Happiful February 2020

Blending in
Confined to a wheelchair, Tess Daly often felt self-conscious about her
disability as she grew up. Now, the 31-year-old is proud to stand out, having
made a name for herself as one of the UK’s leading beauty bloggers
Writing | Suzanne Baum
pplying makeup
takes confidence,
patience, and a
steady hand –
traits Tess Daly is
the first to admit she doesn’t have in
abundance.
In fact, it’s only through using
a robotic arm that the disabled
beauty blogger has been able to
fine-tune her online makeup posts
and tutorials that have seen her
amass more than 200,000 Instagram
followers.
Tess was born with spinal
muscular atrophy – a
neuromuscular disorder that
means she has never been able to
walk. Despite being in a wheelchair
since the age of two, she grew up
refusing to let her disability get in
the way, having from an early age
a determination to one day work in
the creative world.
“I was always interested in fashion
and beauty,” Tess tells me as we
chat in her Sheffield home, where
she relies upon a team of carers to
help her with everyday tasks. “I had
my heart set on becoming a fashion
designer. I studied art in school, With the use of what she
and spent every spare minute nicknamed ‘the bionic arm’,
drawing clothing and shoe designs. Tess was able to teach herself
“Unfortunately, during my GCSEs, to do certain things again,
I rather inexplicably lost the use including her own makeup.
of my right hand, which meant “I found ways to make things
I was unable to do lots of things, work, and I have always
including my own makeup.”
preferred to talk about the
In a bid to feel as normal as
things I can do, rather than
possible, Tess began paying
stuff I can’t do, as there’s no
makeup artists to do her face for point thinking of negatives.”
a night out almost every weekend When I suggest that Tess is an
throughout her early 20s. “It was ‘influencer’, she’s quick to point
an expensive affair, trust me! But out she’s not. “I’d much rather
I always prided myself on looking be known as a ‘role-model’ –
good on the outside to make myself standing up for people with
feel better inwardly.”
disabilities, who don’t often see
However, things changed a few themselves represented in the
years ago when a friend – who beauty industry.”
also has spinal muscular atrophy Having perfected the use of
– shared a video of her applying the bionic arm, Tess – who
eyeliner with the help of a piece of never used social media much
equipment called the ‘neater eater’. – began posting pictures of her
It’s attached to the wheelchair progress on Instagram, tagging
and functions as a bionic arm to the makeup brands she was
manipulate the limb; although using. After a few months, she
designed for helping to feed
gained more than 10,000 new
yourself, Tess found it worked just followers after her work was
as well when applying makeup – shared by makeup guru to the
and it changed her life. stars, Anastasia Beverly Hills. >>>
70 • happiful.com • February 2020