There’s an art to being perceived online. Knowing which photo makes the cut, which one feels a little too try-hard, and whether the first slide should be a full-glam moment or a candid that accidentally makes you look hot in the most effortless way.
Dating apps are essentially a digital moodboard of yourself; a carefully selected collection of images that say “this is what I look like, this is what I get up to, this is how I want to be seen”. But for anyone in the queer community, that process can mean a little more. When you’ve spent precious (and sometimes painful) time figuring out who you are, navigating how the world sees you and learning to own your identity, choosing how to present yourself becomes its own kind of creative direction. However, that doesn’t necessarily refer to the most polished selfie or the most convincing thirst trap. Sometimes it’s the full beat, a maximalist outfit, or a simple gloss that catches the light just right.
For Match in Full Colour, NYX Professional Makeup and Tinder have partnered to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community’s relationship with beauty, identity and showing up authentically on dating apps. The campaign brings together six familiar faces from across the community: queer non-binary singer-songwriter Jason Kwan, RuPaul’s Drag Race UK finalist Kitty Scott-Claus, make-up artist and Glow Up winner Shania Parris, content creator Tyreece, online personality and podcast host Joe Baggs, and presenter and TV personality Ella Morgan. Across the campaign, each shares their own experiences of makeup, identity, dating and self-expression.
Speaking exclusively to BRICKS, Ella says the perfect profile picture is a combination of wholesome and glam – think: countryside, your dog, a little something for the camera, and obviously, a good lip. “A little dab of NYX Cosmetics Butter Gloss makes all the difference,” she shares. “You want to draw them in with your eyes too, and make sure your lashes are on point!” Dating as her full self has changed her relationship with her image in more ways than one: her makeup skills have developed, but so has the way she sees herself. “I’m so happy with how I look in full glam and no glam; I let my personality shine through. I’m at the point in my life now where I think, this is me! Take it or leave it.“
I’m so happy with how I look in full glam and no glam; I let my personality shine through. I’m at the point in my life now where I think, this is me! Take it or leave it.
Ella Morgan
Joe takes a slightly less understated approach. His formula? “NYX Cosmetics Fat Oil Lip Gloss, the most outrageous outfit you’ve ever worn and showing off your best feature!” No notes, really. He’s also quick to point out that the perfect selfie isn’t necessarily the point. Looking good is one thing, but providing someone with an actual reason to want to get to know you is another. “[When I was single and dating] it was more important to convey a version of myself that was realistic and showed my personality more than anything else.”
Meanwhile, Shania is all about capturing a moment that feels genuinely her. Full beat and a shiny lip gloss are part of the equation, but the picture itself shouldn’t feel like it’s been overthought. “I always think the first image has to be what sums you up the most and lets who you are shine. For me, that’s my full glam. After all, it’s what I love and what makes me feel the most me, plus a cheeky bit of Jelly Job gloss on the lips because gloss is always best,” she explains. “Most of all, I’d want it to be a candid picture that just shows me, not posed or perfected.”
Of course, getting to that point of confidence isn’t always straightforward. For many queer people, learning to feel comfortable being seen online is part of a much bigger journey towards self-acceptance. “I think I have just become more authentically me,” confesses Shania. “I used to plan my profile and how I showed up, around what I thought others would want, which I think came from an internal battle of figuring myself out. But since showing up as my full self, I showcase who I am without trying to curate the image. Take it or leave it, but what I do know is that being this way will always attract the ones meant for you,” she adds.
I always think the first image has to be what sums you up the most and lets who you are shine. For me, that’s my full glam. After all, it’s what I love and what makes me feel the most me, plus a cheeky bit of Jelly Job gloss on the lips because gloss is always best.
Shania Parris
There’s certainly something refreshing about that approach – a dating profile isn’t an audition, and the goal shouldn’t be to create an image that appeals to everyone. It’s about finding the people who connect with the person you actually are. But there are also deeper reasons why queer people are so thoughtful about the way they present themselves. For Ella, these are rooted in her experience as a trans woman, and being able to choose how she shows up is something she’s fought hard for. “Because we always turn up as ourselves, we spent years of our lives being told we were too much or not enough, so now we want to show people who we really are,” she points out. “I fought so hard to live as my true self; I refuse to be anything else. After years of rejection, I choose myself. First impressions mean so much. I mean, love at first sight and all that! I need them to love me for me.”
Joe shares a similarly unapologetic perspective, describing the everyday experience of being queer as an act of visibility in itself. For him, making a first impression is about refusing to disappear into the background. “Showing up every day is an act of defiance in itself. Your first impression means everything as a queer person because you rarely want to blend in; you’ve had to fight so hard to be seen, so it’s rude not to show up in full colour.”
In today’s increasingly hostile socio-political climate, it’s also vital to recognise that, for humans under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella, presentation can also be about protection and self-preservation. “On one hand, queer people have spent so long internally figuring out who they are that once they are comfortable showing themselves outwardly, we just want to be open and proud,” reflects Shania. “On the other hand, however, we have become masters of first impressions to protect ourselves and choose how we want to show up to others in a world where unfortunately we aren’t fully accepted the way we should be.”
A dating profile isn’t an audition, and the goal shouldn’t be to create an image that appeals to everyone. It’s about finding the people who connect with the person you actually are.
Nevertheless, despite the lack of safety the community still has to endure, dating apps are offering queer people a space to explore and express their identities on their own terms, with the freedom to be open about who they are in a way that can sometimes feel unsafe and harder offline. Research commissioned by Tinder found that 59% of Gen Z LGBTQIA+ respondents came out on a dating app before telling friends or family, while 74% said dating apps offer a comfortable space to express their gender and sexual identity.
For many, that sense of safety and control starts with the profile itself, providing a chance to show up exactly as they want to be seen. It’s that freedom of expression that sits at the centre of Match in Full Colour, with NYX Professional Makeup and Tinder celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community’s freedom to date proudly, whether that’s full glam, no glam, or somewhere in between.
Discover the Match in Full Colour campaign on Instagram.
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