New Face Of MAC, Luzmaria Vargas, Speaks Out About Body Shaming In Emotional Video

New MAC Model Bravely Shares Body Shaming Story In Emotional Video
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MAC cosmetics' latest campaign features a model who you may not have heard of before, but whose name will soon be very well known - Luzmaria Vargas.

In a touching behind-the-scenes video from her MAC photoshoot, Vargas reveals an emotional story from her past that inspired her to put herself forward to become the face of the makeup brand.

"This has happened to me where I'm at a party and they're like 'oh let's take a picture'. And then they tell me, 'you take the picture'," she says.

"It hurts, because some people just think because you're overweight you don't have feelings."

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Luzmaria Vargas

Vargas tears up as she says: "But with this I'm going to prove to them.... Look I don't have a gorgeous body, I mean I don't think I'm beautiful, but look at where I'm at.

"I didn't need a gorgeous body. It was really the inside that counted and I don't need to be size 2, skinny. I'm here."

We whole-heartedly support Vargas's body positive sentiment, but there is one point on which we disagree: she is beautiful.

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Vargas, from California, is the one of six winners in a contest created for MAC's new campaign MACnificent Me, which celebrates personal styles and beauty - both inside and out.

Speaking about the MACnificent photoshoot Vargas adds: "It feels so good, because I know there are so many women out there who won't express themselves for the fact that they're overweight.

"If I did it, they could all do it. I hope this helps someone out there who is just tucked into a room, doesn't want to go out or doesn't want to show themselves out."

Following on from our #LFW4All campaign HuffPost UK Style will continue to highlight moments of diversity and inclusivity in fashion and beauty - moments that include people of all skin tones, genders, sizes, shapes and personalities.

And we aren't the only ones with whom the video resonates. On YouTube the comments range from: "Yay finally MAC gets it right," to "she just made me want to buy that entire look. What an incredibly beautiful girl inside and out."

Vargas' sister has also commented on the YouTube video.

"This is my sister. She deserved this and I hope no one throws negative comments out there," wrote Maritza Vargas.

"We are so proud of her but as I told her 'you don't have to be on a cover, on a commercial or be modeling for worldwide product. We love you just the way you are'.

"This video was made for her to express her feelings when someone makes her feel bad about her weight (she feels left out).

"Its easy for some people to lose weight and for others its just so hard every human body is different and so unique in its own way.

"She did an awesome job. Give yourself a lesson and think twice before judging a book by its cover. We all come in different size and color."

Very wise words indeed.

Meet Our Body Image Heroes
Adele(01 of17)
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Adele says she tries not to worry about her body image and doesn't want to be a "skinny minnie." "The first thing to do is be happy with yourself and appreciate your body -- only then should you try to change things about yourself." (credit:Facebook)
Lady Gaga(02 of17)
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After the media focused on her alleged weight gain in September 2012, Gaga hit back at critics by baring her body in photographs, sharing her struggles with an eating disorder, and inviting her fans to join her in a "body revolution." (credit:Facebook)
Christina Aguilera(03 of17)
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"I am always in support of someone who is willing and comfortable in their own skin enough to embrace it," the singer said in a recent interview. (credit:Facebook)
Margaret Cho(04 of17)
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In a powerful 2012 piece for Jezebel, the comedian responded to people who criticized her appearance:
I grew up hard and am still hard and I don't care. I did not choose this face or this body and I have learned to live with it and love it and celebrate it and adorn it with tremendous drawings from the greatest artists in the world and I feel good and powerful like a nation that has never been free and now after many hard won victories is finally fucking free. I am beautiful and I am finally fucking free.
(credit:Getty)
Gina Rodriguez(05 of17)
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The Golden-Globe winner told HuffPost Live how her father shaped her perspective on beauty:
Beauty was very much on my mind. I had a father that would -- we would look up at billboards and he would say, "That's one version of beauty. You're another version of beauty. And she's a version of beauty. And that girl? She's another version of beauty." He always said that beauty came from within, and as much as you're younger and you're [sarcastically] like, "Yeah, beauty comes from within" -- no, beauty does come from within. I've met some of the most beautiful people, and sadly their heart is just not smiling, and that destroys it all. And then other people that aesthetically aren't considered as beautiful are the most gorgeous people I've ever seen in my life.
Rebel Wilson(06 of17)
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The actress took to Twitter to say, "I'm not trying to be hot. I'm just trying to be a good actress and entertain people." (credit:Facebook)
Ashley Judd(07 of17)
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After the March 2012 frenzy around Judd's "puffy face," the actress fought back in The Daily Beast, calling the media out for making women's bodies "a source of speculation, ridicule, and invalidation, as if they belong to others." (credit:Facebook)
Danielle Brooks(08 of17)
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The "Orange Is The New Black" actress wrote a powerful essay for Glamour about her struggles with self-esteem and journey to body love. She's now dedicated to making sure all body types are seen on-screen:"Ideally, I want to see all beauties, all shapes, all sizes, all skin tones, all backgrounds represented in my profession. Now that I am blessed to be that reflection I was once looking for, I’m making a promise to speak out for that little girl that I used to be." (credit:Getty)
Allison Tate(09 of17)
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Tate's essay about body image and motherhood not only broke the Internet; it has sparked a movement of "moms who stay in the picture." (credit:Allison Tate)
Gabourey Sidibe(10 of17)
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The "Precious" actress had the most incredible comeback to cruel comments about her weight.
Autumn Whitefield Madrano(11 of17)
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On her informed, thoughtful blog "The Beheld," Autumn writes about beauty, body image, appearance and her two -- that's right, two -- mirror fasts. (credit:Facebook)
Kjerstin Gruys(12 of17)
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Gruys went on a year-long mirror fast during which she did not study her reflection in mirrors or other reflective surfaces, or look at photographs of herself. (credit:Facebook)
Lena Dunham(13 of17)
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At the 2012 New Yorker Festival, the magazine's TV critic, Emily Nussbaum, asked Lena Dunham, producer, creator and star of the hit HBO show "Girls," why Dunham is naked in so many scenes. Dunham responded, "I realized that what was missing in movies for me was the presence of bodies I understood." She said she plans to live until she is 105 and show her thighs every day. (credit:Facebook)
Alexa Chung(14 of17)
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Chung responded to critics who suggested that her slight frame made her a bad role model for young women, saying:"Just because I exist in this shape doesn't mean that I'm, like, advocating it." (credit:Facebook)
Stella Boonshoft(15 of17)
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The NYU student started the amazing Body Love Blog, where she posted this picture of herself and wrote an open letter to those who feel entitled to shame others for the size or look of their bodies. (credit:Facebook)
Beth Ditto(16 of17)
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This 5-foot-tall, 200-pound singer spoke openly about her weight to The Advocate, saying, "I feel sorry ... for people who've had skinny privilege and then have it taken away from them. I have had a lifetime to adjust to seeing how people treat women who aren't their idea of beautiful and therefore aren't their idea of useful, and I had to find ways to become useful to myself." (credit:Facebook)
Mindy Kaling(17 of17)
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In 2013 interview with Parade, Kaling said that she was tired of being discussing her appearance:"I always get asked, 'Where do you get your confidence?' I think people are well meaning, but it's pretty insulting. Because what it means to me is, 'You, Mindy Kaling, have all the trappings of a very marginalized person. You're not skinny, you're not white, you're a woman. Why on earth would you feel like you're worth anything?'" (credit:Getty)