By stufflovely
Pride Month has us drowning in a sea of corporate queer-washing every year. Once June 1 rolls around, companies and government entities jump at any opportunity to put on a performance of allyship with the LGBTQ+ community. Their method of choice? Slapping rainbows onto anything with surface space. Toothpaste, shoes, potato chips, and (most ironically), police cars all get the ROYGBIV treatment. And when it’s not rainbows, it’s an explosion of sparkly glitters. But how many of those products actually help the LGBTQ community?
Limited-edition drops from entities that don’t typically center the queer experience, only tokenize it for timely capital. It’s 2021 — let’s instead give our money to brands that are actually run by queer folks, hire queer folks, and give queer people equity in their futures. And trust, with a community as varied and diverse as this one, there are plenty.
We rounded up a few of our favorite beauty brands run by members of the LGBTQ community, so you can support during Pride and beyond.
Noto is a gender-fluid, multi-use beauty line that is vegan and cruelty-free. Among the array of skin- and body-care products infused with hydrating ingredients (like hyaluronic acid, aloe vera juice, and rose water, to name a few), there are also buildable makeup pigments, (available in stick or pot form), in orange, red, and plum shades that can be used on the lips, eyes, or cheeks for a pretty wash of color.
Run by makeup artist Gloria Noto, every sale of the brand’s Agender Oil goes to non-profits such as Planned Parenthood, LGBT Youth Center LA, the Okra Project, Woman’s Center DTLA, and more. So far, the brand has raised more than $25,000 in donations. “It’s important for me to connect with my community through my work, as a business owner and as a queer woman. This felt like a conduit to pursuing and cultivating that connection and care in an authentic and honest way that feels very personal and close to me,” explains Noto.
