I Went Blind At 17 - Now I'm A Make-up YouTuber | SHAKE MY BEAUTY

4 years ago
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MEET the make-up artist achieving flawless, creative looks - despite being legally blind. Lucy Edwards, 24, is a UK-based make-up YouTuber, broadcaster and disability activist who navigates the world with the help of her trusty guide dog, labrador cross retriever Olga. Lucy was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition called incontinentia pigmenti during a routine eye test age 8. The retina detached in her right eye when she was 11 and she lost the sight in her other eye aged 17 - leaving her fully blind. Lucy said: "Going blind was massively impactful on the whole of my life, it penetrated every single thing about my life and my existence.” Despite initially adjusting well to her loss of sight, Lucy had a breakdown aged 18. She said: “I lost my eyesight and went "no it's fine, I can do this" and then a year later it sets in and it's like "Wow, this is me, I have to live with non-sighted Lucy for the rest of my life.” Lucy had to relearn to do a number of everyday activities from scratch – including applying her make-up. A year after going blind, Lucy started her own YouTube channel, and now has more than 35,000 subscribers. She has also penned a book, The Blind Beauty Guide, to help blind women take control of their appearance and is engaged to fiancé Ollie, who she met in 2013. Lucy is also a successful broadcaster, becoming BBC Radio 1's first ever blind presenter in December 2019. She still has her “low blind days”, but remains a fearless campaigner for the rights of visually impaired people. She added: "I think it's so important that if you are visual impaired or blind, you should be able to feel beautiful."

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