Nikita Dragun
Nikita Dragun Was ‘Obsessed With the Art of Transformation,’ So She Built the Perfect Kit
We all want to become something. Transformation is everyone’s ultimate goal, whatever that means to you in your world. For influencer and YouTube star Nikita Dragun, the desire was deeper than most. As a beauty industry infant, she was trying to transform and transition at the same time — and she never expected any of it to lead to being the CEO of the first makeup brand for trans people or for her first product drop to sell out in less than 24 hours.
“Starting out in the beauty world, I was obsessed with the art of transformation,” the beauty guru told Life & Style exclusively. “I definitely had a keen eye for artistry but to me transforming my (at the time) little boy face into a supermodel woman — I was always just obsessed with how a woman could transform herself. I really found that through makeup I was able to kind of achieve that inner fantasy that I always wanted to live.”
That inner fantasy was the driving force in the YouTuber’s dedication to bridging the gap between the current cosmetics market and the needs that aren’t being met for trans women. Believe it or not, there’s a lot more overlap than you would think — and thus, Dragun Beauty was born.
“What was important to me was the color corrector and the brightening powders, and I feel like the two of them combined together allow you to be an architect to your own beauty,” Nikita explained. “You can truly transform yourself whatever way you want to, and for me, it was all about feminizing my face — and I realized cis-gender girls that do their makeup on a daily basis aren’t really doing certain steps either.”
The Instagram star noticed how many cis-gender women were skipping pivotal steps like color correcting and knew highlighting those essential products would be the perfect way to cement her brand as one for all people, not just trans people. “There are certain steps missing in their routine,” she continued. “Any time I would pull out my color correctors or powders for my good girlfriends and stuff, they would be like, ‘Wow, I didn’t even know you could do this.’”
The line has been such a hit across the board, the first product drop on March 25, 2019, sold out in less than 24 hours. Clearly, this girlboss knows what she’s doing.
“It’s been insane to see the response, for sure, because you know, I’m not launching with typical products like lipsticks or eyeshadows or even fragrance,” she raved. “It’s truly something that isn’t offered and also isn’t educated upon — obviously, you’re not going to make ‘new’ makeup. Everything’s been done. But at the same time, I wanted to create a transformation “egg” — a transformation kit — that I would want to give to myself three years ago, you know, when I was starting in my transition.”
If you want to do a little transforming yourself, head to Dragun Beauty on April 17 for the big restock at 3 p.m. EST and get yourself an egg before they disappear once again.
