Ana Alvarado

“LipstickFables” defines the meaning of Possible.

Here at Lady Code, we pride ourselves in recognizing women whom we believe serve as an inspiration to others – not only in the realm of beauty, but by their impact on society and local communities as well. This month we’re introducing you to a Honduran-born beauty vlogger, entrepreneur, and outstanding samaritan known on the web as LipstickFables. 

Her name is Ana Alvarado. This star might be thousands of miles away from her native home, but she shines brightly worldwide. Ana started off her social media grounds in 2011 as a beauty vlogger on YouTube, where she established her alias, Lipstickfables. While she was extremely popular within the cyber world of beauty how-to’s, her makeup and fashion tutorials slowly transitioned to an emphasis on the culture of Honduras, her native land.

“Since I started making beauty videos and lipstick was my favorite cosmetic, I decided to name my channel LipstickFables. I added the fables because to me, it represented “stories” I was sharing with my followers about my beauty adventures. Once I started doing comedy, I couldn’t change it on my YouTube channel, so I’m stuck with that name forever. I used to watch other YouTubers talk about makeup and I just loved it! I also like the whole editing process (must be the graphic designer in me) and presenting that whole piece of work to me was just fun and pure enjoyment. When my first video related to Honduran slang went viral, I realized that was something different I could try to do PLUS it was a lot of fun! My family at first was confused about me being so into video making but soon realized this was opening up so many doors to me and ever since then they have supported me 100%.” 

Ana soon found herself sharing her Honduran culture and traditions through comical videos featuring typical things Hondurans say, foods and Honduran inspired fashion. Her popularity spread like wildfire worldwide, and before we knew it she became one of the most inspiring young women we’ve spotted on social media today. While many social media stars use social media outlets as a means to increase their personal brand or simply to increase their following, Ana has become a version of what I call a social media trailblazer, taking her online fame to a whole new world of possibility. Her interest in community service dates back to her years in High School where she  became an active member of the Beta Club, a club that encouraged community service outreach.

“Even though, I used to hate waking up early [on] the weekend to assist such events, once we were done it was so gratifying. I encourage young kids to start doing it because it helps you appreciate what you have and also makes you a more compassionate human being. The moment you give back to the most needed that’s when I feel the greatest about myself and what I’ve accomplished. It’s the same way I feel about making comedy and bringing a smile to someone’s face… you just feel you’re doing something good when there’s always hundreds of bad things happening in the world. We need more good things happening.”

Inspired by her Honduran community and culture, in February 2015, Ana engaged in a personal community service project where she advocated to raise funds for a family in Tegucigalpa, Honduras that she discovered “lives in extreme poverty who sustain themselves by collecting trash for food and [commits] to recycle which earns them approximately less than $25 a month.”

“I decided to open a gofundme account after one of my followers shared the video of their case”, she said; funds that would allow the construction of a new stable home for the Canizales Pineda family . Can you guess how much Ana was able to raise? $1000? $3000? 5000? Higher, a lot higher. Her positive outlook in life and her humbleness transpired and reached the hearts of all her loyal followers allowing her to raise nearly $35,000 for the Canizales Pineda family. The allotment collected was more than enough to change the life of this family forever, defining the meaning of possible. It is possible to use the ever so popular world of social media as a means to change the world. It is possible, as Michael Jackson once said, “to make a change, for once in [our] life”. As social media enthusiasts, we have the power to make things possible, for ourselves as well as for others.
“I [had] always wanted to do what I did with Doña Irma [and the Canizales Pineda]  but I guess I had never really taken that step to make it a reality. I never thought I was going to raise that much money and it definitely turned into a HUGE responsibility because up to this day, my goal is to never fail my followers, [especially] if they’re trusting me with something so important. I had a small goal of maybe raising $1000 the most… but I still remember crying when I started to see the numbers become higher and higher. That’s something I’ll never forget. I would love to keep helping out other people in my country and if opportunity is given, I’d love to help just anyone out there, no matter where they might be from. It’s a big responsibility and takes a lot of time so I’d definitely like to do it with a trustworthy team of people who would have the same mission as me: help others.”

While Ana has evolved into an influential social media figure, she as many other public figures, has encountered the ever-so-cruel world of cyber bullies.

“I get bullied all the time in social media, surprise! (lol) There was one time where a group of people on twitter decided to attack me by making horrific statements about who I am and did horrible memes to insult me. I ignored them at first but then decided that I wanted to expose them the next day which I don’t know if that was a good day to handle it. Obviously they freaked out when they found out about my plans and stopped bullying me… but ever since that day, I decided to just completely ignore people. They want to see reaction from you and that’s what you DON’T want to give them. Bullies are lame anyway! There’s billions of people in this world so don’t be surprised if a group of them simply don’t like you. Just remember there’s more people out there that do like you for who you are and accept the person you are.”

We asked Ana to define: POSSIBLE. Her answer left us admiring her just that much more!

“Success is something we all aim for, especially when it comes to being a successful woman. I’m always so curious to learn their stories and how it all started for them and the one thing I see that’s consistent is that in order to be successful, you need to start from the very bottom and work hard to your way up! What comes easy, goes easy so you need to make sure you’re not taking the fast lane because then you’ll miss out on the whole experience. Never lose hope and stay consistent. Those are two key words. Possible is anything you set your mind to. It may sound cliché, but there’s just things we never accomplish because we simply don’t even try to. You’ve got to take risks and if you fail, that’s ok. Try something else. But if that risk actually works out amazingly well? You’ve got to make the possible a reality and not just a dream.”

Ana is a recent graduate from Miami’s New World School of Arts. As a young professional with a background in Graphic Design and Art History, Ana hopes to continue to expand her outreach into the Honduran community while also working on expanding her fashion brand inspired by her native land. Visit www.lipstickfables.bigcartel.com to explore Ana’s Honduran inspired product line!

As members of first generation Americans, we admire Ana for her passion and love for her native land reminding her followers to stay in touch with their roots. Access to social mediums help those of us with roots worldwide to stay in touch, whether it be through fashion, art or community service.

Embrace your roots Ladies, and think of the possibility of making a change in your world by helping others!

Be sure to follow LipstickFables to join her in her growing journey across all social media channels!