‘Beautiful You’ day in Dookie aimed to inspire

By Anna McGuinness

Jan 24, 2023

Empowerment: Nartarsha Bamblett and Hilary Holmes with the young women part of the ‘Beautiful You’ event in Dookie on January 19. Photos: Megan Fisher. Photo by Megan Fisher

Through a day of sisterhood and empowerment, Yorta Yorta woman Nartarsha Bamblett aimed to give an opportunity she never had to other young First Nations women.

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Ms Bamblett is a speaker and educator through her business Queen Acknowledgements and partnered with make-up artist Hilary Holmes to bring the ‘Beautiful You’ event to Dookie recently.

“I want to bring awareness to these young women of how powerful they are in the positions they hold as Aboriginal women, and inspire them that their goals and dreams can become reality,” she said.

“I want each and every one of them to walk away feeling special, valued, cared for and loved, and knowing they are beautiful inside and out.”

Ms Bamblett said that kind of empowerment was missing.

Leader: Nartarsha Bamblett from Queen Acknowledgments aims to empower and inspire young women. Photo by Megan Fisher

“As an Aboriginal woman we in society are classed as the most disadvantaged person in this country — that’s society’s lens — but to me, I think we are the most advantaged,” she said.

“We come from the longest living culture on the planet, we have the deepest connection to the land we live on, we have the abilities of coming from healers and natural medicine and ways to care for ourselves and each other, while living in a time and land of infinite possibility.”

Ms Holmes has her own connections to Dookie through study, family and work, and said she was passionate about changing how the beauty industry impacted on consumers.

Masterclass: Yilanii Atkinson and Grace Morgan ready to learn from make-up artist Hilary Holme. Photo by Megan Fisher

“The only way I advocate for beauty to be used is as an expressional point, as a way of representing your own authenticity — it’s not about changing who we are, it’s about embracing everything we are,” she said.

Ms Holmes said growing up she was constantly told she wasn’t good enough and found make-up as a way to look like anyone but herself.

“The reason I became a make-up artist was because of that energy, but then realised I could do so much more with it and with the message I was sending,” she said.

Close ties: Hilary Holmes studied and lived in Dookie and has family connections to the area. Photo by Megan Fisher

A make-up masterclass run by Ms Holmes was a large part of the day, focusing on understanding and embracing your own beauty and rejecting beauty trends.

The day also involved sessions run by Ms Bamblett, April Hélène-Horton (AKA The Bodzilla) and Shani Chantel, before a sunset dinner on Mount Major.

Ms Holmes fundraised $7000 for the event online and was grateful for the generosity of locals involved, including the University of Melbourne, Rye Studio and GV Party Hire.

Host: April Hélène-Horton, also known as The Bodzilla, leads a workshop. Photo by Megan Fisher

Ms Bamblett invited young women to participate whom she had met through community, sport or education, and said she hoped the event was the first of many.

“We just hope to do more of them; I think every woman deserves a space like this — a sisterhood, a community — celebrating each other and themselves,” she said.