Beauty Files: #1
Khaimera Williams
Khai
They/Them and He/Him
Prince Frederick, MD
29
previously recored in December 12, 2024
As seen in Brown Orchid Magazine Vol.1 Fall/Winter 2024-2025
Beauty Files is a portion of Brown Orchid Magazine where we showcase different black women/femme-identified beauty artists to tell their personal stories through essays and pictures.
Written in their own words, Essay by Khai Williams
My name is Khaimera, Khai for short, and I am a queer black artist! The people I look up to are innovators in their games, Pat McGrath and Beyoncé. Pat McGrath because she did something no one at the time thought she was capable of and made ripples in the makeup world that are still seen today! Beyoncé because she continues to hone her craft and pushes herself to improve. Those are my personal goals in life. That, and to be myself as authentically as I can!
What drives my passion for beauty is to create. To allow transport myself to worlds that I’ve only imagined. I love art. I love beauty. I love fantasy. Any time I’m able to bring those to life, my every day life, I’m happy and feel fulfilled! I also love to challenge myself and strive to constantly improve! I know I’m good, but I want to see what’s beyond that.
I really really love blush. Blush and glitter! I feel my looks isn’t complete unless it’s highly saturated with color and shine!
When I think of my makeup journey, I’m taken back to watching my friends transform as they got ready to go to events. They were already beautiful, but what they did with a few pallets and brushes impacted me deeply.
I have always loved fantasy- and this was it at its peak. Magic right in front of me, and I wanted in.
As a queer black child, I never saw myself in any media, so my mind would find ways to include me in any and all media I was drawn to. Lord of the Ring? I was an Elf, eternally beautiful and benevolent- joining the journey to destroy the One Ring. X Men? A beautiful and spunky mutant with a chip on her shoulder that just wanted to help save the world. Harry Potter? A stunning Ravenclaw that was soft spoken but always willing to speak up for a friend. (Let it be known that I do not support JK Rowling and her transphobia. Transwomen are women. Transmen are men. And those between and outside of the gender binary are who they say they are. Fuck bigotry.) But I digress. The list could go on and on but to save you a long list of myself insert fan fiction, just know that I wanted a space where people who look like me were represented. This tidbit may be seen as a tangent, and in part it is, but I want to draw the connection between my love of escapism, fantasy and real-world glamour.
These concepts are the basics of my work- my project Khaimera World. Although Khaimera World leans heavily into horror; the glamour and fantasy are not at all forgotten. When I made the decision to dedicate my life and art to beauty; makeup was and is imperative to that journey. There have been many “lows” for my makeup. A lot of unblended non purposeful contrasting colors, wonky lines and questionable choices. But that never stopped me from striving to bring my vision of glamour and beauty to life. Even when I reached my highs, I couldn’t help but think - what can I improve? How can I bring more creativity and otherness to my look?
I love whimsy, I love fantasy, I love all things unreal. Makeup allows me to further that love and bring the vision in my mind to fruition. Posting my makeup allows others who look like me to know that they don’t have to be confined to a specific look. Beauty doesn’t have to look a certain way.
My name is Khaimera, my life and my art are an amalgamation of the inspiration of my friends, my love of imagination, and my want to shape shift into that which I want. When I go off in my fantasies - whether its running with werewolves, traversing mountain top with hobbits, or unmasking the killer, I know that I can bring that vision of beauty and whimsy here to the real world. And that makes life a little brighter for me.
2/4/2024
This look I wanted to be very clean and very fresh, but still have one of my staples; gyaru! I usually go for a colorful and bold look but I wanted to try something different!
8/5/2024
This is a photo from one of the shoots I did this past year! I’m really inspired by clowns, specially Pierrot, one of the most famous sad clowns! I also really love gyaru makeup and it heavily influences my makeup!
3/7/2024
This look was inspired by Mrs.Lovett from Sweeney Todd! It’s one of my favorite movies/musicals and I love theatrics so I had to do it.
This is like a text book Khaimera look! Bright eyeshadow color, bright inner corner, and gyaru droop! I really loved this look!
Instagram: blacksailormoon
Makeup Instagram: khaimeraworld
TikTok: blacksailormoon
YouTube: khaimeraworld
