Spread Asian Joy this AAPI month
Join us in spreading #asianjoy throughout Asian American Pacific Islander Month! The Boyfriend team has rounded up creators to follow, AAPI beauty-founded brands & additional resources. See below for our full features and make sure to follow Boyfriend for the weekly highlights!
AAPI Creators to Follow:
@sellyttn: A beauty photographer and beauty creator all in one. Follow Selly for beautiful product-focused images & reviews on some of your favorite beauty items.
@overglowedit: Melanie is a beauty content creator with a focus on nail art, follow Melanie for the best nail inspo.
@chrishanxoxo: Chris is a beauty & fashion creator while also raising a beautiful baby girl. Follow Chris for beauty reviews, fashion inspo & mom life.
@amyle.nails: You’ve probably run across Amy’s nail art pics while scrolling IG. Follow Amy for some major nail art inspo on natural nails.
@cynthialions: Cynthia is a designer, photographer, and mom. Follow her for beauty content with a side of mom life.
@glowwithhava: Ava is your go-to skincare expert. Follow her for the best skin care advice and so much more.
@bondenavant: Amy is your skincare & hair expert. Follow Amy for skincare & haircare tips along with mom life.
@hybridhues: Reva is a creative director & stylist. Follow her for some major fashion inspo
AAPI Beauty-founded brands:
Amy Liu, Founder of Tower 28 Beauty: After struggling with sensitive skin & eczema her entire life Amy created Tower 28. A skincare line focused on creating products with ingredients that are good for you.
Lauren Jin, Founder of Cle Cosmetics: Cle Cosmetics was born out of Lauren’s desire to create something for modern women. Products that are modern in their thinking & technology. Curated around the latest Korean beauty technology.
David Yi, Founder of Good Light Beauty: David created the blog Very Goodlight in 2016, a space to have honest & open conversations about the beauty world. David has always focused on redefining notions of masculinity and that’s where Goodlight started- A skincare lined created as a response to the hyper-masculine/hyper-feminine divide in the beauty industry
Deepica Mutyala, Founder of Live Tinted: Live Tinted started after a viral video of Deepica red lipstick hack which launched a digital community focused on inclusivity and diverse beauty. Their first product was 4-1 multi-task color corrector inspired by listening to their community’s number one beauty concern hyperpigmentation Now Live Tinted carries huesticks, hueglows & balm glosses.
Erica Choi, Founder of Superegg: Erica is a licensed esthetician, lifestyle influencer behind Egg Canvas & former VP of digital design behind Barneys New York. Superegg was founded based on Erica’s 3 biggest values eggs, beauty & balance.
Charlotte Cho, Founder of Soko Glam: Charlotte Cho created Soko Glam after her own experience in Korean Skincare. Through an online beauty marketplace, SokoGlam promotes that skincare should be enjoyable & that it’s an investment in your overall well-being
Alicia Yoon, Founder of Peach & Lily: Alicia's love for skincare came from a personal experience dealing with eczema & problematic skin. After attending esthetician school in Korea & studying skincare ingredients Alicia founded Peach & Lily- a skincare line focused on Korean technology and ingredients to empower you to transform your own skin.
AAPI Books to read:
If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha: A contemporary novel set in Seoul, Korea, about four young women making their way in a world defined by impossible standards of beauty
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong: A collection of essays where Hong examines what it means to be Asian American today.
Sansei and Sensibility by Karen Tei Yamashita: Classic tales transfer across boundaries and question what an inheritance―familial, cultural, emotional, artistic―really means.
Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life by Ali Wong: Untold stories & advice by Ali Wong to live your best life.
Girl Gone Viral by Alisha Rai: A modern romantic novel where a reclusive investor goes viral, shoving her into the world's spotlight—and into the arms of the bodyguard, she’s been pining for.
Deceit and Other Possibilities by Vanessa Hua: Vanessa Hua gives voice to immigrant families navigating a new America, tied to their ancestral and adopted homelands.
A Nail the Evening Hangs On by Monica Sok: Monica Sok uses poetry to reshape a family’s memory about the Khmer Rouge regime a memory that is both real and imagined according to a child of refugees.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo: A narrative about empire, storytelling, and the anger of women
APPI Podcast & Resources:
Misfortunecookiespodcast: A podcast where Asian Americans can share their mental health stories.
Self Evident: Asian American’s Stories: A podcast that aims to challenge assumptions about Asian Americans
PBS Asian Americans: A five-part documentary series on the history of Asians in America.
@stopasianhate: A coalition addressing anti-Asian hate amid the pandemic
@asianmentalhealthcollective: `Building a community for Asian mental health support
@asianhealthservices: A health center that serves 50,000 patients/year in English & 14 different languages.
@apimentalhealth: A community for APIs to redefine the mental health conversation
