Kailey Waskall: Beauty was never designed with disabled people in mind, but we're here anyways. Ashton McGrady: I'm Ashton, Disabled Beauty Creator. Kailey Waskall: And I'm Kaylee, an occupational therapist. brooke parrish: and I daily in our video Ashton McGrady: And this is Accessibly Ever After, where we talk all things accessible beauty, inclusive design, and what it really means to make beauty work for real people. brooke parrish: This is excessively over after we'll be thoughtful and make successful community. But I'm going to be speaking in person. Kailey Waskall: Today's guest is someone who is actively challenging the boundaries of what beauty spaces have historically allowed. Brooke is a content creator and disability advocate born with Pfeiffer syndrome and for brooke parrish: Today's guest is someone who is actively be elegant about. Are you able to speak this past word From in the country or are you really happy to get more feedback on this? Kailey Waskall: the past five years she's been sharing her life and experiences with a facial difference online. If you've ever felt like beauty spaces weren't made with you in mind, her content is exactly the kind that reminds you that you still belong here. and we will be tagging her in the show notes below. Today though, we are getting into her experience navigating beauty, the accessibility barriers that still exist, and what it looks like to show up fully as yourself in a space that doesn't always expect you brooke parrish: I'm so excited to be here! Ashton McGrady: No, truly, I'm so excited. I've been following you for literally years now. So this is just, this is Kismet and I'm so excited to have you on here. So I'd love to start with you just kind of, obviously Kayleigh just gave a little intro, but you just kind of introducing yourself in your own words, but also how you choose to show up online because I think that's so intentional in your content and we really wanna dive into it. brooke parrish: my god, thank you so much. No, I absolutely Ashton McGrady: You brooke parrish: am thrilled to be here and I'm really glad that we were able to get connected. And I also love your content too and all things Ashton McGrady: Thank you. brooke parrish: that Kayleigh talks about OT. I have a friend who works in OT. So I don't know, I just, love both of you and I don't know, I guess the best way to describe myself and how I show up online is I just want to, this sounds really corny, but I show up as the older version of my younger self because honestly people like me didn't exist in my world until my twenties I feel like. That's when Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: I started seeing so much visibility, so much more visibility in the facial difference community and then in just the people who have disabilities in general. Like first it kind of started with facial differences and then it ended up with wow there's actually a whole world out here in my disability community that I want to connect with. And I show up because I didn't grow up having someone to look up to like that. I would have loved to have talked to someone who looked like me or dealt with the same things that I and see them get married and work in the real world and deal with haters in a more positive way. And I didn't get to see that, so I show up as that person that I would have loved to have seen. Ashton McGrady: I love that so much. Kailey Waskall: That is, social media often gets kind of poo-pooed on, right? Like people are always talking about the negativity of social media, but I do think brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: it can also be a huge positive for people in these different communities who, like you said, might never have come across someone else who has had like a similar experience and being able to connect through that online is huge. Ashton McGrady: That was literally brooke parrish: Yes. Ashton McGrady: me. That was for sure me, my rare disease. I mean, I have a couple, but the rare disease I was diagnosed with when I was 10, I mean, the internet didn't really exist like that. And my disease is like one in 40,000. Like I'm not gonna meet somebody just on the street sharing my same disorder. that definitely like just opened up so much more to have access to the internet. And that resonates with me so much. brooke parrish: Yeah, it's I grew up in a rural rural part of the world and so I didn't have access to communities my mom my parents didn't have access to support groups and so it took being online to even find makeup tutorials and get into beauty like it honestly took the Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: internet for Things good to happen to me. So I do think the internet it can be horrible But I think it's such a beautiful place if you let it be Ashton McGrady: same and I Kailey Waskall: Yeah. Ashton McGrady: think your community is so beautiful. I see the way that they show up for you and with you and I am just so glad that you exist out there and that your content is out there in the world. brooke parrish: It's hard to process. really is. I am grateful, truly. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and so you kind of mentioned that, you know, when you showed up or when you started posting online, you like found other people in a similar community to you in brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: the broader disability community. would love to know if you feel like facial differences are often misunderstood or even honestly left out within that broader disability conversation. brooke parrish: I think yes and no. think they are misunderstood in a sense of... there's just not enough exposure. Kailey Waskall: Hmm. brooke parrish: They're not in enough commercials. People who have visible disabilities are just not showcased enough for their talents. And Ashton McGrady: Sure. brooke parrish: I think that is kind of where the misunderstanding comes to play. Ashton McGrady: I agree that definitely in terms of like marketing and like what we see in the outward, brooke parrish: you. Ashton McGrady: obviously in the beauty space because that's a whole other story. Beauty and fashion spaces historically have brooke parrish: my gosh, yes. Ashton McGrady: been just like so not inclusive in the past especially. Obviously, you know, we've made some progress there, but still so far to go. And I would very much agree that like, it's that exposure to disability and what disability looks like, and that it can look like so many different things and people and misunderstood in the sense that they genuinely just haven't seen it. Now we could talk about representation all day. brooke parrish: I'm Ashton McGrady: But I just, as I was like touching on a lot of beauty culture online, I feel like we talk about like things like Instagram face, right? Like it's built around this very specific filtered ideal. So how do you feel like that impacts people with facial differences specifically? brooke parrish: I just feel like my personal experience has thankfully been very welcoming. And so I just feel like, again, so grateful for that. I know that isn't always the case and I wish that it was. I also just choose to see the welcoming side of it rather than the not so welcoming side. Thankfully, the percentage Ashton McGrady: I love that. brooke parrish: is higher. But I just think that everyone belongs. You know? Ashton McGrady: Truly, Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and Ashton McGrady: truly. Kailey Waskall: so kind of bouncing off this, talking about looking at the positive, right? And like looking through your viewpoint at the more positive experiences, have you had to create any kind of personal barriers with your social media that has kind of supported your ability to have such positive community? brooke parrish: Well, I definitely try not to respond to the negativity, especially if I'm not able to respond to all of the positivity. I don't want to give any negativity attention if there's way more positivity to be seen and looked at. Yeah, I guess I just filter it out. I have a pretty tough skin Ashton McGrady: I guess like in Kailey Waskall: Okay, well. Ashton McGrady: that same vein, like how do you navigate comments then that are, you feel are kind of well-intentioned but still might be harmful or just like intrusive, like in terms of like boundaries that we were talking about? brooke parrish: Honestly, it depends on my mood because I'm a pretty flexible person and I also, I just don't care you guys to be completely honest. I feel Ashton McGrady: That's so real. brooke parrish: like my, I don't feel like my purpose is to go online and educate. My purpose is to go online and share my life and it might educate someone in that process, but that's not my goal necessarily. So when I see comments that are yeah, you have a facial difference, but you're so beautiful still that sometimes I will correct them and let them know that you can be both and I didn't say I was ugly. then Kailey Waskall: You brooke parrish: sometimes I just leave it, you know, it really just depends Ashton McGrady: Fair. brooke parrish: on my mood. if I because because nine times out of ten, you can't argue with someone's opinion like that. Ashton McGrady: Sure. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: And I really excited thinking that I've gotten through to someone and then they're like, oh, you're stupid. Like, oh, okay. So it really just Ashton McGrady: Oh, right, right, right, right. brooke parrish: depends on my mood. If I feel like going there, I'll go there. as far as well-intended comments, I'm pretty at peace about it. I know of other creators that it's a little harder. I just let it roll off because A, it's engagement. and be as long as you're not like a jerk Ashton McGrady: Period. brooke parrish: and see my community will nine times out of ten help them before I have to. Ashton McGrady: I love that so much. No, I say all the time, listen, I'm old, okay? I'm like 33 years old, okay? I don't have time. don't have the energy. Most of the time, I just have to let it go. brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Yeah. It's so much more peaceful that way, and also it's not going to stop, so I could fight this battle, but there's going to be another one tomorrow. Ashton McGrady: Pew. Kailey Waskall: are there any ways that you find more appropriate questions? And the answer might be that there really are no appropriate questions about someone, someone's disability or appearance, brooke parrish: I actually just dealt with this recently. So there's two types of ways that this specific question could be answered. The wrong way is, is it true that your husband washes your hair for you? The right way is, do you need help washing your hair? Would that be something your husband could do for you? That Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Okay. brooke parrish: just happened recently and thankfully I community kind of stepped in and was like, let's ask that question a little differently. I also welcome questions. I have always welcomed questions since I was little. I would go up to children as a child and say, if you would like to ask me a question, you may. Maybe I was a little sassy about it, but definitely would rather you ask than not. Ashton McGrady: Right. brooke parrish: just because it's a huge elephant in the room and it's like, can, I see just your thoughts swirling in your head just from looking at you. Ashton McGrady: Sure. Yeah, people will stare. brooke parrish: Yeah, and so I welcome it, not sharing, questions. even if you Ashton McGrady: No, I love that. brooke parrish: ask me a question in a wrong way, I will step in and be like, hey, let's ask it a little differently and then answer the question. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: Because if it's about something that I already talk about like my mobility and what I can and can't do I'll answer it. I've had people say well, can you wipe your butt if you can't you know reach that's freaking weird that you would ask that but yeah No, Ashton McGrady: Oh really? brooke parrish: I totally can Ashton McGrady: Why are people like this? Kailey Waskall: And what, what do you also, I do wonder what they expect you because it's like, no, I just don't wipe my butt and then just like, like. brooke parrish: No, sometimes I do want to play around with them. Like, my mom, my mom is a very cynical person and I used to get questions a lot of why are your thumbs so flat? Like, why do your thumbs look like that? And it's because, you know, I have a genetic condition that affects the bones and especially my thumbs. And my mom was so sick of me getting that question. that she said, you tell the next person that asks you that question that you got in trouble. And so your mom made you hold onto the table so she can mash your thumbs with a hammer. I was like, mama, I cannot say that. And she was like, well, make it fun. Ashton McGrady: Like I know we're past child Kailey Waskall: Yeah. Ashton McGrady: protective services, but you know brooke parrish: No, literally I was like, mom, they're definitely gonna tell their parents you're gonna get a call. It's gonna be a whole thing. But she was like, well, make it Kailey Waskall: That's gonna be it. Ashton McGrady: my gosh brooke parrish: fun. And so I, again, if I'm in the mood, I'll Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. brooke parrish: be a little silly, goosey girl, but nine times out of 10, just ask. Ashton McGrady: It's so clear that you are a ray of sunshine and I love that about you. brooke parrish: Thank you! my god, stop, my god. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and I, we're here to gas you up. And I do think it also just reflects the type of person you are, right? That you've built this platform and this community of people who are respectful and will ride at dawn for you and are still just like a positive community, right? And so that speaks to your ability to kind of like steer the ship, I guess is the best way to describe And I just, really appreciate your transparency in talking through and answering all these questions. And along the lines of transparency, you have mentioned wanting brands to be more transparent about accessibility. In your opinion, what would that brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: actually look like in an ideal world? brooke parrish: Definitely just more awareness for sure. More visibility in media. I think that would definitely do it. More, not even just makeup brands, but more actors and actresses with disabilities. More people in commercials for beauty or anything fashion. More mindfulness, I think there needs to be way awareness in length of clothing, of petite and what that actually looks like and just size range I think is so important. I don't know, I just think it all starts in my opinion with marketing getting the word out there that, this is what we stand for. Because sometimes with certain brands, I just don't know because I don't see it. Ashton McGrady: All right. brooke parrish: Like don't know if you're inclusive because I can't, you're not telling me that. Yeah. Like I want to support you, but I want you to support Ashton McGrady: Yeah, like where is it on your website? Where is it on your social media? Like I think that's the bare minimum. brooke parrish: me, yeah. Ashton McGrady: And I also Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and Ashton McGrady: think like even things as simple as, and I saw this recently and actually really stood out to me. Alex Earle's new brand, I had my moment with it. Okay, I was like, I picked apart what I liked, what I didn't like, fine, whatever, real actives. But they put a video on every single product page showing, exactly how you open with and interact with the product. And I just thought that was huge. That's huge. Like I, brooke parrish: Interesting. That's really exciting because she gets it, media. Ashton McGrady: I love to see that. Like just like simple things like that. Obviously also just like disabled people being on your social media, on your website, you know, being in your mission brooke parrish: Yes. Ashton McGrady: statement, but you got to walk the walk and talk the talk. brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. I think it's so simple if and nothing it wouldn't affect anyone negatively if more people more brands put braille like till does if Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: if there was more Braille like just think of Who you make think of your customer base is you're not gonna lose anyone you're gonna gain Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Yeah, that's something L'Occitane does as well, but there's really not a ton of brands out there doing it. brooke parrish: It's sad. Ashton McGrady: And I feel like, again, that's another not very hard thing to do, but we talk about that all day. There's so many simple switches, but this leans right into the next question. What are your specific biggest packaging frustrations right now across your beauty products that you use day to day? brooke parrish: It's not a specific packaging. Like it's a specific product and it's the Rare Beauty Big Comfort Lotion. I cannot squeeze that. I don't know if mine is defective. I've only used mine. Like I haven't gone to Sephora. Kailey Waskall: It's not, it's not yours. It's brooke parrish: I cannot squeeze Ashton McGrady: It's not you. brooke parrish: it. And it makes Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. brooke parrish: me so mad because it smells so good and it's such a good formula. But I don't know what happened. And I... I was really upset about that because of how accessible most of her products So that one definitely stands out. Ashton McGrady: Right, and I know you talked about the tinted moisturizer on your page too and how hard it gets to squeeze out the less that's in the bottle. Yeah, I also agree. brooke parrish: Yes. Yes. I do appreciate the, I like the little divot. I think that Ashton McGrady: Right. brooke parrish: is awesome. But also, I don't know. It's just, it's too inaccessible for me personally. And that's the thing is like, products that I can't use really at all are travel products because they're just so short. And I know Kailey Waskall: Mmm... Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Fair. Yeah. brooke parrish: that you guys were comparing the I can't remember which chubby stick it was, but the shorter chubby stick versus the house labs glass Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Mmm, the tier tier, yeah. brooke parrish: blush. Tear tear. Yes, I wouldn't be able to use the tear tear because it's so short, but Ashton McGrady: It's too short. brooke parrish: I have to use, not have to, I'm obsessed with using my house labs glassy blush. I think I have hibiscus. I love it because it's so long. It's like my Ashton McGrady: That's such a pretty shade. Yeah. brooke parrish: longest blush, I think, and I'm obsessed with it for that reason. Ashton McGrady: See, that's like why it goes to show that that no one product, you know, obviously is accessible to everyone. all have so many disabilities, such a spectrum. We all have so many different needs. But that's why brooke parrish: Hmm. Ashton McGrady: we talk so much about the importance of just like having different options out there makes such a difference because hopefully, hopefully there is an option out there that meets your needs. But it obviously can be frustrating when there's a product you want to love or a formula you love, but it just the packaging itself is not accessible to you. what is the most ideal kind of packaging for you? Like, what do you prefer when it comes to beauty packaging? brooke parrish: Definitely longer products because of my limited mobility. I have fused elbows, so it's really difficult to get products to my face. I have like 10 fingers and the only finger that I can reach to my face is one thumb. So, longer products for sure. And also I'm a big fan of doe foot applicators for that reason as well. Ashton McGrady: Ooh, yeah. brooke parrish: So then I can just apply it to my face like the elf halo glow and obviously the Charlotte Tilbury filter. Those are my favorite type of products because it's just so easy for me to use. I really struggle with like. Ashton McGrady: I wonder if you would like, have you tried the About Face skin tint? Cause that's also like a massive brooke parrish: No. Ashton McGrady: doe foot. It's a beautiful formula. It's been out for a handful of years. do love it. brooke parrish: Saturday. Ashton McGrady: It's a massive, it's a pretty, Kayleigh, it's rectangular and it has a really Kailey Waskall: No, yeah, it's huge. It's a- Ashton McGrady: large doe foot. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: I am going to be trying that. I also, what is it? Liss Beauty or? Kailey Waskall: Yes, L-Y-S. Ashton McGrady: L.Y.S. Yeah. brooke parrish: I want to try them because of their length as well. definitely. Kailey Waskall: I like their triangular shape. Ashton McGrady: same. Kailey Waskall: I feel like the edges also give you more like grip points so that you have more brooke parrish: Yes. Kailey Waskall: leverage. But their packaging is definitely like the glossy, like slippery texture. But Ashton McGrady: It's glossy, yeah. Kailey Waskall: so, brooke parrish: Okay. Kailey Waskall: so is the about face, I'm pretty sure. Ashton McGrady: There's the caveat, but yes. Yeah, mean both are still Kailey Waskall: mean, Mm-hmm. brooke parrish: Definitely. Ashton McGrady: really good. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and I think brooke parrish: Okay. Kailey Waskall: on the line of like talking about, you know, products that might be a little bit challenging, have you found any tools, hacks, or like even just ways of holding products that feel second nature to you now or that make things easier for you? brooke parrish: I definitely have started applying blushes onto the brush and not onto my face. and I've also like, I'm not really able to use, blending bruh or what are they blending sponges? Ashton McGrady: yeah. brooke parrish: or anything like that. It has to be a brush. So just transitioning over to that. But growing up, I didn't have. the accessibility or the community to tell me that it was okay to adapt my products. So that Kailey Waskall: you brooke parrish: is something that I'm still doing. Like I'm still telling myself that it's okay to, like you said in your last episode, put a hair tie on a lip liner. Never Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: would I have let myself do that because it was just so different it wasn't accepted and it was so quote weird in my area growing up. that I'm still just trying to embrace finding different ways to do things. I'm still learning, honestly. I'm being open in my adulthood. Like, I was Ashton McGrady: I feel that. brooke parrish: an adult before I started really being open with who I am. Ashton McGrady: I feel that so Kailey Waskall: Yeah. Ashton McGrady: much. grew up in rural North Carolina and I can relate in that way very much. Like they brooke parrish: They just don't get it. Ashton McGrady: don't and I born in 92, I just feel like it wasn't talked about. It was very like hush hush hidden away. And now brooke parrish: Yes. Ashton McGrady: it like plays right into that internalized ableism. And I've had to combat so much of that growing up myself. I feel like I hear that from a lot of people just like getting to the point where you can be like, Firstly, even just like being able to say like, I could use some assistance with this, like asking for help. I'm glad, you know, like brooke parrish: S. Ashton McGrady: you're able to be open and like leave on your husband. You know, I do the brooke parrish: Thank Ashton McGrady: same with my wife. It's so nice, but like that's very hard even just to do that in the first place. So, like getting to the point even just like feeling comfortable making like making your products work for you in a way that's different. brooke parrish: always open and I'm always wanting people in my comments to tell me, like, have you tried this? Because nine times out of 10, yeah, I've tried it. But what if I haven't? Like, I got tagged in a video of a device to go over my hearing aid to allow me to wear hats. I would have never found that on my own. I mean, maybe, but not when I did. And I wish I had found it sooner, you know? Kailey Waskall: Yeah, I do love also getting tagged in things because a lot of times I'll get sent like new accessible things or people who will be like, have you seen this? Have you seen this? And a lot of times I have, because again, that's kind of like my whole thing, right, is researching brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: this stuff. But every single time I'm like, thank you so much for sharing. Thank you also for the fact that you thought of me. And you were like, brooke parrish: Yes! Kailey Waskall: I think this would, I feel like Kaylee would love this and needs to know about it. And so I'm gonna share that with you. And I'm like. Ashton McGrady: Right, I love that. I also, that just reminded me that you mentioned it working for your Baja. One of my really good friends, Steffi, who was on an earlier episode, she also has a Baja. So I need to share that. brooke parrish: You have Kailey Waskall: Will you tell the listeners who don't know what a Baja is what that is? brooke parrish: Yes, a Baja is a bone anchored hearing aid. have bone conductive hearing loss. So it is due to my ear canals being fused. So with my genetic condition, it is a premature fusion of the joints and the bones and my ears were affected. Most people with Pfeiffer syndrome do have hearing loss, are hard of hearing. I can hear pretty well without my hearing aids. but I live a very much more comfortable and safer lifestyle wearing them. And with a Baja, it's a little, it's a button on the side of my head that the hearing aid attaches onto like a button. And you're not really able to wear hats or thick collars, thick scarves, Ashton McGrady: Mmm. brooke parrish: because it causes frequency when it's touched. but there is a solus shield that allows you to put it over the hearing aid and it goes right under the hat. And it's very comfortable too, I thought it wouldn't be, but it is really a game changer. And I just found Ashton McGrady: I love that. brooke parrish: that like practically the other day and I can't wait to see what else is invented and what else people come up with. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, especially in the age of 3D printing, feel like we are seeing brooke parrish: It was definitely 3D printed, yes. Ashton McGrady: I love that. Kailey Waskall: so many, like I know Tech Owl in Philly, Ashton McGrady: Yes! Kailey Waskall: they will do, you live in Pennsylvania or Philadelphia, if you have like a specific concern, you can bring it to them and they will like try to 3D print you something that is like meant for that. brooke parrish: So cool. Ashton McGrady: They really make so many cool things. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: That's amazing. Kailey Waskall: It's, they're really cool and they do have an OT on staff and maybe actually multiple, but I always love shouting them out because I'm like, woohoo. brooke parrish: No, I would not Ashton McGrady: I saw... brooke parrish: mind a deodorant. Like if someone could 3D print me a holder for my deodorant, I would be Kailey Waskall: Mmm. brooke parrish: very grateful. That's something I guess is considered makeup or whatever, but Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: a longer deodorant container. They're so short. I think a lot of people would benefit from that. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. Can I ask Ashton McGrady: Yeah. Kailey Waskall: you, have you found any ways to adapt your deodorant? brooke parrish: No, I haven't. I use a lot of like force to reach things, if that makes Kailey Waskall: Okay. brooke parrish: sense. And I'm afraid that anything that I come up with is going to snap or break. And I get defeated really easily. So if it Kailey Waskall: Okay. brooke parrish: happens once, I'm not going to pick it back up. Yes. Kailey Waskall: can I give a silly potential? Okay, I have no idea if this is gonna work, but a wooden cooking spoon with a roll-on deodorant and duct tape. brooke parrish: I'm down. I would totally do that. I'm down. And I have ro- Ashton McGrady: Honestly, that's kind of sick. Kailey Waskall: Like I, I f- brooke parrish: I have both of those things, Kaylee. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, think if you duct taped, cause that one, the roll-on is probably going to be better than the soft solid cause it doesn't require as much pressure. And brooke parrish: Any force? Yeah, exactly! Ashton McGrady: Yeah, of course, yeah. Kailey Waskall: then the wooden spoon that's like meant to be cooked with is typically you can put it in boiling water. So hopefully you're, I mean, if you're strong enough to snap that in half, a collapse to you, like that's pretty impressive. And then duct tape hopefully would be sturdy enough if you did like multiple wraps and you did it where it was just like just most of the body is on the spoon and just the little rolly part is out. I wonder if that would help you. brooke parrish: on the top. I'm gonna try it and I'm gonna tag you because I am, have absolutely piqued my interest and I will be doing this in a bathing suit, of course, but. Kailey Waskall: Okay. Of course. Ashton McGrady: Yeah, maybe even one of those. Kaylee, I don't know, maybe like a silicone spatula type situation too? Kailey Waskall: So I thought about those, I feel like versus the wooden, the wooden is gonna be more structured so that if you, Ashton McGrady: Fair. Kailey Waskall: but again, I think a silicone could be awesome depending on what your, they do have a lotion applicator that's bendable. That's Ashton McGrady: yeah, the bends, like a little bit at the top. brooke parrish: interesting. Kailey Waskall: like a silicone lotion so you can bend the body of the applicator to help like reach the places that are difficult to reach. And that might be really great. brooke parrish: Interesting. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, it's on my Accessified database actually. It's under, think Body Care and it's by EquipMeOT. She's an OT who like shows off different adaptive equipment. she created Ashton McGrady: yeah. Kailey Waskall: it like a company. Ashton McGrady: She was sold out for a while, if she's still sold out, there was something similar-esque I found on Amazon, because I was trying to get one brooke parrish: was something simpler and I found on the of the frame. Kailey Waskall: Okay. Ashton McGrady: for myself. Okay, cool. Amazing. Kailey Waskall: I think they're back because I went and added them. Ashton McGrady: Love. Love to support a small business, so. brooke parrish: I'm gonna check that out, yes. Kailey Waskall: Yes, my God, but I actually need you to do this tonight and let me know and DM me. brooke parrish: No, I'm going to. Ashton McGrady: I love when we get to suggest like little hacks to people and they try it we get to hear the feedback. Cause honestly, that's so cool to me. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. Ashton McGrady: Okay, I know we kind of like touched on this Do you feel like brands are hesitant to include facial differences? And if so, like, why do you think that is? brooke parrish: I feel like people are so quick to want to relate to something and or they want or admire to be like something. So I think the whole point of like, I guess we'll start with like media and Instagram, for example, when a brand is launching a new concealer, they're probably not going to have someone who has a disability. in their campaign because they probably feel like people aren't going to relate to that person they're not going to aspire to be like that person. When Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: in reality, the whole point is to just show that other people exist and other people also wear makeup. Everyone is free to wear this. And I don't know, I just think that It really excludes people who have visible disabilities, especially when they're not represented because then when they go to use those products, it's just, it feels like very clicky might not want to wear this product because I'm not seeing anyone else like me wear it. Ashton McGrady: you definitely hit the nail on the head there. It's very much like that ideal aspirational. I feel like that's so much of marketing, right? Like they want people to brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: see themselves in it, to see themselves using the product. And that's, you know, how they're hoping to reach people and convert sales and all these things. it's really it does. That's why it does stand out to me so much. I know it's bare minimum, but when when brands go out of their way to make sure that their marketing campaigns are actually inclusive, that stands out to me so much. I've seen it not as many times as I would like, But here we are. brooke parrish: I have hope though. I think I really do think that it's not I think we have come so far Ashton McGrady: Agreed. brooke parrish: and I Definitely have hope in humanity and in brands that it's going to change It's obviously just very slow that change because you know, no one wants to be the first one to really be Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. brooke parrish: different and Ashton McGrady: Right. brooke parrish: It's it's like well, you know, you have the choice to be different. We didn't Kailey Waskall: Mmm. Ashton McGrady: Yeah, I feel like that's why it's been so cool seeing, you know, like Rare Beauty come out and Selena be so open about accessibility with her lupus and, you know, tilt beauty coming out into the space and being like, this is the epitome of what we do. like I agree, I'm seeing a change. I am hopeful. just think it takes time. I think it takes time and we can all... Scream until we're blue in the face and hopefully somebody will eventually listen, but I do think truly I we just worked with the see me index which essentially puts together this big index of Brands who are working to be more inclusive and kind of like rates them and they came up with a statistic that the brands that they evaluated were growing 1.8 times faster if they were inclusive so brooke parrish: Wow, that's Kailey Waskall: Mm-hmm. brooke parrish: amazing. Ashton McGrady: There's numbers, there's a reason, it's just good business. brooke parrish: I think if you think about where women were, you know, 50 years ago to now, think of where Ashton McGrady: Right? brooke parrish: the beauty community will be, you know, even just 10 years from now, you know, I think it just takes time and popularity and visibility. Ashton McGrady: That's a beautiful way to put it. Yes. Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: So we all gotta show up. Ashton McGrady: We do. Unapologetically. Kailey Waskall: Yeah, and 10 years ago, which boo boys, but like boys weren't even in marketing campaigns for makeup until brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Yeah. Kailey Waskall: really what, like 2016, like Manny MUA was like, yeah, like, and a bunch of boys now Ashton McGrady: I'm thinking about Manny and me. brooke parrish: Obsess. Kailey Waskall: are like makeup by Mitchell, like, or made by Mitchell, like makeup by Mario. There's all these different. Brands with well, I guess makeup by Mario doesn't wear makeup, but made by Mitchell definitely does but even like just ten years ago that wouldn't even be fathomable and now brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: Right. Kailey Waskall: it's like Consistently used so I'm I'm also excited. I think we are just at the very very top of or we are like Going up the hill where it is about to really explode because I think we are starting to see more brands talk about this and be brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: Interested and like you said One, I do know that like marketing, right? They wanna see themselves in it, but I find that when we talk to brands, a lot of times too, they're like afraid of doing the wrong thing. And they know Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: I'm going to be people that criticize you. Kailey Waskall: that as soon as you say like, this is why we did this, there's going to be people that criticize you no matter what. And so there's a lot of brands who are, I think afraid to dip their toe in because they're like, if we do this and we do it wrong, then we could ruin our entire brand. And so we always try to say like, Hey, as long as you have, like if you're truly trying to implement this and you're including brooke parrish: I think you're truly trying to implement this. Kailey Waskall: disabled people from the ground up, like public opinion, like can't sway against you because you can be like, no, look, here's all the people we hired for this. Here's all the people we hired for this. Here's our ongoing like campaign. Like it brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Kailey Waskall: becomes much harder when it's part of your system, right? When it's part of your ethos of your company. And so I... I hope that we continue seeing more and more. And I think this goes in really well to our next question that what does it mean to you to be someone that others with facial differences can see themselves in? brooke parrish: It's hard to wrap my head around for sure. But I do this for the younger version of myself. And I just try not to think about anyone else but her. But then when I do realize, you know, how many people have said that, I don't know, that I make a difference, it makes me feel really special. And it makes me want to keep going. Because also like what we talked about before about hate comments, when I read them, I get in a really, a place where I don't want to share anymore. And that is not Ashton McGrady: Yeah. brooke parrish: who I am. I'm an open book and I always want to share. my life as someone who also has a facial difference and other disabilities. I'm not here to, know, shove accessibility down anyone's throat. I'm just here to live life as someone with X, Y, and Z and hope that it resonates with people. If you can relate to it, great. If you just enjoy watching, great. If you just want to be an ally to the disability community, Great, like everyone is welcome. If you hate me, great. Like as long as you're not harming someone else in my comment section, the haters can stay too. Ashton McGrady: Right. I mean, there's room at the table for everyone. have definitely had my moments with the social media. I've been doing this for the last seven years now, I've had times where I agree, some days the hate comments will really get to me. I have a folder saved in my phone that is so brooke parrish: you Ashton McGrady: cheesy. It's so cheesy, but it's called The Reason, it's a bunch of like... the good messages and comments that I get from people that, you know, told me that their, my content helped them in one way or another, or that brooke parrish: Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: they really related to me. Because some days I do need to go back and look at that folder of comments and messages and remind myself why I'm doing what I'm doing. brooke parrish: I do that too. I get so Ashton McGrady: I love. brooke parrish: sick at myself when I let the haters get to me because that is so dismissive to all of the positivity and all of the people that like you said, say that I make a difference. And I don't even like saying that. It's so hard to wrap my head around, but it really does Ashton McGrady: Agreed. brooke parrish: mean a lot when people say that. I hope that they know that too. Ashton McGrady: I, yeah, I definitely try to respond to all, I mean, I try to very much be in my comments section, be in my messages. I know you are too, but that's brooke parrish: I try. Ashton McGrady: why, like, again, that's why you've built such a beautiful community. Like, I try to respond to those messages always because I know people just sometimes feel like they're talking into the void, but I see the messages, I see the comments, I try to respond to them because it really does. It goes such a long way. brooke parrish: It keeps me going, it does. Ashton McGrady: Yeah, it's, we've been through a lot in the past handful of years. We need some good days, some good moments, some positive affirmations to get through it. So Kailey Waskall: you brooke parrish: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Ashton McGrady: not the end of our conversation because we're going to get into a little rapid fire in a second. But this is kind of the culminating moment of what do you hope someone listening to this episode walks away with? brooke parrish: guess that you don't have to just accept products and packaging that doesn't work for you. And that's something that I'm also still learning and that you do have a support system, which is also something that I recently learned. Anyone who's listening, I just want them to know that there are people out there that are here for you and you deserve just as much as somebody else, as everybody else does. Ashton McGrady: Brooke, need you to record an audio book. For some reason, your voice just really is calming to me. brooke parrish: People tell me that that is my dream Kailey Waskall: Yeah. brooke parrish: job and people literally tell me that all the time and I'm like, but how? How does one do that? Ashton McGrady: I feel like you would be amazing at it. I don't know, but somehow we Kailey Waskall: I think they just start. Ashton McGrady: have to get you into it. Kailey Waskall: because you truly I can tell why you're an advisor, right? Like I can brooke parrish: of it. Ashton McGrady: I Kailey Waskall: like in hearing you talk. Yeah, brooke parrish: Don't even get me going. I love it. Kailey Waskall: in hearing you talk through these things, like I can truly understand how if I were someone like looking for like collegiate because it is collegiate, right? Yeah. brooke parrish: It is a healthcare, so if you want to be a nurse or a sonographer, I got you. Ashton McGrady: I love that. Kailey Waskall: Like I would Just feel very comforted in your presence and like very, don't know, just ready and willing to like open and hear your advice. Yeah. Ashton McGrady: saying Brooke is my comfort creator, Loki. brooke parrish: Thank you! my god. Ashton McGrady: I'm not even lying. I told you I've been following for Kailey Waskall: You're like a worm. Ashton McGrady: years. There are people's content who I definitely follow for that like good feel. And guys, if you're listening to this and you're not already following Brooke, in the year 2026, you need to be because it's just a breath of fresh air. It really is beautiful. So with that brooke parrish: Thank you. Ashton McGrady: said, we're gonna get into the chaos of the episode, a little rapid fire. Kailey Waskall: You Ashton McGrady: Mornings or evenings? brooke parrish: Mornings. Ashton McGrady: Coffee or tea? brooke parrish: Copy. Ashton McGrady: fingers or brushes. brooke parrish: Definitely brushes. Ashton McGrady: cream products or powders. brooke parrish: Love my cream products. Ashton McGrady: Lip balm or lip gloss? brooke parrish: Lip gloss. Ashton McGrady: One product you cannot live without. brooke parrish: Definitely my Anastasia Dip Brow Pomade. Ashton McGrady: Biggest packaging pet peeve. brooke parrish: Short products and travel size products for me personally. Kailey Waskall: Love it. Ashton McGrady: there. obviously Brooke's links, everything will be in the show notes. You guys can go follow her on all of her platforms. brooke parrish: Thank you guys so much for having me. This was absolutely incredible and I had so much fun. Kailey Waskall: my gosh, yay! Ashton McGrady: We had so much fun too. I love when the girlies get together and chat. brooke parrish: Me too, this was amazing and much needed. Kailey Waskall: If this episode felt helpful, consider subscribing, sharing it with your bestie, or leaving a review so we can keep the dream alive. Ashton McGrady: And the lights on! Kailey Waskall: Alright, we'll see you guys next time. Ashton McGrady: Bye!