Blind Beauty Vlogger Lucy Edwards on Her Viral Makeup Tutorials: 'Your Disabilities Don't Have to Define You'

Lucy Edwards went viral seemingly overnight after uploading a smoky-eye and red lip tutorial to YouTube. But her cosmetic tips weren't the main reason people were clicking – Edwards is legally blind.

Adjusting to Her New Normal
Edwards was born with incontinentia pigmenti, a rare disorder passed genetically that can affect one's vision. She lost sight in her right eye when she was 11 years old; at 17, she lost sight in the left.

Before losing her vision, getting glammed up had always been a pastime for she and her sister Alice. So when Edwards was diagnosed as legally blind, she turned to her love of makeup to find a sense of normalcy once again.

"It was a way of saying, 'I want to cope. I don't want to just sit in bed eating ice cream anymore,'" Edwards, now 19, says in the new issue of PEOPLE.

So she launched YesterdaysWishes, a YouTube channel on which she posts makeup tutorial and answers questions about the blind community.

"I want to prove that I can be just as normal as when I had my sight," adds Edwards, who lives in Birmingham, England, and plans to go to law school.

"Going blind has just given me a totally different view of beauty, and I just appreciate it a lot more. I like it when people say I look good, and I want to keep up with it because I can't see in the mirror, and it makes me really determined to just keep doing it and keep feeling pretty about myself – because I'm still in control that way."

Though she admits her beauty regimen takes a lot of "trial and error," Edwards says, "I'm better at it now" than when she had her sight.
A Vision for Change
She started her channel as a personal endeavor, but Edwards hopes her videos open people's eyes about disabilities. 

"I wanted a place on the Internet that was away from the stigma of disability because there was no one with a vision impairment or disability online really just doing something that a 'normal' teen would do," says Edwards. "I was just like, 'Why don't I be the person to start helping others?'" 

With the assistance of her sister Alice, who helps her choose the right shades, brushes and products, and her boyfriend Ollie, who records and edits the videos, Edwards hopes her videos bridge the gap between the blind and sighted communities. 

Sometimes, "I do feel very isolated, and I think doing YouTube was a major part of me getting into the non-sighted world and community," she says. "I just wanted to show that you can be yourself. Your disabilities don't have to define you."

Watch the amazing video below: