Art & Activism 009 - @faiithie.g
Art seems to be one of the few things that’s saving us these days. Saving us from losing sight of what’s happening in the world and saving us from losing sight of ourselves. Of the artists that we know and love, makeup artists are in a league of their own. Social media seems to be celebrating them while users and non-users minimize their creative abilities. For artists of color, and more specifically black makeup artists, being celebrated by a community of followers and supporters is critical to one’s success and @faiithie.g doesn’t take it lightly.
The soft-glam enthusiast makes it her business to connect with her supporters in ways that go beyond the very important and timely produced variety of looks. She is proud to provide representation for black women artists and artists who are transparent about personal battles. For this and many other reasons, Faith caught my eye. Her work speaks for itself and her dedication to uplifting whomever comes across her page is something that’s necessary and appreciated.
Name: My actual name is Faith, Faiithie G came from my nickname everyone in my family calls me which is Faithie, and the G is the initial of my middle name!
Age: I’m 19!
Race/Ethnicity/Any Identifications that Define/Describe You: My ethnicity is Jamaican, and my race is black! Hometown: Toronto, Canada
Occupation: Beauty Content Creator
When did you start doing makeup and why?
I’ve always loved makeup since I was a little girl. I always stole my mom’s MAC lipsticks and I’d save all my change to buy lip glosses. I even took food colouring and vaseline to create my own when I had none! I started learning how to actually beat my face around the 8th grade just because I liked it. However, I wasn't allowed to wear it because it was “too grown” so I’d get my makeup taken away from me and thrown in the garbage all the time. I would always just buy more because makeup brought me a lot of enjoyment and calm.
When did you start your Instagram page to showcase your makeup and why?
I have been posting makeup looks since around late 2017-2018 on my Instagram, but it was never to seriously grow! My initial reason for seriously posting makeup content was because I wanted to document my growth in makeup as I learned and invite anyone who followed me to learn with me. This was around November of 2018 when I also started my YouTube channel.
What topics or elements do you try to incorporate into your makeup artistry/captions? (I.e. politics, pop culture, etc.)?
One of the biggest elements I incorporate into my artistry is mental health. Mental health in the black community needs so much light shed on it and there need to be more resources shared and made available - to help black youth and black people thrive mentally and emotionally. We as a people go through so much trauma! I feel like a lot of black influencers are not very vocal on their platforms about mental health and to me that is an issue. I am extremely vocal about my struggles with anxiety and other mental battles on my platforms because I want to show other people, especially young black women like myself, that it’s okay to have mental health issues, to be vulnerable, and most importantly, that they’re not alone. I want to make boss moves and be my own boss, but it’s okay for me to have anxiety, and mental struggles as a black woman on the way there and I believe it’s important to show that in this industry.
I also teach and practice affirmations on my platforms a lot. I always make sure to affirm those who engage with me, because I want people to feel empowered when they enter my space! I don’t want my supporters to see me simply for my beat face and feel that’s where my confidence stems from. I want to enable them to feel confident in themselves the same way I had to for myself, and a large part of that came from me affirming, believing, and being kind to myself. Empowering my supporters and encouraging them to empower themselves is incredibly important to me because true beauty comes from the inside and I want to make sure all my supporters know that.
Lastly, I incorporate politics and activism on my platform as well. Since I began my social media, I have always shared news articles and information on different political and ethical topics that need more light shed on them. I encourage my supporters to self-educate so they can be better allies to any minority community whose voices need to be amplified. As much as makeup is the main focus of my platform, I believe that influencing others to create change in the world is so much more important. I really hope that I can empower others to stay aware and be activists and allies in their own communities.
What does your process look like/involve when it comes to creating looks?
Usually I have no idea what look I’m going to create. This is largely because I really love doing soft glam looks but my colourful looks and cut creases are what my supporters absolutely love and what I’m known for so I always am stepping out of my comfort zone! I usually just pick out random colours in a palette that I wouldn’t really gravitate towards and make a look out of it somehow. I like to choose colours I know I wouldn’t gravitate towards because I want to show other people with my complexion that we can rock any colour! While I’m creating my looks, I usually like to just watch a movie or YouTube videos, listen to music or manifest!
What’re your feelings about the recent murders of black women, black trans women, black trans men and black men at the hands of the police?
It’s disgusting. I feel angry, sad, tired, and emotional yet desensitized all at the same time. It’s almost as if there’s no more tears I have left to cry because there could never be enough for the amount of innocent black people being murdered daily. What makes it worse is that a lot of these cases are not well known or never go viral the way that Elijah McClain or George Floyd’s did, so there’s so many innocently killed black people who have yet to get visibility or justice! It’s not fair that I need to be scared for my own life everyday and the lives of those around me because we’re all black and of a darker complexion at that. It angers me to see members of the black community turn a blind eye to our black LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters in times when they need us most. I hope that the long overdue changes that brands and institutions are making to support black people during this time are long term and they don’t only see black people when they’re being murdered.
How have these events inspired your artistry?
I wouldn’t say that these events have inspired my artistry directly because I have always been vocal about black issues regardless if it’s a trending topic or not. I am black everyday! However, these events have made me truly realize the power we all have to influence others to be activists in their own communities/families! Using my platform during this time to share resources, petitions, and articles that were retweeted, shared over and over again inspired me to always be vocal because it causes others to be. A platform, regardless of size, is a platform and I hope that by seeing my activism through the use of my artistry page can inspire people to realize they can and should use their own personal platform for change.
What was life like for you growing up?
I grew up in a two parent household, but it was very unstable emotionally and mentally for me. The environment there was very toxic so I was not the happiest inside growing up. I also grew up essentially feeling like an only child, I have two older sisters however they didn’t live with me, and my younger sister wasn’t born until I was 10.
I was blessed with so many opportunities and talents as a kid as well. I was always kept busy with extracurriculars and programs. I went to private school until the seventh grade, I played piano from the age of 2-3, I also was in Spelling Bees, one of which I won, played soccer as well, and was in Kumon. I was always made to feel like because of those things I had no right to be depressed or unhappy with things at home. As much as I was blessed as a child and seemed to be happy all the time, I was extremely depressed and drained emotionally and mentally. Mental health is so taboo in the black community, and even more taboo in Carribean households. I received so much love and support in other aspects of my life, but mentally and emotionally I was extremely alone.
I spent a lot of time with my grandparents which I cherish because they drilled so many amazing morals and a lot of my Jamaican culture and heritage into me. I always loved spending time with them because they were always informed on world events and that’s a large part of why I am like that now. My grandfather always would have real
conversations with me educating me about the world, how it works as well as his own experiences being a black, Jamaican immigrant in Canada. My grandparents have played a large part in my being proud of my identity and heritage and being with them growing up felt like a breath of fresh air from the environment I was in at home.
A lot of individuals had a hand in my raising and have contributed to me being the woman I am today. I grew up regularly attending a predominantly Carribean Christian church which was also a community that taught me a lot. I am extremely spiritual and having a personal connection with God really helped me in the hardest times of my childhood. Overall, I was blessed as a child with so many gifts and educational opportunities but had a very mentally draining and traumatizing childhood. I am determined to break generational curses and continue being an advocate for mental health so my future children will have a mother who can attend to them mentally and emotionally as I needed.
How do you hope to inspire change?
I hope to inspire change through simply being my raw self. Letting people into some of my personal issues and feelings is something I struggle with because I know not everyone has the best intentions for me. At the same time though, I know that I’m not the only one who has been through being kicked out, who struggles and battles with my emotions and anxiety myself and feeling alone all at the same time. Like so many other people, there was a time when I felt that I was the only one who faced the issues that I face. This is why I believe that having that visibility is so important. I hope to show another young black queen that it’s okay to have anxiety and to struggle internally and externally. I want to show that it’s okay to not be the typical black girl or whatever image of us they put in the media. I hope that by being myself and speaking on my experiences and feelings, it allows others to find the power in themselves to do the same.
It’s clear that authenticity and lifting your voice are important to you and you do this through your art - why is that?
There was a time in my life where I wanted to be everybody but myself. I felt extremely inadequate, so I embarked on a spiritual/self love journey with the intentions of really getting to know and love myself, my triggers, traumas, fears, what makes me happy, etc. That journey, which is an active one, revealed a lot to me about my own self and made me fall in love with myself in an entirely different way. Now being myself makes me happy, and though there’s still work to be done, I’m extremely happy with how far I’ve come by simply being authentic with myself and with others. As different as I may be from other beauty creators, I know that there are supporters and people who relate to me, my story, and my emotions. I know that I am representing more than just myself by simply being myself in the beauty space. Everyone is representation for someone.
Favorite Food: Right now it’d have to be the Kale Caesar salad from Freshii’s!
Favorite Genre of Music: Classical Music, Rap & R&B
Favorite Artist/Band: I don’t really have one, I listen to everything! But right now my favourite album to listen to is the Kehlani Album - It Was Good Until it Wasn’t.
Favorite Artist: My favourite makeup artists are Jackie Aina, Alissa Ashley, AllyiahsFace, and TashaWashaaa.
Favorite Tools (through which you create your art): My staple brushes are mostly by ELF! I love the Ultimate Blending Brush for Foundation and creme products, and the ELF Total Face Brush for Blush/Bronzer, it makes everything look super airbrushed!
Favorite Colors to use: My favourite colours to use for my looks are oranges, browns w/ golden undertones and yellows.
Favorite Inner/Outer Feature: My lips and my forehead. I grew up hating my forehead because it’s large and I was bullied for it. I’ve really grown to love it and I’m happy about that.
Favorite Item that you incorporate into your daily looks, special looks, going out, around the house: LIPGLOSS. ALWAYS! Lipgloss just pulls you together instantly and I love my lips to be juicy at all times!