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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Gemma Cairney

Fun, frolics and green body paint at Pride

Gemma with African warrior/underwater adventurer green body paint
Going green: Gemma as part African warrior, part underwater adventurer.

This week’s FaceTime is dedicated to an unforgettable and joyous Pride celebration. We danced in the streets, and swirled unashamedly in exhilaration for being alive and in love with all forms of love.

Margate Pride 2018 was a wondrous LGBT+ Arts Festival where lots happened, but one of my most poignant memories will be how the joy poured out of cracked smiles from all walks of our community. It was testament to the power of togetherness. It wasn’t about big brand sponsors, or looking a certain way. It was about everyone coming together.

At this point I had had an intense few weeks due to a heady combination of the distracting sun and my recovery from an operation for which I’d been pumped full of hormones. In fact this summer, for me, has been the furthest from boring.

So, when choosing my look for the Pride parade, I asked local make-up artist (and body painter to Grace Jones) Guy Common to paint my body part African warrior, part underwater adventurer, in soft green. He painted my skin in thick tribal stripes using a paint called ‘essential light green’ by DFX. Start your own local Pride and follow ours on Insta for more pics @margatepride £6.95, fantasy paints4u.co.uk

Follow Gemma on Twitter @gemcairn and Instagram @gemagain

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