Laura Geller’s Holiday Campaign Features Trans & Cisgender Homeless Women From Skid Row

While you’re out shopping for your loved ones this season, it’s important to pay it forward to those who can’t afford the same shopping rituals. This year, Laura Geller Beauty’s holiday campaign strives to support the homeless in Los Angeles. Plus, the makeup brand is shedding light on an often unspoken issue in beauty and self-care.

More than half a million people experience homelessness on a single night in America, and according to the U.S. Council of Economic Advisors, 47% of all unsheltered homeless people are found in the state of California. To raise awareness of the growing issue, Laura Geller is partnering with non-profit organization Beauty 2 The Streetz for the beauty brand’s Makeup Means Something campaign. Founded by Shirley Raines, Beauty 2 The Streetz has offered weekly services to L.A.’s homeless population for the last three years. Some of the organization's services include hot showers, a good meal, and beauty treatments from haircuts to makeup applications.

The campaign brings together seven cisgender and trans women specifically from Skid Row, one of Los Angeles’s largest areas containing homeless people. Showing the power of beauty, the campaign brings each woman’s confidence to life on camera. The brand partnership seeks to bring forward how beauty impacts people of every race, age, gender expression, and ability no matter where their home may be. And ultimately, it’s Raines’ goal with Beauty 2 The Streetz to show that a lack of home doesn’t equate to a lack of humanity.

“Laura Geller understands that everyone deserves to feel beautiful, regardless of where they lay their head at night and that’s a bold statement,” Raines stated in a press release. “This campaign beautifully gives a name to the faces of Skid Row’s women and breaks conventional stereotypes about the homeless population. It truly shows that ‘makeup means something’ and the results created both beautiful bonds between the women as well as stunning images.”

This partnership doesn't end after the holidays either. Laura Geller will continue its efforts to support Beauty 2 The Streetz with product donations that cater to over 800 people on Saturdays who are on Skid Row. Additionally, the brand is also selling limited-edition tees with 100% of the proceeds supporting Beauty 2 The Streetz.

Makeup Means Something Tee

There's a power that makeup holds that almost anyone can harness. But when you can give that power to someone else, makeup means so much more than a highlight and glossy lips.

Editor's Note: This article was updated on Dec. 3, 2019