'Prim-n-Poppin' Photo Series Reimagines Vintage Beauty Ads Through LGBTQ-Inclusive Lens

New York-based photographer Julia Comita and makeup artist Brenna Drury have combined forces to co-creative direct a new photo series titled "Prim-n-Poppin".

Challenging outdated, non-inclusive beauty standards, "Prim-n-Poppin" takes cringe-worthy beauty advertisements from the 70s and remakes them with a diverse cast of models and updated copy.

Taking aim at antiquated beauty ads of the past that featured predominantly white, thin and cis-female models, "Prim-N-Poppin" highlights models from a wide variety of racial backgrounds and identities, including queer, transgender, and non-binary, as well as talent from the body modification, vitiligo and body positive communities. The result is a fresh, inclusive and fun campaign that reinterprets classic beauty advertisements through a modern lens and reflects Drury and Comita's desire to embrace the cheese and charm of the period while showcasing the diversity that was missing at the time.

"Julia and I asked ourselves, 'What would the future look like today if these advertisements had been the standard of the past?' As creatives, we want to challenge the industry to take responsibility for their marketing and diversify their talent pool," explained Drury.

One of the models, Maria Rivera, continues, "When I was younger, to be part of the beauty world was merely only a dream for me. For me, it represents all the young transgenders' dreams of having freedom to choose, enjoy and live their lives, with their preferred lifestyle and sexual preferences, without any prejudice or need to fit the society's mold and norms."

Another model, Coral Johnson, said in an interview with O Magazine, "Images like this not only would have changed my thinking [as a teenager], but everybody else would have seen them too and maybe not treated me so awfully or made me feel like such a wrong type of person. It would have changed a lot for everybody."