(Founder Terri Bryant and Chief Creative Officer Selma Blair)
“Beauty is not in the face; beauty is a light in the heart.” Khalil Gibran
We couldn’t agree more. And yet… it can be fun to experiment with cosmetics. GUIDE Beauty, a company that makes cosmetics specifically designed for individuals with fine motor and dexterity challenges, makes being Instagram-ready possible for anyone who wants to enhance their natural beauty.
GUIDE Beauty was founded in 2020 by celebrity makeup artist Terri Bryant. Bryant, who had been experiencing unexplained stiffness and deteriorating fine motor and finger dexterity for years, was finally diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in her early 40s. The diagnosis changed her life and career path.
“As a professional makeup artist, I felt a natural ability that most of my friends, family, and clients did not share,” Bryant said in a press release. “When that ability shifted due to the onset of Parkinson’s Disease it became so clear that my needs, like so many, had not been considered in the design and development of the products I had always used, so I decided it was time to create them.”
Bryant reached out to clean chemists and product designers trained in universal design to come up with her own line of vegan, gluten free, cruelty-free cosmetics and makeup tools that would make cosmetic application accessible to individuals with fine motor and dexterity challenges. She also tested the products on hundreds of makeup users of all abilities to ensure that they were effective for as many people as possible. As it turned out, the new product designs, including a “patented GUIDE Ring to steady the hand and make application smooth and easy” worked better for everyone. “When we design with all people in mind, we create the best products for everyone,” says Bryant.
In spring 2022, actress, memoirist and multiple sclerosis advocate Selma Blair became GUIDE’s Chief Creative Officer and a partner in the business.  Blair, who went public with her multiple sclerosis diagnosis in 2018, was passionate about the company’s mission, and had the public profile needed to grow the line and take the company to the next level.
“When I first held the GUIDE Wand, I immediately felt more confident than I ever had with a traditional pencil liner and found myself looking forward to doing my own makeup for the first time in a long time,” said Blair… “Upon meeting Terri, we bonded instantly over our mutual love of makeup and its ability to transform a face and a day. I’m thrilled to join her and GUIDE to create and advocate for a more inclusive world of beauty.”
Currently GUIDE offers universally designed eye liner, mascara, eye shadow, brow liner, and a range of accessible makeup brushes and applicators. Check out GUIDE’s website for tutorials on how to apply all their products.
