The make-up expert says the beauty industry is more open to new ideas.
Maybelline New Zealand makeup director Gee Pikinga discovered a love for beauty and makeup in the boundary-pushing musicians and beauty icons of the 1980s. “The three most vivid early memories I have of makeup are Grace Jones’ androgyny in ‘Pull Up to my Bumper’, Michael Jackson’s blood-curdling SPFX in ‘Thriller’, and obsessing over a red-lipped Madonna circa the JPG Ambition Tour.”
By the age of 15, Pikinga was wearing make-up every day, and their relationship with beauty went from an interest, to an obsession, to one of the keystones to forming their identity.
“As a young teen with breakouts, makeup was such a huge confidence booster,” they say, adding that they were relentlessly bullied throughout their adolescence for being “different”, and so make-up also became an outlet for creativity and self-expression around this time. “It’s an art form that allows for expressions of gender fluidity, and the breaking down and re-establishing of gender-defining norms,” they say.
Now the face of an international beauty brand and one of the mentors on hit makeup show Glow Up NZ, “unsavoury comments” regarding their sexual identity and vocation are still a common occurrence. “But people have always feared the unfamiliar,” says Pikinga, explaining that this is what continues to drive them to challenge the cisnormative and heteronormitive beauty standards that provide others with an excuse to resist change. “Hiding our truth does not educate anyone else on exactly what that truth is,” they say. “The answer is taking up space, living authentically and owning who we are – and showing it every second.”
They add that meaningful change in the beauty industry also means ensuring everyone feels their beauty is not only seen and acknowledged, but commercially viable. “For too long, people of colour have been dealt a short hand, some having to scrape to find cosmetic products that cater to their needs,” they say. But Pikinga is hopeful about the progress being made. “Both the industry and the society that supports it are evolving and becoming more open to new ideas. We’re moving in the right direction to achieve long-term and sustainable change and recognition.”
They are confident, too, that Aotearoa’s trailblazing DNA will serve us well in moving the conversation forward. “We have proven ourselves on many occasions to be more progressive than other countries. We were the first to give women the right to vote; the first to elect a trans-woman into parliament. Yes, as a small nation in the Southern Hemisphere, we are heavily influenced by what is happening overseas. But the diversity represented by the individuals at the forefront of fashion and beauty in New Zealand gives me hope that we will continue to set a standard that is world recognised.”
And as for when all this progress seems not enough, or to be happening too slowly? “Darling,” says Pikinga, “I just remind myself that other people’s opinions about me are none of my business.”
