Drew Afualo & Others Came Together To Celebrate AAPI Beauty
May is Asian Pacific Heritage Month — and these changemakers know how to get the celebration started.
Bustle and Maybelline New York joined forces for their Face the Difference photoshoot, an ode to AAPI beauty in honor of Asian Pacific Heritage Month. The guest list was robust, featuring 40 big names in the AAPI community, including content creators like Drew Afualo, Cynthia Victor, Shiny Liu, and former Bachelorette Jenn Tran.
The shoot, which was inspired by the 40 shades of Maybelline’s Fit Me Matte + Poreless Foundation, allowed each of these trailblazers to connect and reflect on the different ways representation, heritage, and beauty intersect in their own lives.
“Representation in the industry is incredibly important to me, especially when it comes to uplifting smaller communities like Indigenous Polynesian people,” Afualo, who has amassed over eight million followers on TikTok, explained. “Initiatives like this support my ongoing desire to see more people who look and sound like me in mainstream entertainment.”
Tran, who became the Bachelor franchise’s first-ever AAPI lead in 2024, has thoughts on what it means to be a source of representation for others. “Seeing someone who looks like you on a big screen and hearing their struggles and successes helps you feel less alone. I'm so lucky and grateful to be a part of something that doesn't make me feel ashamed of who I am, but instead celebrates it,” she said. “Representation is everything.”
For some of these figures, embracing their full selves has been a learning curve. “I would tell my younger self to stop listening to the kids around me in elementary school and start believing in myself. I'd remind her not to feel ashamed of where she comes from or what she looks like,” Victor told Bustle. “My heritage is what makes me powerful — and I'm proud of who I am."
For Liu, the definition of beauty has evolved with her. “Alongside my struggles with acne, l internalized the idea that beauty was tied to having Eurocentric features. That belief made me feel like I wasn't enough in my own skin,” Liu said. “Now, I fully embrace who I am and encourage others to do the same. My cultural identity is a powerful reminder that there is no single definition of beauty.”
Photographer: Lenne Chai; Art Director: KC Connolly/BDG Studios; Associate Art Director: Allison Gore/BDG Studios; Styling: Skye Kelton; Hair: Akihisa Yamaguchi; Makeup: Ann Benjamas Liendo; Prop Stylist: Elisia Mirabelli; Talent Booking: Mikaela Baruch/BDG Studios; Production: Jessica Tjeng; Editorial Direction: Irma Elezovic/BDG Studios
