"If I Don't Look Like That, I'm Not Beautiful" | The Art of Beauty S04E03 Diversity & Inclusivity
In the latest episode of The Art of Beauty Season 4, we're joined by the inspiring Issy Yong! Discover how Issy’s journey from self-doubt to self-love transformed her perception of beauty, finding appreciation in every detail of her body.
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00:00I just thought to myself, I can't spend the rest of myself looking in the mirror hating what I see.
00:06It's so exhausting to hate yourself.
00:12Hi everyone, welcome back to season four, Art of Beauty episode three.
00:18Today we'll be talking all about diversity and inclusivity in beauty.
00:24And I have with me a very special guest, my very good friend Izzy.
00:29Hi, thanks for coming. We're so excited to have you here.
00:33And when I thought of this topic, you were the first person that came to my mind because
00:38you do a bit of everything. Yeah. So maybe you could tell us a little bit about you and maybe
00:43a little bit of what you do content wise. Sure. I'm a curve model and I specify mainly in beauty.
00:50I do like doing fashion shoots and stuff, but beauty is the one thing that I've always just
00:55loved, you know, like growing up and then seeing all the catalogs and all the magazine covers
01:00and just wanting to be on it. Yeah. So yeah, it feels really surreal that now I'm actually
01:06kind of in that position. So I never, ever thought it would be imaginable for someone
01:09who looked like me. So it's, yeah, it's amazing. Yeah. And I like putting on like content for like
01:14plus size bodies, curvy bodies, like how to dress for your body type and how you shouldn't be ashamed
01:20of your curves. Perfect. I love that. I know I follow you on Instagram and I see a lot of like,
01:27a lot of your storytelling content. I feel like it's so refreshing because you're someone who is,
01:32I feel like very authentic to who you are and like what you stand for. You know, I feel like a lot of
01:37people sometimes, especially online, they say one thing and then they actually like do the another.
01:42So with you, I feel like you are truly yourself. So tell me a little bit more about like your
01:47journey. Like, has it always been that way for you or did you ever have any like challenges growing
01:52up? Did you feel like you were always confident or was there a change somehow throughout your life?
01:57Honestly, I grew up very ashamed of my body. I used to wear like massive oversized hoodies. I would
02:04wear like, even if I'm like in the hot, sweating sun, I'll make sure I'll cover up my arms because
02:08I have cirrhosis polaris on my arms. I have eczema. I had a really, really bad acne and
02:16yeah, and it was a really tough journey growing up, typically like, you know, from a Chinese
02:21household where everyone is very skinny, very fair, very tall and I was the complete opposite.
02:26Right. But we love that. I know, but now we do. So it's honestly been such, it's a very, it was a very
02:33long, hard journey, like educating my mom, like, you know, all the stories that kind of happen
02:39as you go along. But I think that's what makes it so close to my heart and maybe that's what you get
02:45to see as like an audience or like someone on Instagram. You get to see that side of me that I
02:51don't, like none of my family knew that part of me. So it was kind of fun kind of just having this
02:56little like secret community I had on Instagram that supported me and my journey. Right. Yeah.
03:01That's really interesting because I mean, I can also kind of understand like there, there, there
03:06is a certain stereotype, I think that a lot of people put on women, especially, but I think
03:12in Asia, especially, I feel like a lot of times that if you are in entertainment or if you're on
03:18social media, a lot of times they expect you to, you know, always be picture perfect, always look
03:22a certain way, act a certain way. But we all know that there's no really such thing as perfect.
03:27Right. But what is it like for you to go on there to, you know, and kind of show whoever's, you know,
03:33watching your videos or looking at your pictures, how do you get that confidence to show like your
03:38true self, like with, you know, no makeup, you know, I know you do a lot of get ready with me,
03:42a lot of like how to style and you're always like, you know, you're not trying to cover anything. In
03:48fact, you're always trying, you're just flaunting and being who you are, which I think is so like
03:52commendable. I think it's too tiring to cover your, it's too much effort. I just feel like it's a lot
03:58easier just to be bare faced and just even like today I did like a very, you know, sheer kind of
04:05makeup. You can still see my pimples or my acne scars and my texture, but that's just who I am. I
04:10think I like being vulnerable because when I first started on Instagram about like eight years ago,
04:16I saw like a really great community of people and obviously it's evolved with marketing and stuff
04:21over time and it has changed. So I think the basis of where I stem from and where I try to
04:28create the content is actually from the beginning when I met all those creators who said like,
04:32oh wow, you look so good in a bikini. Can you please post more of this? I never see someone
04:36my body type wearing what you do and that's kind of what landed me in modeling because
04:41a local photographer said I've actually never seen like a Chinese typically curve girl doing
04:48swimwear and it was just me just doing like my traveling photos because I started off as a travel
04:51blogger and she's like, can I photograph you? And I was like, sure. It was really weird. I was like,
04:56are you sure? Yeah, of course. I'm like, I don't think it's that interesting. But she's like, no,
05:00it is. Trust me. And we did a whole shoot and that was literally the first photo shoot I ever did.
05:05And that was like, yeah, seven years ago. Is there any specific brand that you think has
05:12kind of paved the way and kind of been like one of the first to do it that you, you know, maybe
05:18kind of maybe feel like, you know, oh, this brand I really support because I feel like they really,
05:22you know, are true to what they stand for. And they really believe in that kind of messaging
05:28and they really want to do it because they want to help that community of people who maybe never
05:32had an opportunity to, you know, maybe find the right shade or, or anything. I feel accepted,
05:37I guess is the word. I think for me, the first foundation I ever tried on and it actually
05:42matched my skin tone was Fenty Beauty by Mrs. Rihanna. Oh yeah, I agree. I love Fenty.
05:47Because I never, I could never find anything with like an olive tone base. And you know,
05:51usually it's very pink or very yellow tone. So it didn't really suit me. So I forced myself
05:56to have a lot of yellow toned makeup where it's too honey or too bronzy. So when I tried Fenty
06:02for the very first time, it felt really nice to find it. And I know you're thinking like, oh, but
06:07you're very fair. You're not very dark either. But there was still kind of a gap in that in-between
06:12market. And I think Rihanna did a really great job creating that inclusivity. Definitely. And I know
06:18you've also done a few beauty campaigns recently. I saw that on your Instagram. Would you like to
06:23share a little bit of that? What was your experience like on set? And maybe like when,
06:27you know, some of these brands invite you to be a part of their campaign or to shoot something with
06:32them? Like, I'm sure it's very exciting. And I think, you know, for someone like you, it's always
06:37constantly, you know, being a visionary, being like a trendsetter almost for a lot of us more curvy
06:43girls. What was that like? Well, the first campaign I ever did that was a beauty campaign was for MAC
06:48Cosmetics. It was two years ago for their Merdeka campaign. And a makeup artist who was doing my
06:53makeup for one of my other shoots asked me, would I be interested? And I literally screamed. And I
06:58just like jumped up and down because I just couldn't believe it. I was like, really? Because
07:03I've just never really seen like plus size girls associated with beauty. And let alone like for
07:08them to think of me, it was really amazing. And I went on set and I felt really, really accepted by
07:14everyone around me. And not only that the brand, the person representing MAC, she came up and had
07:20a chat with me after and it made me feel so special. I know that sounds pretty corny.
07:25Yeah, definitely. But it was, yeah, it was definitely a very, very amazing experience.
07:30And I think I'll always remember that. And lately, the last one I did was for IT Cosmetics.
07:36So that was, I was going through a very bad purge in my acne. So I was feeling really down about
07:43myself actually. So when I even sent the video, I was just like, oh my God, my skin looks horrible
07:48in this casting video. Like I don't think I'm going to get it. It's so red. It's so patchy.
07:54And they ended up picking me and I was so honored and the experience was great. It was like a two
07:59day shoot kind of thing. And it was just so fun. And it felt so good to be represented as you.
08:06Cause they even asked my opinion and go like, what do you think of this picture? Does this
08:10resemble you? Is this how you would normally smile? We want you to be your true authentic self.
08:15And I was like, this is so refreshing. Yeah, it's totally. And I think, you know, like people
08:20watching, like for the audience, like even for me, cause I'm also a consumer, right? Makeup consumer,
08:25beauty consumer. And, you know, we're so like accustomed, like when I grew up, like we didn't
08:30have social media really back then. It was kind of like the start of like the internet and everything.
08:34And I personally relied heavily, like looking at magazines and things, what we saw on like
08:39television and stuff. So I feel like back then people were not as like aware and exposed to like
08:45how easy it is to actually manipulate an image or to edit photos or Photoshop, FaceTune things.
08:51You feel like there is a, you know, certain standard of beauty that is set by, I don't know
08:58who actually says it, but like you just feel like there's a certain benchmark that a lot of people
09:03put onto themselves to look a certain way. Yeah. I think I grew up with a very singular mind of
09:09what beauty was. Like you said, like I grew up seeing all the campaigns on TV, like, and everyone
09:15was very tall, very blonde, blue eyed. Or if you were in Asia, they were usually very, very fair
09:21skin, like porcelain white, long black hair, you know, very skinny face and everything. And I think
09:28because of that glamazon era and everyone just thought, okay, if I don't look like that, I'm not
09:35beautiful and I'm not accepted. And I think what's so amazing in our generation and what we're
09:41seeing and slowly brands are like paving the way of allowing not just that singular beauty, but
09:47allowing like age, you know, like women of vast age group, because you know, they always associate
09:52like, oh, your beauty fades when you age. But I think some beautiful women are out there and
09:57they're like in their fifties and sixties. I've seen them on like campaigns with like pathographs
10:02and all that. They look amazing. So I think it's great that the industry is slowly changing and
10:07getting out that whole retouching and brushing Photoshop era. Yeah, totally. I have to agree with
10:13that because I think now there's some laws, especially like, I think in the US, like if you
10:17are, you know, Photoshopping like lashes, for example, like, like a mascara ad, for example,
10:22like if you're adding on like falsies on the model, like for the campaign shoot, you actually
10:26have to disclose that. And I love the transparency. I like that that's really transparent. Because I
10:31feel like you're not really being misled to buy a product and then expect it to work and look like
10:36that. And then when you bring it back home, it looks absolutely nothing like that. Exactly. So
10:40I feel like that it's good that there is some sort of transparency with like brands, especially beauty
10:45brands. And what is your opinion? Like, do you ever feel like sometimes you are pressured to
10:50look a certain way in this day and age? Or are you just kind of like, you know what, this is me,
10:55this is what I have to offer. Sometimes I mean, everyone has their good days and bad days. I'll
10:59be lying to everyone if I'm saying I always feel confident 100% every single day, because that's
11:04definitely not true. I have my lows. And now skincare is such a big thing. It's like almost
11:09taking over makeup, whereas makeup back then was the headliner. And when I was going through really
11:14bad acne or purge, or you know, my skin just doesn't look the same way. I've got like my double
11:19chin and all that. And it always and you see ads targeted like, oh, it's you want to get rid of
11:24your double chin, just come to us, we'll magic you up. Yeah, you know, they'll make all these insane
11:29ads of like fats, and they have like faces. You know what I mean? Yeah, definitely. It's kind of
11:36hard sometimes not to go like, Oh, no, do I need to do that surgery? Do I need to like get that done?
11:42You know, so I think from time to time, I do have that a little bit in the back of my head.
11:46But most of the time, I try my best to be you, I'll do whatever I like. I'm very happy in my body.
11:54And I've grown a lot from that. And if you're not happy, feel free to, you know, change. I don't
11:59think there's anything wrong with that, either. I think there's people always saying like, oh, no,
12:03to cosmetic surgery, or very extreme points of views. But I think you only have one life to
12:07live. Do whatever makes you happy. Do whatever you like. It's your body. But yeah, totally. So
12:12I mean, that's really refreshing to hear from you. But I know a lot of people may be struggling with
12:17their weight, or maybe like you said, like people going through puberty and like having acne and
12:22breakouts, maybe they don't feel as like confident or they don't feel that, you know, they don't feel
12:28beautiful, right? So what would you say to them, like in the meantime, while they're going through
12:33that, like, what should they do to, you know, maybe boost their self-esteem and their confidence?
12:37Well, I think the first thing I would say is probably stop overthinking it. It's not really
12:42that big of a deal. Like you've got a pimple, you've got a roll there, you've got stretch marks
12:46here. No one actually cares. Nobody notices. It's all in your head sometimes. That's true. And the
12:51people that are pointing out, I mean, come on. I think it's good to like reflect and not really
12:57worry about what someone is saying about you, except yourself. So I think I would just say
13:02re-educate yourself, kind of like rethink your mind to, instead of going to a mirror and pointing
13:08out all your flaws, point out the stuff that you love. Love that. Like, you know, that's what I did
13:13to try to get over it. Like, oh, I loved my waist. I liked my lips, you know? So I tried to focus on
13:18that more so that I wouldn't detach and, you know, go into this doom. I was like, oh no, this like
13:24downward spiral. So I would definitely say stop focusing on all the bad things, instead focus on
13:30the positive and just live your life. Just live like no one's watching. A hundred percent. I mean,
13:37that is so well said. I feel like a lot of people sometimes, yeah, they overthink and then they're
13:42like their biggest critic, you know? Like if you ever say, they're like, oh my god, everybody's
13:45gonna see this. And really, in reality, nobody's really noticing it. Like, okay, everybody gets it.
13:51And I think it's important, right, to like normalize that there's no such thing as a
13:57flawless human, like perfect human. Everybody has some sort of texture, scars. Is there anything
14:04that you do to maybe like maintain, like I guess, like your idea of a healthy body and healthy
14:14skin? So I don't know if it's unique or not, but I think just balance is key to everything. Whereas
14:20with it's exercising, if it's eating well, do everything with balance. If you like your ice
14:25cream, don't have it every single day. Have it once a week. Like for me, that has helped the most
14:31because I think I went to extremes because I actually did have body dysmorphia when I was
14:36growing up and I also was bulimic for almost five to six years. So it was a very massive journey to
14:43get out of that headspace, to stop binge eating and just finding that balance. And I think that
14:49key, once you find it, it's just when you're like so happy and you just feel so good in yourself.
14:55It's just an overwhelming feeling of like love on your body and it's such a strange feeling to have.
15:00And I feel like every woman should have to experience that at least once in their life,
15:04you know, to not pick yourself apart. And I think doing my skincare rituals, eating clean,
15:10is really helpful as well for me. And I, yeah, I think they're just like everyday tips, really. I
15:14don't think there's any secret. You know how they always go like, oh, this is the secret to finding
15:18this. I think the secret is actually just you. Yeah, that's true. You have to kind of want to
15:23make a difference, I guess. Right. And to have to see that result, it's kind of a lifestyle change.
15:28It's not necessarily like a, you know, easy fix or a quick fix. I've been doing diet since I was
15:36eight. I've tried everything, like from top to bottom, like nothing will work. Trust me. Yeah.
15:42Just fix your lifestyle. Right. Fix where you want to be at. Yeah, totally. And I have a question.
15:48So you did mention, we were talking a little earlier, you said like when you first started,
15:53you were a little insecure and you would, you know, maybe sometimes felt the need to maybe like
15:59edit pictures and you mastered Photoshop at one point. Yeah. Which is not an easy thing to do,
16:04I must say. At a young age of 14. Wow, that is amazing. And you mentioned that, you know, you
16:12would, you know, try to like take out all the like bad quote unquote flaws that you felt like,
16:18you know, we're not supposed to be there. Like you wanted this perfect like picture. Tell us a
16:23little bit more about that and like what changed you to now be the complete opposite of that and
16:27just kind of like be your bare self and you're like, this is it. This is me with whatever,
16:34like flaws I have. Here it is. It's for you guys, you know? So like, what was that like,
16:39you know, mentality, mindset change? Like what, you know, made you want to change that, I guess,
16:45habits or behavior? I think I just wanted to enjoy looking. I just thought to myself, I can't spend
16:52the rest of myself looking in the mirror, hating what I see. It's so exhausting to hate yourself.
16:59So I think I kind of had that massive change. So I was like probably maybe 12 up to the age of 15,
17:0716. I was photoshopping myself. I mastered like all the tools. I watched the YouTube tutorials.
17:13I could airbrush like I was on Vogue. I could work for them basically. Oh wow, that is, oh my gosh.
17:19You couldn't, you actually can't find a photo of me with my normal body. That's, which is really,
17:24really sad to say because I was trying to look back at photos of me at that age when people do
17:27your throwbacks on Instagram. And I genuinely couldn't find one that wasn't photoshopped. And
17:31it was really sad for me like seeing that, but also the growth and the change. I think the change
17:36for me that was really significant was the people around me. I think I started dropping the friends
17:41who would always comment on my weight and point out all my scars or my psoriasis or things that I
17:47genuinely can't help. And then like you think about it, kids are cruel. Like kids, they don't
17:51realize that they are being that way. So it's just one of those things surrounding myself with a
17:56different type of community is probably the thing that helped me the most get out of that funk
18:01and actually start to enjoy my body. And I think that was the massive change was literally just
18:08people around me. And it was not so small, but it was such a big change for me to stop doing that
18:13and just being authentic. And it felt really comforting almost. Like I just felt so seen by
18:20other people like, oh wow, you post bare face. Oh, you're showing your roles. Like, you know,
18:25instead of all the comments that bullied me, I kind of body shaving and all that. And I just
18:30reversed it back. And I actually like go on Instagram and you can actually get rid of all
18:34those words and not have people in your comments bringing you down and just not being in that head
18:40space altogether. Just take it out of the equation. Yeah. You know? Yeah. Yeah. That is,
18:46that is really cool because I don't think a lot of people realize that sometimes they're actually
18:51like kind of helping that kind of toxic, you know, environment where, you know, it's just this
19:00bad cycle really. And it's not their fault. Like they're not educated, especially like with our
19:06older parents or grandparents, you know, and everyone used to point out my weight all the time
19:11and now nobody says anything. If anything, they go like, oh wow, you look so good lately.
19:16I had my mom's birthday the last weekend and one of my aunts who has never paid me a compliment
19:21my entire life told me I looked good. I was like, wow, I must be doing something. Yeah.
19:26When it comes to, you know, you doing maybe like shoots and things like sometimes you work with
19:32other models and sometimes, I mean, I've been in that position where I feel like we can kind of
19:36relate. Have you ever felt like when you were included in a shoot or, you know, um, I don't
19:43know, a brand campaign or anything, and they have other maybe sample sized models, right? Like the
19:49typical traditional ideal of what a model should be like, you know, five, nine and have the sample
19:57size. Did you ever feel like sometimes you, there was this double standard, like, yeah, you're on
20:03the campaign, but you know, it, what you were never really highlighted. You're like the token
20:08plus size girl. You're filling a quota. Right. Like, I think I have felt that way in some cases,
20:15but lately I think it's kind of changed. But of course, when I first started off doing modeling,
20:21when I was in Sydney, I like did an active wear campaign and I felt a lot of people just
20:26whispering and going like, why is she here? Like, and it felt like really disheartening
20:31because I was so excited. You know, they booked me a flight and went over there. I was like,
20:35okay, this is so exciting. You know, I'm finally being accepted for being who I am. And then you
20:39go there and you realize, wait, that one person's rooting for you. Not everyone.
20:44Right. Yeah. I feel like I've kind of been that in that position as well. And it's really kind
20:49of sad because a lot of times they're like, they're always finding a plus size model to just
20:54be in the background or kind of like, like you said, you know, fill a quota.
20:58Exactly. You're like never center focus. It's very rare to find brands that do that.
21:03So yeah. So what do you think, let's just say like, what do you think of
21:08the future? What do you think brands, beauty brands, fashion brands, lifestyle brands,
21:13where do you think the future for inclusivity and diversity is leading? Like, do you think
21:20it's going to be a market by itself? Do you think this is going to expand? Do you think more people
21:24are going to be jumping on this train? I think so. I like for myself. So I always struggled
21:31finding swimwear because I love swimwear, but most brands just carry up to an L. So when you're
21:36bigger, you're used to squeezing to smaller sizes. So I'm actually, what you're saying about being
21:41more inclusive, I'm actually starting my own swimwear brand very, very soon. It's launching
21:46hopefully in August or September. It's called Isere, which is the Italian word for Benissere,
21:52which means safety and comfort combined with the beginning part of my name.
21:57Wait, I love that. I love that little hybrid. And we're doing seven sizes starting out the
22:02bat. And I got rejected so much by suppliers saying like, Oh, you're just a startup. You
22:06can just do two or three sizes. I'm like, so I'm going to start a swimwear brand with not my size.
22:13That makes sense. Thanks. Thanks. So yeah, we're doing size zero to 22 American and we're also
22:19going through the eco-friendly way. So everything is made of eco-polyamide. So like, you know,
22:23those bins that you see that people put clothes and you think it just goes to the trash, it
22:26actually gets regurgitated and created into like new fabrics. And that's what my brand is all about.
22:32So yes, I think as a small business owner that's starting soon, I think if I have felt that need
22:37to grow that way, I hope bigger brands do too. Yeah. Oh my God. That is so, I'm so excited for
22:42you. And honestly, I can't wait to see the pieces because I've always struggled with this too,
22:47especially with like swimwear. I feel like a lot of times, like you like a certain design or you
22:51like a certain fit and then suddenly they don't really fit your body. Cause it's always like more
22:55of like, you know, catered to like a, like a mannequin. It looks good on a mannequin but it's
23:00not going to hide anything. It's not going to cover me. I guess to wrap it up, I just wanted
23:06to ask you like, okay, maybe if you had, you know, some word of advice for maybe the girls who are
23:11watching or some of the younger girls, especially I feel like who are, you know, impressionable and
23:17they're still growing and they, maybe they want to be a model and maybe they want to create
23:20content online and they want to stay true to who they are. If they're a curvy girl or if they're
23:25going through, you know, some skincare challenges like acne and all that, what would you say to them
23:32to maybe boost their self-confidence? And what would you say to them to start their journey?
23:37Like what should they do? I think I'll give the advice that I wish someone gave to me when I was
23:44younger was stop worrying about everyone else and their opinion. Start thinking about what you want,
23:52what makes you happy, what makes you feel the most confident self no matter what that item may be
23:59and just run with it. Screw all the trends, do what you like to do, do the content you
24:04like to produce and you can be the trend. You can start that. Yes, I love that so much.
24:11If you want to follow Izzy, where can we find you on socials? Instagram. Instagram.
24:18Definitely follow my girl Izzy on Instagram. She's amazing. I'm sure you guys will love her content.
24:23Thank you so much Izzy for being on this episode. I had such a fun time chatting and talking.
24:28Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. And as always guys, I will see you in the next episode
24:34of Art and Beauty. Bye!