19/99      Tell us a bit about yourself. 

Hannah Harris       I’m originally from South Florida but I am currently a student living in Savannah, GA while attending the Savannah College of Art and Design. I'm studying the Business of Beauty and Fragrance, with two years left. I’m from South Florida though, and created @browngirlhands over the summer, as a personal project, after reading Jessica Defino’s piece ‘Where Are All The Brown Hands’. I’ve always taken a lot of hand photos and they were just sitting in my camera role, so I started the account with the ones I had. People really latched onto the concept, which I wasn’t really expecting, I was just doing it for fun, for representation and people just saw it and said we need this in the world. So it has been a really neat experience in that way. 

19/99       Do you have a background in photography? 

HH        I took a photography class in high school, which I really wish I paid more attention in now, but other than that not really. I’ve learnt as I go and I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better because I’m constantly practicing. I've got backdrops now, and my mom, my friends and YouTube tutorials have been the biggest help. 

19/99       What does makeup mean to you?

HH       It is a way to express myself; I was a competitive dancer growing up for a really long time, I started when I was about 5 until I was 16. So the way I was introduced to makeup was backstage at the show, where it was super elaborate, with glitter everywhere type thing. At that point, it was really about having fun and I carried that with me throughout my life; your makeup, your hair, your beauty routine, should be an enjoyable process, just like you were backstage getting ready to take the stage. 

19/99      Can you take us through your daily beauty routine, morning & night? 

HH       Morning and night I typically cleanse with Versed’s Keep the Peace Cleanser, and then moisturize with Lesse face oil. For treatment, I mask about two times a week. For makeup, I use Glossier’s Boy Brow and Brow Flick every day – my brows are the one thing I do every day. I don’t really use foundation. I will use Kosas blush sometimes. I used to do more with my face for lip gloss, blush, and highlighter, etc., but now with the mask, and since I wear glasses, my brows are really the only thing I've got left sadly.

19/99       Do you feel pressure to look a certain way? 

HH       Yes, I think so. I think we are taught to present our best selves to the world. I try to be as natural as possible with anything I put on. I'm carefull not to over do it but still look put together. I think it comes from the way I was raised; my mom wears a suit to work every day, she gets her nails and hair done every two weeks. So I feel like it is very much ingrained in me to take care of myself through beauty.