Happy Pride Month! 

House of Lashes was created to inspire and empower people regardless of age, race, or gender to feel beautiful with lashes. 

Although we support our LGBTQ community all year round, we wanted to recognize and honor the special meaning June has for our community. 

We are proud to introduce our guest writer Zane Chen who we’ve had the pleasure of getting to know recently. We discovered him while scrolling IG a few months ago and have been obsessed ever since! 

Keep reading to find out why...

1) Tell us a little about yourself 

I'm an extrovert, sun Leo and double Libra, and consider myself forever a student as I'm always challenging myself to stay curious and learn something new. 

Going into my third year of being on socials, I started because there's always room for more representation of queer and creative Asian folx. 

I love bringing concepts alive and telling stories through music and choreography and visual moments. 

2) What is your favorite look to create?

A ruling theme in my life is that I can never pick favorites. but some of my favorite makeup details I'm obsessed with creating and wearing are glowing skin and a juicy, glossy lip. 

3) Where do you find your inspiration?

I pull inspiration from everywhere around me, including the music and video games I'm playing, the films and books I'm indulging in, and seeing what other artists are doing and challenging myself to see how I could re-interpret and achieve a specific effect. 

4) When did you discover your love for makeup?

I had discovered a love for the transformational process of makeup in the early days of YouTube from watching Michelle Phan transform in her bathroom and curating magic in her tutorial videos. Fast forward to my college years, I discovered RuPaul's Drag Race and fell in love with the total transformation process that the queens go through. 

5) What does representing the LGBTQ community mean to you?

Being a part of the LGBTQ community means that I carry with me a piece of history that actively challenges the way that we love, understand and connect with each other as human beings, the way that we love ourselves, the way we love and intersect with other communities, and identities. 

Being LGBTQ means that I'm a part of a community that, to this day, is disproportionately impacted by mental health crises, especially our youth. As mental health awareness is on the rise, I want to highlight that support for the queer community is just as important now as ever. 

The Trevor Project is an incredible resource that offers text and chat help and has a page dedicated to the insights and knowledge they've gathered on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health that helps to paint a better picture of where we are nationally and need the support to uplift the LGBTQ community at large. 

6) How have lashes helped your confidence?

When I'm doing a look, I always have to finish the lewk with a lash of some sort. I was not blessed with long lashes as an Asian man, so to make up for that, I have to rock a pair of falsies to complete a ~lewk~!

7) What are your top 3 favorite HOL styles and why?

I LOVE Siren Flare from the Classic Collection and She's a Natural from the HOL x Patrick Ta for softer looks that call for a lighter lash because it adds that touch of definition to the lash that pulls the look together. 

When I'm going for GLAM, Iconic Lite from the Lite Collection is a go-to to bring the va-va-voom… That extra bit of je ne sais quoi and chef's kiss. 

8) How can others support the LGBTQ community beyond Pride Month?

To me, every month is Pride Month.

When I wake up on July 1st, I will still be waking up as Zane Chen, a queer person.

And when I wake up on July 1st, I will still be waking up as Chen Jian Zhi/陈建志, a deliciously tan and bronzed Asian man. I think that everyone can benefit from knowing the history of and tribulations that others have gone through.

There are many LGBTQ stories that are being told and shared that we can all learn something new from. Some queer stories I've recently watched and read include Legendary (Series, HBO), The Half of It (Film, Netflix), LOEV (Film, Netflix), Grand Army (Series, Netflix), Heaven's Official Blessing (English) based on the book of the same title translated by fans from the original Chinese published title 天官赐福 (Chinese) (Series, Netflix). This is just an example of one of the ways that we can support LGBTQ artists and stories and continue to learn about our uniquely human experiences. 

9) Favorite quote or phrase you live by

I jokingly say - "Everything is fine." - in a millenial-genZ, meme type of way. I even have it on a crew sweater, haha! And truth be told, there IS a lot of validity and truth in that everything is or will be fine eventually, so that's a common phrase that I often use.

Be sure to follow Zane at @zanejchen on IG