Draguns, as Nikita Dragun stans call themselves, already know their favorite beauty YouTuber and influencer for her videos documenting her social and physical transition as a transgender woman and her love of all things cosmetics. But this week, the world met a different, history-making side of Nikita: that of a mogul, and the founder of what she says is the world’s first trans-owned beauty brand, Dragun Beauty.
While brands like Fluide have made deliberate strides towards trans and gender-nonconforming inclusivity, Dragun hopes that Dragun Beauty, launched Monday (and sold out as of Tuesday), will benefit from her creative control and experience as a trans beauty consumer. And while passing remains a controversial subject within the trans community, and not every trans person wants to or can pass, for many, it’s a matter of safety — something Dragun herself knows firsthand. After all, for her, makeup “wasn’t about ‘Oh, I need to eyeshadow here and eyeshadow there,” Dragun says. “It was survival.”
To that end, Dragun Beauty’s initial launch consists of a set of two complexion products: Dragun Fire Skin-Perfecting Potion, a universal color corrector, and Transformation Bake Power, a setting powder to highlight the face. They’re offered together as a Dragun Egg beauty kit for $55, and as Nikita’s adamant to point out, represent “the first trans-owned beauty brand for trans people and ALL people.”
The kit’s release is a historic moment for the beauty and trans communities alike, and highlights just how much progress the beauty industry has made towards inclusivity over the past few years. Hopefully, the fact that Dragun Beauty sold out overnight upon release sends a big message to major beauty brands about the sheer demand out there for LGBTQ+-focused products. We chatted with Dragun below about what she hopes her products can do for the trans community (and all beauty lovers), how she made them, and what’s next after this.
When did you first imagine starting your own beauty brand?
I first had the idea when I was custom creating my own products; I was always mixing and trying to create my own color corrector and being own little scientist. I thought, “Maybe I could do this for someone else and make something out of it.” Later down the line I was approached by other brands for collaborations, and I thought I might share my secrets, piggyback off another brand, have them develop it and take my little 20 percent. But I ultimately decided to put my big girl panties on, and I wanted this beauty line to be all me. That’s the creative freedom I have now. Everything from the packaging to the lettering and the formula — it’s all me. I’m very proud of it, and it’s been such an amazing journey.
How has your transition impacted your relationship with cosmetics?
For me, it was more of a transformation thing. I was using makeup to feminize my features and alter my face to present myself in the way I wanted. It wasn’t about, “Oh, I need to eyeshadow here and eyeshadow there.” It was survival. It was more of, “I need to contour this to hide this,” and even “I need to add color corrector on my mouth to cover up my five o’clock shadow.” It was more than just an aesthetic. Since I was always in the process of transformation, any time that I did makeup on a cisgender girl or someone whose never really gone in with their makeup like that, I was able to totally transform their face. I thought, “Wow. Some people really don’t know the transformative power of makeup.”
What advice do you have for trans youth figuring out their own beauty regime?
It’s a really tough journey. I would say, take in as much information as you can. For me, I was obsessed with makeup tutorials and things like that. I even went to the library and studied anatomy and looked at differences between the male and female face. And with makeup, it’s not like you have to go overboard. In the beginning, I would go hard with the makeup trying to correct things. It ended up almost clocking me in certain ways. So less is more.
How does Dragun Beauty differ from other brands on the market?
It’s a trans-owned brand for trans people and for all people. I offer a space of inclusivity — I dived into products that aren’t necessarily new to the market, but I created ones that nobody else has focused on. A lot of people have been criticizing me for coming out with these products specifically, the color corrector and my transformation powder. But they have really transformed my face and are vital to my makeup routine as a trans woman. I wanted to highlight them and offer them to the world. I think it’s better than coming out with an eyeshadow or some basic lipstick — that’s for later on down the line, but for now, I really want to focus on transformation.
How would you describe the products available from Dragun Beauty?
Inside my literal dragon egg, I’m giving you two of my key products. They’re kind of the bookends of my makeup routine. I have my primer to your primer, which is my Dragun Fire Skin-Perfecting Potion — it’s a color-corrector to correct darkness, greyness, blue, and purple skin undertone. This all happens under the eyes and around the mouth, like if you have a five o’clock shadow like I do. It’s this sideburn discoloration that’s always sneaking through foundation, so you want to color correct first. It’s the first key product. I’ve been using it for years and years and years.
The second product is my Transformation Bake Power. It’s something that really alters the appearance of your face. I apply this under the eye, under the chin and on the forehead. It’s almost a blurring, soft glow — it’s not luminous in any way, but it brightens the area, as if you’re constantly in the spotlight. It’s really different in the sense that I can go in and shift and change certain features by just messing with the highlights of my face. These are the products I would want to give a friend or even myself three years ago. It’s something that I really needed.
What do you hope people will gain from Dragun Beauty?
I hope they gain the confidence I found. I’m living that fantasy every single day, and I think other people can see that online whenever I post a photo. At the end of the day, I’m real about it. I don’t look the same without makeup. I love myself without makeup, but baby, when I have makeup on? I’m that bitch. I’m real about it in the sense that I have these certain things that I use, and that’s what’s helped me get here in order to live my fantasy. So why not give that to everyone and let everyone live their own fantasy? Everyone can live their everyday life, but not everyone can live their fantasy — and we know that well.
What can we expect next from Dragun Beauty and from you?
From me, the biggest thing is to expect the unexpected. [Laughs] With my beauty line, no one had any idea that I was about to drop this. In terms of beauty, I want to expand it into a full line focusing on the transformation aspect and what the market doesn’t really have right now.
I’m at this point in my life where I really don’t have anything holding me back. Anything in my wildest, craziest dreams truly can happen. I’m allowing myself to open up, take it all in, work really hard and still remain grounded. I’m going to pussy the house down, girl!
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