Fashion

Make Love Not Scars' Beauty Vid Is Heartbreaking

by Lindsey Rose Black

No one should ever have to live in fear of experiencing the agony, and often deadly effects of acid attacks, but that is the reality women around the world face. Striving to put an end to the practice once and for all in India, Make Love Not Scars' heartbreaking beauty tutorial hopes to raise global awareness about the attacks and ban the sale of sulfuric acid. The organization's video features Reshma, a courageous young victim of an acid attack.

On the way to take a school exam in 2014, Reshma's brother-in-law brutally attacked her face with sulfuric acid. Reshma suffered agonizing burns, lost her left eye completely, and will require extensive plastic surgery to correct her over-tightened mouth muscles, according to Popsugar.

According to Wall Street Journal, India reported 309 acid attacks in 2014, more than the totals of 2010-2013 combined. While police are beginning to take the horrendous issue more seriously, 309 is a tragically high number and can't factor at all for the amount of cases attack victims were too ashamed to report.

Similar to artist Alexsandro Palombo's illustrated series which depicts once joyful Disney princesses as acid attack survivors, Make Love Not Scars also utilizes the lightheartedness of makeup tutorials to contrast the brutal reality of attacks.

In the video titled "How To Get Perfect Red Lips," Reshma leads viewers in a step-by-step tutorial of how to apply red lipstick properly. First, she suggests brushing your lips with a toothbrush.

Next, apply lip balm to make your lips smooth for lipstick application.

After, Reshma uses a lipliner to line the edges of her lips.

And then brings on the lipstick.

In the end, Rehsma reminds viewers that it's just as easy to buy sulfuric acid in the market as it is to find red lipstick. Because of this, a girl becomes the victim of an acid attack, every single day.

Below is the organization's painful video featuring Reshma.

Go to Make Love Not Scars' page to sign the petition and help encourage India to end the sale of sulfuric acids. Who knows how many lives each signature could save.

Image Credit: MakeLoveNotScars