Why did I started Beauty Is Culture Events?

I've been doing makeup for a long time. I've sat with people in their most vulnerable moments, like prepping for the shoot of their career, the headshot that finally feels like *them*. And somewhere in all of that, brushes in hand, I kept noticing the same thing: people didn't want to look good. People wanted to feel seen and heard.

Between that and growing up as a Third Culture kid looking for more representation: Beauty Is Culture was born.

It started with my own branding and a makeup class.

Before I decided to launch as an event series, it was simpler. I was hosting intimate makeup education events. I got to experience as women got together to learn from me. They talked about their skin, their heritage, their moms' routines. Beauty connected us all.

So, let me talk about the Third Culture Kid concept. It's like growing up between worlds. I never felt Arab enough, I never felt American enough and I definitely didn't think there was enough people who looked like me on TV. Being a third culture kid means you're constantly translating yourself or code switching. You learn early to scan a room and figure out where you fit or if you fit at all. A life filled of anxiety all before age 8.

In beauty spaces, I rarely saw myself. The campaigns and the tutorials weren't built with me in mind let alone someone darker than me, more ethnic looking than me. That absence tells you something, quietly and persistently: you are not the default. Your beauty is a footnote. (I could go on forever about anti-arab, anti-ethnic or anti-blackness within the beauty industry but that will be for another day).

I refused to accept to be a footnote. So I decided to write something different. But, I know in my 30s, that footnote is bigger than the beauty industry.

When I say beauty is culture, I mean it literally. The rituals we inherit from our mothers, the foods we associate with celebration, the wellness practices passed down through generations, the resilience we have within the diaspora, all of it is beauty. All of it is culture. All of it deserves a seat at the table.

So, what should you expect? Yalla.

You will see a mix of alot of things such as wellness, beauty, food, music, vibes but you will always see community working towards a bigger goal. This is a space for the woman who doesn't always see herself reflected. The woman who's done shrinking.

Ok, let's chat: Our First Big Event: Women Only

Our first major Beauty Is Culture event is women only and that's very much intentional.

All details can be found here: www.nattycontrera.com/event-list