I couldn't tell you what I ate for breakfast last Tuesday, but I will never forget my first swipe of lipstick. I was 5 years old, and it was a gold-ridged tube of Estée Lauder I found nestled in a drawer of my abuela's vanity dresser. I traced that nutty brown color along the grooves of my lips with about as much care as I might've given a drawing book at the time, but it didn't matter.
When I looked in the mirror, the feeling of giddiness was pure and palpable. Beauty can be visceral like that; it only takes one swipe of lipstick, the careful twirl of a curl, or a spritz of perfume and suddenly you're nostalgic, emboldened, infinitely more confident. Since POPSUGAR launched in 2006, we have been stewards of beauty as a token of joy.
We created content that went viral and cemented our place as a source of positivity within the women's lifestyle category. When I first joined the team six years ago, my goal was to translate that joy to a wider group of people, exploring the deep and pervasive connection with beauty across cultures, communities, and identities. Still, within the last few years, there has been a noticeable shift in how we as a society talk about and prioritize our health and wellness, which has made one thing crystal clear: beauty is more than skin deep.
It can manifest through colorful nail art, intricate braids, or a 10-step skin routine, but it can also be an act of self-care, of self-expression, of inner and outer connectedness. That's why we're giving our .
