"Beauty is confidence. No matter how much people around you praise your looks on the outside, if you don't feel it and don't have confidence in yourself, it becomes a waste." That's what Amity Miyabi, a model and illustrator, told us. It has been a long road for Amity, who considers herself non-binary, to gain confidence. "I have struggled with my sexuality and gender identity since I was a child, and felt alienated at school and at home, making me think of myself as weird. My birth sex is female, and since I came out as transgender when I was a student, I sometimes wore masculine clothes to hide my body, even if they were clothes that I didn't like or were not stylish, so people would believe me. I was not able to enjoy fashion at all. After graduating from high school and moving to Japan to live by myself, I was able to celebrate fashion and makeup and finally realize I am non-binary. I now no longer care whether I am seen as a man or a woman, am confident in myself and enjoy various styles as I wish."

What Amity hopes to break down going forward are the rules formed from preconceptions. "I am sometimes disappointed when I hear preconceived notions about a person, such as, 'That person's from this country, so he must be this way,' or 'She's only this age, so she must be this way.' Although Japan has been changing lately, I still think it needs to become more diverse and progressive." Although Amity used to have to pretend she wasn't interested in makeup even though she loved it, she appears to be more radiant as she is able to try makeup without restrictions. "Makeup is not for hiding yourself, but rather, it allows you to be yourself in many ways. People who think they look cool wearing makeup are undefeatable."

A dancer, actor, and model, Shiryu Sejima has turned his thin figure that he disliked into his strongest weapon. He started dancing at the age of six, but with a slim frame, "I always thought that I was lacking in terms of powerful 'manly' dancing." What changed this was his encounter with his teacher, Koharu Sugawara. "Thanks to Koharu Sugawara, I was able to find my current dance style, which takes advantage of my slim figure and shows off my body lines. She taught me to think outside the box, enjoy freedom and not be bound by the rules. I think that social norms and peer pressure have taken strong root culturally, especially in Japan. But conversely, I feel that we can change things little by little from here. For example, I don't like to wear the same clothes as other people (laughs), so it would be great if I could color the town with fashion in my taste."

In a world where it is difficult to love oneself due to social pressures and information overload, Sejima feels that it is necessary to do so. "If you don't love yourself, you won't even be able to recognize the people who love you. And in order to love yourself, I think it's important not to look away from the things you don't like about yourself." Sejima usually enjoys a natural look, but when wearing makeup for work, he is excited to see the steps that takes him closer to perfection. "My personality changes with the makeup and clothes I wear, which in turn changes the way I dance. So as I do my makeup, I start to see what I want to express. And I find that to be very fun. I would like to continue wearing makeup that will make my unique performances as an expressive artist stronger, more beautiful, and further unique. You create the person you want to be! I'm going to keep sticking out from the norm."