Meet CoverGirl's First Ever "CoverBoy" James Charles

“CoverBoy” James Charles is a makeup guru with a loyal following of fans on social media

For the first time ever the iconic American makeup brand CoverGirl has named a “CoverBoy.” The company routinely brings in pop culture royalty as ambassadors and this week they announced 17-year-old James Charles as their newest CoverGirl.

Charles, who has almost half a million followers on Instagram alone, joins Zendaya, Taylor Swift, Katy Perry, Queen Latifah, and many more famous faces in his new gig for the makeup giant. Perry shared the photo below on her Instagram wishing Charles well and saying, “Honored to have the pleasure to announce the very first COVERBOY, James Charles!”

The teen was equally excited. “I am so beyond excited and overwhelmed and happy and astonished and of course, SHOOK, to announce that I am the newest face of @covergirl,” he shared on Instagram. “First ever male ambassador for the brand and I am so honored and excited to be working with such an iconic brand.”

Charles started his beauty-focused Instagram about a year ago. “I’m a super creative person and have always loved drawing and painting since I was super young, but makeup was a new avenue for me,” he shared with Cosmopolitan. While Charles loves makeup now, he stumbled into the field. “One of my close friends was late to her makeup appointment at a local counter and asked me to do her makeup before her school dance. I was like, ’yeah girl, but if you look awful, I’m not taking credit’” he shared. “It actually turned out awesome and she posted a picture. People loved it, so I invested in a starter set of makeup to practice on friends and slowly began to build clientele.”

So how did the teen get so glam? Like all modern makeup gurus: YouTube. “I’ve been watching tutorials for years now, so when I started makeup I did have a semi-idea of how to do things. Other than that, it’s all been through experimenting and figuring out what works for me,” Charles reported. “I have pretty defined features: huge brows, very small eyelids, and a chunky nose. I love them all, but they’re definitely not the easiest things to work with when it comes to makeup, so I’ve really had to practice and see what I like on myself!”

His path into makeup wasn’t all smooth, though. Charles’ love of cosmetics made his parents question whether the teen was experiencing gender identity issues. “My parents started questioning me about whether or not I was transgender—whether or not I was trying to be a woman. It was a big argument,” the teen recalled to Marie Claire. “It took a lot of thorough conversations to explain that it’s an art form for me. I’m still confident as a boy and I will always be a boy. I can be confident with bare skin and with a full face.”

And Charles plans on using that confidence to inspire others. “I truly hope that this shows that anyone and everyone can wear makeup and can do anything if you work hard,” he shared after the makeup company made the announcement official. “I can’t wait to share with you all what we have in store, but trust me when I say it’s gonna be real good.”