Whether it’s due to ignorance or privilege, we are definitely guilty of taking the fact we’re able-bodied for granted when it comes to makeup (and elsewhere in life). So we were taken aback, in a good way, to learn about GUIDE Beauty – a makeup brand inspired by, and designed for people with Parkinson’s Disease.
We hadn’t considered that people with Parkinson’s wouldn’t be able to apply makeup in the same way people without the disease do. We struggle to nail the perfect winged eyeliner – it’s why it was one of the first skills we found a cheat product for – and that’s with steady hands.
People with Parkinson’s not only experience hand tremors, but the disease can also cause stiffness of the limbs, slow movement and rigid facial expressions – all which impact how makeup is applied.
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With this in mind, makeup artist and beauty educator Terri Bryant – who, herself, has Parkinson’s Disease – wanted to create makeup and tools that improve the precision of applying makeup for people with Parkinson’s and other, similar conditions.
“We started by listening to makeup users who shared their most common challenges,” explains Guide Beauty. “We knew there had to be an easier and better way to apply makeup. So we took what we heard to our design team and ergonomic experts to create proprietary and innovative tools that literally guide your hand.”
The clean beauty brand also worked with chemists to introduce unique vegan, cruelty-free formulations that are “as forgiving as they are luxurious.”
Of course, the beauty (excuse the pun) of these products is that they’re not only suitable for people with Parkinson’s. If you struggle to get your brows on point, apply eyeliner or want an easy-to-use mascara, there’s no reason why you can’t buy this makeup range. Terri Bryant has also created a series of beauty tutorials, using these products, to help finesse your technique and the brand describes itself as “reimagining makeup to make it easier (and more fun) for everybody to get the looks we love with minimal effort.”
The first collection from GUIDE Beauty includes its Lash Wrap and Brow Moment and Guide Eyeliner Duo.
The Eyeliner Duo features a vertical applicator with a curved tip. This tip is dipped into the accompanying gel liner and swept across the top of the eyelid and waterline with ease. It can also be used with any cream eyeliner. The lid on the gel liner is additionally easy to open, and close.
GUIDE Beauty’s mascara has a short, slimline brush designed to stretch lashes from the base to tip and build the coverage with very few strokes. In the base of the applicator, there is a so-called GUIDE Ring that extends from the side – not too dissimilar to popsockets found on phone cases – to help with grip and movement.
For eyebrows, GUIDE Beauty has developed an all-in-one product that “fills, shapes, colours, and stays.” It has the same GUIDE Ring to help steady the hand during the application, while the precision tip brush and colour-stay technology allows wearers to build colour to the required depth. This comes in Light, Medium and Dark.
Each of these products is on sale now, although there is a waiting list for the Guide Eyeliner Duo. Lash Wrap and Brow Moments cost $26 and the Eyeliner Duo is $50. It is possible to get these products shipped to the UK but this adds $40 onto the price, as a word of warning.
Victoria is founder and editor-in-chief of mamabella, freelance journalist and Mum. She has a passion for empowering people to feel beautiful whatever their age, size, skin type and budget
