Makeup— the art of trial and error— made its way into Jacob Meyer’s life with a boldly colorful start. “I would wear orange, orange foundation to school,” said Meyer, reminiscing on his sophomore year of high school. “It was so tragic.”

The summer before his senior year, Meyer began the makeup account that he now posts on almost every weekday. He discussed how he learned most of what he knows from watching YouTubers: James Charles, Jeffree Star and Patrick Starrr. Social media has had a large role in shaping Meyer’s experience with makeup as it allowed him to see other people living authentically as themselves. “Oh, it’s a guy in makeup,” Meyer said, describing his reaction to makeup influencers on social media. “I can do that too.”

Encompassing both self-expression and pure fun, Meyer’s makeup account serves as a way for him to follow the lead of the YouTubers he learned from and live authentically as who he is. After coming out as gay, he felt more comfortable starting the makeup account. “You can’t call me gay— I already am,” Meyer said straightforwardly.

Self-expression has always been the main goal of the account, but Meyer’s colorful makeup looks have received recognition from the makeup brand BH Cosmetics several times on Instagram, which encouraged him to continue in his efforts. As a measure of protection against any judgment, he typically doesn’t wear those colorful makeup looks in public, but he always makes sure to have his eyebrows done as he remarked that “it completes the look.”

As for the future of the account, Meyer isn’t quite certain what he will do. For now, he’s okay with keeping it small and prefers it that way. What began with a tragic orange has now evolved into Meyer’s favorite makeup look: a rainbow eye. The boldness of his colors remain. The boldness of his character remains.