Welcome to The Beauty Edit Honor Roll™️, our tribute to the trailblazers redefining the beauty industry. This series celebrates the personalities, publications, brands, and leaders who have sparked inspiration, broken barriers, and left a lasting mark on the world of beauty. Curated through votes from The Beauty Edit team and a panel of industry experts, The Beauty Edit Honor Roll™️ 2024 is a proud testament to Filipino ingenuity, creativity, and exceptional talent.
Opening a dictionary will tell you that an ally is someone who aligns with and supports a cause alongside another individual or group of people. In today’s world, the term “ally” is often linked to the LGBTQIA+ community, reflecting the growing number of people and brands expressing solidarity with this vibrant group.
A big chunk of that number comes from beauty—an industry that the LGBTQIA+ community helps drive forward, whether as creative forces, key opinion leaders, content creators, or consumers. Now, having been established as an ally, a key question arises: Does the beauty industry help propel the LGBTQIA+ community in return? Are beauty brands really allies? If so, how do they express their support?
Thankfully, several beauty brands support the LGBTQIA+ community all year round—a reminder that Pride doesn’t just magically come and go every June. “Pride isn’t just a one-month thing,” shares beauty editor and content creator Belle Rodolfo. “The goal for Pride is to no longer have a Pride Month; to reach the goal of equality for all.”
With this vision in mind, here are five beauty brands that go beyond mere lip service and have earned their place as bona fide allies of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Benefit Cosmetics
Pride Month 2024 was definitely a month to remember thanks to Benefit Cosmetics, who threw a fabulous Bingo Party. What made it extra special, however, was the fact that it was purely a celebration—no product launches, no hidden agenda. As a matter of fact, Benefit even brought in local brands to celebrate alongside the local drag scene and the beauty community.
The brand also launched its fourth Rainbrows campaign, featuring a series of sketches and portraits of Benefit’s LGBTQIA+ employees who shared their experiences and stories. Garage Editor-in-Chief Jerico Villamonte expressed that beauty brands who are genuine allies support inclusivity in their workplaces and sustain internal commitments. The Rainbrows campaign serves as a powerful reminder that real impact begins from within.
M.A.C Cosmetics
When discussing the LGBTQIA+ community in the beauty world, it’s impossible not to mention M·A·C Cosmetics. In addition to supporting the “LoveYourself Pride Night” last June 1, the brand championed inclusivity when they announced Teree Daisuke and Marina Summers are part of the M.A.C Crew this year.
The year 2024 also marked the 30th anniversary of Viva Glam, M·A·C’s iconic campaign supporting those impacted by HIV/AIDS. Locally, the brand continued its annual visit to San Lazaro Hospital, staying true to Viva Glam’s mission. Putting their credo of including all ages, races, and genders into practice, M.A.C Cosmetics creates opportunities for everyone and anyone to become allies.
L’Oréal Paris
If there’s a tagline that every beauty girl knows, it’s L’Oréal’s “Because you’re worth it.” These powerful words also reflect the brand’s mission to champion empowerment. Coined in 1971 by Ilon Specht, the phrase has since evolved into a global campaign, celebrated by strong, diverse women who lead in their respective fields.
In 2024, L’Oréal launched local campaign bolstered by this tagline, featuring Pia Wurtzbach, Iza Calzado, and queer couple Belle Rodolfo and Deng Garcia. In an Instagram post, Rodolfo shares how she was given opportunities to provide input, having written a few of her lines in the script. “Include queer people in the messaging… and when using queer people in campaigns, do not tokenize by just getting one person for representation,” she says. L’Oréal’s approach highlights what true allyship looks like in action.
Lucky Beauty
While there’s still a long way to go, it’s important to celebrate how far we’ve come—especially in beauty, where queer representation is more visible than ever, both online and offline. A prime example is Lucky Beauty, led by Andrea Brillantes. Known for her consistent collaborations with queer creatives, Brillantes ensures the brand reflects her values by creating opportunities such as jobs and paid internships for the LGBTQIA+ community.
As more queer individuals take up space in the beauty industry, it’s worth reflecting on the privilege of living in a time like this. But it’s equally important to honor those who paved the way and those who continue to make room at the table for others.
Vice Cosmetics
Vice Cosmetics has always walked the talk—by embedding queer language into the beauty lexicon through their clever product and shade names. Blazing another trail this year, Vice Cosmetics launched two all-in-one makeup palettes and a travel brush set with celebrity makeup artist Jelly Eugenio.
“True allies make impactful changes and sustainable commitments,” says Villamonte. Such a collaboration represents the two-way relationship between brands and creatives, which sets an example of what’s possible. Exciting times are ahead for the beauty industry and we cannot wait to see what happens next.
Championing Pride
Benefit Cosmetics, M.A.C Cosmetics, L’Oreal, Lucky Beauty, and Vice Cosmetics: Truly, these are five brands that are worth celebrating—for setting the standard and defining what it means to be a true ally of the LGBTQIA+ community.
As mentioned earlier, there’s still a long way to go. When asked what beauty brands can do better, Villamonte suggests that brands should hold gender sensitivity workshops to educate their employees about the complexities of gender and sexual identity. Also focusing on the workplace, Rodolfo also emphasizes the importance of policies that protect queer employees from discrimination and allow them to list their partners as beneficiaries or dependents. Additionally, Rodolfo reminds us that Pride is a protest and is political, which is why if queer people are tapped to make content, brands shouldn’t ask them to avoid being political in their messaging.
Ushering in 2025, we are given the time to reflect on the year that has gone by and set a plan for the year to come. In doing so, may we all be reminded that although Pride is celebrated every June, the LGBTQIA+ community exists all year round. Hopefully, in this lifetime, we don’t need to have a Pride Month anymore—because we embrace Pride every day. Ah, the beauty that the future holds!