Allen’s perception of beauty has always been influenced by her cultural upbringing as an Inuvialuit living in the Arctic. “The things I always grew up to know as beautiful were handmade Inuvialuit traditional clothes, earrings, crafts, arts, and carvings,” she explains. “They were seen so highly by everyone in my community and always praised and recognized. I always wanted beautiful mukluks or mitts for Christmas, and they were the most valuable thing I felt like I owned.” In the first video I ever viewed of Allen’s, she was holding a pair of traditional beaded bridal slippers made by a local artisan and sharing how important it was to her that she wear them on her special day—even taking precedence over wedding dress shopping.
Another video features Allen doing her makeup with the goal of embracing and enhancing her Indigenous features. When I ask Allen about the most notable beauty practices passed down to her through generations of women in her family, Inuvialuit clothing and jewelry come to mind. She says she feels most beautiful in her traditional earrings, seal-skin mukluks, and mittens. “I feel like I’m really sharing who I am, how I was raised, and what my life growing up in the Arctic was. I hope my audience sees the beautiful way of life it is in the Arctic and in Indigenous culture,” she adds. The majority of her content, beauty based or otherwise, is focused on her identity and culture. Many of Allen’s videos begin with her introducing herself as an Inuk from the Arctic before diving into the subject matter.
