Who We Made ByStorm For and How They Shaped the Brand
ByStorm Beauty is an Australian accessible beauty brand creating makeup tools for people with disability, chronic illness, arthritis, tremors, injury, ageing hands, and anyone who struggles with grip, twisting, or control when using standard beauty products. Our tools are designed to make everyday beauty easier, more comfortable, and more fun! Without compromising on aesthetics.
If you meet someone who has fallen out of love with beauty, it’s probably more accurate to say they fell out of access to it.
Because what’s usually the case is that they still love playing with colour, the ritual and expressing themselves. But somewhere between twisting a too-tight mascara and gripping a slippery lip pencil, beauty became a battle.
ByStorm exists for those of us who never stopped loving beauty, we just need the tools that love us back.
Who are our accessible beauty tools for?
When Storm, the founder of ByStorm Beauty, broke her dominant hand, everything changed overnight. The routines that made her feel confident and ready for the day that she’d done without thinking suddenly felt impossible.
So she did what most of us would do and assumed a solution already existed. Surely, in an industry that launches something new every week, there had to be accessible beauty tools?
“We have people on the moon. We’ve sent humans into space. But we can’t make beauty packaging that people can actually open? And the few things that did exist were ugly, medical, or not even purpose-built for beauty. It made no sense. And the more I spoke to disabled women and girls, the more I realised the problem was so much bigger than physical inaccessibility.”
Something bigger became clear: disabled people had been designed out of beauty, from products and advertising to the cultural conversation all together. And so, ByStorm started as a refusal to accept that exclusion as normal.
The beauty world forgot to include us
ByStorm Beauty is for people whose hands don’t always behave the way beauty tools expect them to.
- People with arthritis, joint instability, or wrist limitations, where twisting and gripping can hurt.
- People with tremors who need stability.
- People living with chronic illness where fatigue and pain flares change what’s possible day to day.
- For people recovering from surgery or injury.
- For ageing hands that don’t want to give up beauty just because grip strength has changed.
And importantly, it’s for people whose needs don’t fit neatly into one box. Disability isn’t a single experience and ByStorm won’t pretend it is.
A universal tool that’s far from generic
Storm learned early on that her community didn’t want special beauty products, they explicitly said they would be happier using the same makeup as everyone else (just without the struggle). That’s why ByStorm grip tools act as attachments that can slot into existing routines as easily as they fit on your existing beauty products.
Makeup artists love the added control during long sessions too. Our first users told us they noticed immediately how much easier their routine feels and even beginners feel more confident when ByStorm tools give their hands a greater grip.
We hope it’s clear that our tools are designed for disabled people first but are beneficial for everyone.
What our community have in common
A ByStorm community includes all different people, with different bodies, all with different needs, but every single person has the same desire. People want to feel capable, independent and empowered, so that they’re free to enjoy beauty without pain, fear or frustration.
The simple act of getting involved in trends, artistry, getting ready for a night out or a quiet morning alone without having to ask for help can be life-affirming. So if we look at it this way, accessibility starts with removing limitations but the lasting impact is when someone can participate in those simple joys in life. Everyone deserves that.
ByStorm fills the emotional gap
ByStorm fills a space left by an industry that didn’t think about disabled consumers for a very long time. Annoyingly, it was all out of habit. When brands do think about accessibility, they often stop at function and forget about the joy all bodies and minds can get from the beauty world – if only they could experience that every day.
Because we focus on function and open the beauty cabinet back up to our disabled and chronically ill community…
- There’s confidence in knowing your tools won’t slip
- Relief in not having to rush through a routine before your hands give up
- Pride in doing something independently that once felt out of reach
There’s also the sense of empowerment when you feel considered.
Beauty is for everyone (but it has to be designed that way)
There’s no official rulebook for accessible beauty and Storm learned quickly that this category is still being written alongside the disability community. To get simple solutions that help more people now is the priority, so if that means choosing progress over perfection then we’d rather that than waiting years for something flawless.
At the end of the day, beauty doesn’t become inclusive because of a campaign slogan. So we have to stop assuming one kind of body, one kind of hand, one kind of user. ByStorm Beauty is for anyone who’s ever loved beauty but found the tools didn’t love them back.
And it’s a reminder to the industry: access should be the baseline.
How ByStorm is different from traditional accessible tools
ByStorm tools are shaped directly by the people who use them. Instead of creating “special” products, ByStorm designs attachments that fit into existing routines, prioritising dignity, independence, and everyday joy alongside accessibility.