How r/MakeupAddiction Became a Space for Trans Women to Explore Beauty

FEEDBACKHow r/MakeupAddiction Became a Space for Trans Women to Explore Beauty No online space is perfectly inclusive or supportive, but three trans women tell Allure they feel safe posting their looks on the subreddit. 

By Alaina Demopoulos

June 2, 2022

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When Giulia Goldston came out as trans, she wanted to find a community that she hadn't previously been part of. So she joined Reddit. First she posted in trans-specific subreddits such as r/asktransgender, where over 220,000 members can ask anonymous questions and r/traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns, a more humorous space where around 324,000 users post jokes and memes about daily life. But Goldston also wanted to live in online spaces that weren't related to her trans identity. "I joined other [subreddits] in response to a newly accepted womanhood," she tells Allure.

One such sub was r/MakeupAddiction, one of the most unadulterated beauty spaces on the internet. Over 3 million members post daily, often sharing selfies and asking other community members — most of whom, of course, are strangers — to critique their looks.

This might sound terrifying to anyone who’s spent literally one minute on the internet and seen how it treats women and gender non-conforming folks when it comes to their look, but r/MakeupAddiction is different. The subreddit brings together people from across the world who just really love makeup, buying it, using it, and especially talking about it.

On r/MakeupAddiction, which has existed since 2010, a one-dimensional definition of conventional beauty is not the only ideal. While people might want advice on how to blend an eye shadow better or learn what lipstick color complements their eyes, they're not signing up for pageant-level judging.

The community's first rule, which you can find bolded in a sidebar, sets the mood for members: "Be kind and supportive. No harassment or name-calling. No bigotry." (Moderators for r/MakeupAddiction declined to comment for Allure.)

The way people interact with each other on r/MakeupAddiction has led some trans community members to feel safe enough to post their makeup looks, noting their gender identity and asking for tips. "Because of the way 'womanhood' is constructed, I knew there would be many skills I’d need to learn," Goldston says. "Makeup is high up there." She watched some YouTube tutorials and lurked on r/MakeupAddiction, "hoping just to see posts and learn from them, [without] having to post [her] face."

Then Goldston saw a post from a "gorgeous trans woman," and started scrolling the comments. "The reception she received was heartening," she says. "The comments I saw were on-topic and seemed helpful. Emboldened by the feedback she received, I posted a photo of myself without makeup."

Because of the way 'womanhood' is constructed, I knew there would be many skills I’d need to learn. Makeup is high up there

It wasn't an easy decision. "The experience was pretty nerve-wracking," Goldston says. "Not because I had seen r/MakeupAddiction be expressly transphobic, but because it’s always a bit frightening to be in a space where you are a marginalized minority."

At 30 years old, Goldson, who lives and works as a writer in Austin, Texas, says that by her age "women are often expected to have a lot of experience with makeup." She does not. "Posting a photo of myself without makeup when trans women are often disproportionately punished for 'not being feminine enough' was difficult."

But the reaction from others quickly eased Goldson’s fears. While she says it was clear to her that some transphobes "just went out and downvoted every comment," the fact that trolls exist unfortunately does not surprise her. "On the other hand, I received a number of really helpful comments about how do to makeup specifically on my face," she says. "This means that I can take the information I have learned from other posters, from articles, and from YouTubers, and apply them in ways that people who really know would apply them to my face."

Sarah, a 28 year-old trans woman from Detroit who asked that her last name not be printed, also sought help on r/MakeupAddiction this year. "I became friends with four people through BumbleBFF who I'm out to," she says. "I was really not impressed by my makeup skills." Like Goldston, Sarah tried YouTube tutorials but really wanted feedback on how makeup looked on her face specifically.

After posting once on r/MakeupAddiction to little attention, she tried again. "[People] gave me standard advice that I didn't know, [such as] 'hey, this color will look good on you,' or 'hey, you don't want to bring attention to your lips and eyes at the same time, either dramatic eyes or dramatic lips.' Stuff like that," Sarah says.

Sarah has not come out to most of the people in her life, which made posting a photo explicitly calling herself trans was a risk. "The first time I posted, I did think about what if someone I’m not out to sees," she says. "But [by the second time], I had come out to another friend. He was supportive and when I showed him some photos of me, he couldn't recognize me."

The first time I posted, I did think about what if someone I’m not out to sees

When Sarah posted for the second time, she said she saw some bigoted comments, but says that the mods "usually remove them." For the most part, people were encouraging. "Most of the responses are like, 'hey, you look gorgeous,'" she says. "A lot [of people] include good feedback, like, 'hey, shape your eyebrows this way,' or 'maybe this color blush is good.'"

Gabriella Luna Silva, who is 21 and lives in Santo André, Brazil, worked as a makeup artist for a time and joined r/MakeupAddiction "to meet more like-minded individuals." Her daily makeup look skews pretty glam. "[My motive for posting] was really about the makeup and not about my being transgender," she says.

While Silva was "really happy" with the responses she received, she wouldn’t necessarily brand r/MakeupAddiction as a blanket safe space. "I’d tell [trans folks] to look for trans-directed makeup subs," she says. "I think r/MakeupAddiction users can be less inclusive when for example a trans woman hasn’t taken hormones or has more [masculine] facial features. They do follow the European standard, and I pass in their eyes because I’m white, baby-faced, and good at makeup."

While Goldston agrees that she found the subreddit to be a "pretty safe place," she feels hesitant to recommend it. "Not because I had a negative experience, but because I don’t know how indicative the response my post got was to how trans folks get received generally."

Noting that she’s white, has "rounded features," clear skin, and has had laser hair removal on her face, Goldston wonders how much of the positive response is due to her fitting into Eurocentric beauty standards. "There are a lot of ways I already fit what is acceptably feminine just due to the nature of systems like white supremacy and classism," she adds.

Still, Goldston says the advice she got from r/MakeupAddiction has changed her relationship with makeup for the better. "The biggest thing the comments got to me to thinking about was color theory," she says. "It had never occurred to me to consider what colors would go well with my eyes. But now, I put real consideration into that. Browns, oranges, purples, apparently go well with my blue eyes."

And Sarah adds that a few people suggested she use golden eye shadow. "I tried it, but I didn’t like it that much," she says. "I thought I would, but makeup is a personal and ongoing process."

Read more about gender identity: 

• My Gender Expressive Haircut Looks Like Whatever I Want it To
• Finding Gender Euphoria at an Affirming Makeup Class
• Why I Didn't Tell My Doctor I'm a Trans Man Before My Abortion

And now, watch June/July cover star Chloë Bailey break down her beauty evolution:

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Alaina Demopoulos is a beauty editor at Allure. She previously served as a staff writer for The Daily Beast and Popsugar, respectively. She graduated from NYU with a degree in dramatic writing and her virgin brown hair, which she promptly dyed eight more colors. (She's settled on green for now.) When... Read moreBeauty Editor

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