How One Trans Woman Is Shaking Up The Beauty Space In A Powerful Way

Last night, during an intermission at the Golden Globes, L’Oréal Paris unveiled its “Your Skin, Your Story” campaign for True Match foundation, led by a wide range of influencers celebrating their diversity and differences. A few familiar faces appear in the lineup, like Blake Lively, and a few others whose names you may not know — but should. That includes Hari Nef, the model, actress, and trans activist who’s blazing trails left and right in the beauty and fashion space. You might recognise Nef from her heartbreaking role as Gittel in Transparent, or as the first openly transgender model signed to IMG. She was also the first trans woman to appear on the cover of a major commercial magazine in Britain, and is a writer whose work has been featured in Vice and BlackBook — but even with all those accomplishments, her new gig as a spokesmodel for the iconic drugstore brand is still a pretty huge deal. Nef announced the news via Instagram before the Globes. “I'm in the new @lorealmakeup campaign and that's pretty wild to me (!),” she wrote alongside a photo from the campaign. She also linked to a longer TV ad spot, where she discussed the True Match line and her feelings toward what the campaign stands for. “Just being seen in your skin can be so vulnerable,” she said. The clip is worth a watch, because she’s worth it – and because we need more people like Hari helping to make incredible social changes, one major beauty campaign at a time.