Millie Flemington-Clare's passion for beauty started as soon as she was old enough to wear make-up. "It gave people a reason to look at me - my hair and my make-up," she says.
Millie has cystinosis, a genetic disease that affects just 2,000 people worldwide. It causes cystine crystals to form in a person's organs, which can impact their growth rate. "I became frustrated by the lack of representation and the toxic beauty world of 10 years ago. This ideal of perfection where you didn't see an everyday woman represented inspired me to launch Human Beauty to be the representation I wanted to see."
Millie sought out experts in the make-up industry and, in 2021, her accessible beauty brand was born.
"Accessible design is simply good design," says Millie. "Considerate design doesn't have to be a crazy innovation. I call it 'incremental innovation'; for example, changes that already exist - such as a square tube but with a matt texture. Those two things together make a more accessible product."
Her innovations include anti-roll and easy-grip packaging, QR codes for shade descriptions and sensitive skin-friendly products. "Anti-roll is great for people with limited dexterity, but also, if you drop your mascara on your commute, there's no more having to scramble under someone's feet," she says. There's also an omnidirectional mascara wand, which allows application from any direction as "applying mascara in the usual way requires fine motor skills".
Featuring diverse models
One of the most meaningful things Millie who has a degree in digital marketing - has done was to feature a model with a feeding tube. "I grew up with a feeding tube and hated it, but it would have been different if I had seen a model with a feeding tube in a beauty campaign."
All of Millie's campaigns feature models of different ages, races, abilities and sexualities. Even now, she finds that people hear 'accessible' and assume products are for wheelchair users, but "even a mum holding a baby, who can only apply make-up with one hand, has a situational disability". Her sensory-friendly formulas mean hidden disabilities and neurodivergences aren't overlooked either, "because smells and textures can be a barrier", she says.
Millie appeared on Dragons' Den in February 2025, which led to 30,000 hits on her website overnight, and £17,000 of sales since, but, despite high praise, nobody invested. The benefit was Human Beauty being introduced to a new demographic, as "the average age of customers went up by 20 or 30 years".
She did, though, secure £50,000 of funding through an Innovate UK Inclusive Innovation Award. The money allowed Human Beauty to go from two products to five, but her customers want more, and she's not lacking ideas - just capital to make them happen. Accessible liquid eyeliners, lip liners and a lipstick with no lid are among them. "I consulted our community, and someone with no fingers said that she'd love a lipstick she can open without having to use her mouth. I've got the physical product - I just need the funding," says Millie.
Sharing her story
Millie has built a community of 10,000 people "just by sharing my story", and is friends with disabled influencers, activists and consultants. "The content we share isn't 'hey! Look at this lip gloss', it's 'hey, this is my story'. The products come second," she explains.
Fulfilling multiple roles is tough: "I'm operations, supplier management, marketing, and I'm the face of the brand - managing my time without burning out has been the biggest challenge."
She describes her Motability Scheme car's electric boot as game-changing. "I never used my boot before because if I ever accidentally let go of it, I was screwed because I'm so short," she reveals. Now she can fill it with products.
For Millie, the business is about more than appearances. "Make-up is a creative outlet; it's a really powerful tool in making ourselves feel better," she says.
The beauty industry still has a long way to go when it comes to accessibility. But this isn't deterring Millie, who has started another business, Certified Accessible, for products and universities to meet an accessibility standard. "I'm very determined - that's a trait of people who have gone through hardship," she says. Millie is proud of what she's achieved, particularly "the people's lives I've touched, because I want to make a difference".
Find out more by visiting the Human Beauty website.
