start a channel at first.
But after my best friend literally begged me
to finally start, it was just so clear
that there was a huge demand for a dark-skinned beauty creator.
My channel immediately took off, bringing
in literally hundreds of thousands of subscribers.
And as my channel was growing, I kept
running into this perception that women
of color in the beauty industry don't buy makeup.
But I'd like to challenge retailers
by asking are you actually making products for them?
And are you marketing to them?
Because there are so many other brands
that are exclusive to women of color
that are doing really well.
Black women alone make up 12% of the multi-billion dollar beauty
category.
In fact, the first female millionaire in America
was Madam CJ Walker, who made her fortune by developing
beauty products for black women, and this was way back in 1905.
So we're here.
We have a presence.
And YouTube is an incredible way to reach us in a place
where we're paying attention.
And I know that because I've been
able to build a relationship with this audience that
has been so largely overlooked, but I've also
been able to expand my reach beyond just black women
to include over a million subscribers of every shade
and every gender.
And recently, something amazing has happened.
As channels catering to underrepresented groups
have grown, we are now being recognized
as important and worthy in the beauty industry.
You see that in social presence and in ad campaigns
with companies like L'Oreal and Maybelline's decision
to make Manny Mua their first ever male brand ambassador
and in Revlon choosing their first transgender brand
ambassador.
Hey, Gigi Gorgeous.
Are you bad, girl?
But it's not just which bases show up in ads.
It's also which products show up in shelves.
Cosmetics are showing up in new shades formulated especially
for people of color.
And more importantly, attitudes about what
it means to be beautiful are finally starting to change.
But I'll be honest, a lot of people
think beauty just means the products you
put on your face, the way you style your hair,
but what they don't understand is beauty is
about how the world sees you.
Forget the contour, forget the eyeshadow, forget everything.
When you don't feel like the world acknowledges
you, represents you, respects you, when
you're made to feel unattractive or unseen,
it makes you feel alone.
It makes you feel unwelcome, and the way
you see yourself starts to change the way other people
see you.
So today, I use my channel to speak
to anyone who's ever felt like they were not beautiful,
to anyone who's ever walked up to a makeup counter
and been told we don't really have something for you.
As a UN change ambassador, I've tried
to use my influence to help champion gender equality
and female empowerment and trying
to make the world a better place, and I'm not alone.
YouTube has become a lifeline to millions
of people, who have been underrepresented in media.
Something as simple as seeing a person of color on screen,
hearing from someone who loves the same way you do,
or witnessing a man in a beauty ad
has the power to change society.
So I'm incredibly proud to be a part of a platform that
empowers people simply by showing them
that we all deserve to be seen.
Thank you.
[APPLAUSE]