‘Having the odd disabled model is not enough’: the Bristol woman shaking up the beauty industry
In the beauty industry, disability often feels like an afterthought at best – from the tokenistic use of disabled people in campaigns, to inaccessible makeup counters, products and packaging.
A 2019 Proctor & Gamble study found only 4% of brands cater for people with physical disabilities. For Millie Flemington Clare, a 26-year-old Bristolian born with the rare disease cystinosis, that lack of representation – and a love of makeup – encouraged her to create cosmetics brand Human Beauty.
It’s designed with disabled people in mind and has gone on to win awards and, crucially, funding from national innovation agency Innovate UK.
Growing up different
Millie’s entire life has been affected by cystinosis, a metabolic condition where the protein cystine builds up in organs and cells. It can affect all body parts, including the kidneys, bones and eyes.
“It only affects around one in 100,000 to 200,000 people worldwide – it’s so rare, I have to teach doctors about it,” Millie, who lives in Warmley with her partner, tells the Cable. “I’ve sat there while [they] have Googled ‘cystinosis’.”
Despite having been diagnosed as a baby, Millie admits the word ‘disabled’ “wasn’t in my vocabulary back then – even though I had a bright green Zimmer frame and a feeding tube”.
Growing up with obstacles makes you very good at finding innovative ways to do things
Millie Flemington-Clare
She was frequently taken out of class for several orthopaedic operations during primary school, and another child once pulled out her tube by accident. By the time she started secondary school, such curiosity had progressed to negativity and bullying.
For Millie, cystinosis also affected her growth. “Most bullying was because of my height, and the way I walked,” Millie says, explaining that her best friend at primary school was “almost twice my height”.
While Millie considers herself a positive person, these negative comments understandably took a toll, provoking insecurities about how she looked and stopping her wearing clothes that showed too much of her tube.
Millie’s dad, Darren, describes her as “unbelievably resilient and determined”, teaching herself to eat solid foods so she could have her feeding tube removed aged 18. “It was a pivotal moment,” he says. “You hadn’t eaten your whole life, and then you ate nothing but fillet steak for about a year.” Darren adds with fondness that he knew Millie would succeed in her endeavours because of her determination.
Steely resolve
Millie believes the challenges of her condition drive her ambition. “Growing up with obstacles makes you very good at finding innovative ways to do things,” she says. Among those challenges were four kidney transplants, one of which resulted in her spending three months in intensive care. Millie spent her time in recovery completing a degree because her university wouldn’t support her with an extension.
“I was on the phone fighting with my uni while attached to dialysis machines and heart monitors,” she says, adding that this only made her even more intent on finishing. In 2021 she graduated with first-class honours, before getting a placement with a cosmetics company.
For many, makeup is considered an art form – but Millie says she sees it as a form of therapy, which enabled her to express herself during some of the worst times of her life.
Winning Innovative UK’s inclusive innovation grant helped Human Beauty launch its first two accessible makeup products in December 2022: a makeup palette named Make Up Therapy, the other a mascara titled Liquid Confidence.
The palette includes a QR code which links to video and audio descriptions that assist visually impaired people, while all their products are anti-roll to assist those with mobility issues. Positive reviews from the disabled community also highlight Human Beauty’s easy grip packaging. One reads: “If a startup brand can create accessible products, bigger brands definitely CAN!”
But being inclusive is not only about creating accessible makeup products: a core part of Human Beauty’s ethos is bringing disabled people into the fabric of the brand.
“Tokenistic marketing is rife in the beauty industry,” says Millie. “It’s not enough to have the odd disabled model in a campaign.” Hiring disabled, neurodivergent and chronically ill people to work for her and on all of her photoshoots, she argues, sets Human Beauty apart from other brands. “This is a huge way in which [we] differ that’s so important!”
Looking ahead to 2025, Millie hopes to expand Human Beauty’s reach by bringing its accessible makeup to retailers. “I wanted to build something for people with all kinds of disabilities and differences, so they can experience the power of makeup like I have,” she says. “Creating a truly inclusive brand is about disabled people having a seat at the table.”
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