People are sending me #sideprofileselfies

Because I'm spreading the big nose love

When I set up the #sideprofileselfie, external campaign, I had no idea what to expect.

As a larger-nosed lady, I just wanted to help other people accept their noses. I've grown up believing big noses are ugly. The only big nosed women I ever seemed to see in the media were witches, baddies or grandmas. I’ve spent most of my life hating my nose – it’s large, beaky and crooked – but I’ve recently come to terms with it.

So for my New Year’s resolution, I decided to spread the big nose love.

I came up with a plan: to ask people to send me photos of their own noses and post them on social media under the hashtag #sideprofileselfie.

I wrote about it in Grazia, external yesterday and today, it has gone completely viral.

So many people have been sending me photos of their noses. My Twitter feed has been buzzing all day as the #sideprofileselfies come in.

The best bit is they all come with emotional messages that I can relate to – from “ever since I was little I’ve had issues with self-confidence due to my nose” to “own your nose! I’ve got a honker and I’m proud of it.”

This message from Charlii is a particular favourite: "I once got told by a boyfriend that I would never be “pretty” because of my nose….!"

Chris Sansom, 40, from Cranbrook in Kent told the BBC, “You have to be proud of what you look like. I was never bullied as a child but there would be comments made that I was sensitive about. As I grew up, I briefly considered I could have a nose job, but as I have grown older I care less about what people think of me - not just with my nose but with my life. Especially now I have got children, part of my paternal duty is to teach them to be happy with what they are, and I want to practise what I preach.”

It’s honestly amazing. I never expected that my big nose campaign would have such an overwhelmingly positive reaction. I’ve accidentally gone viral – but I can see why it's resonating so much with my fellow larger-nosed citizens.

No one ever talks about big noses. They’re almost the last taboo. There have been lots of body positivity campaigns in recent years, from body weight to acne, but I’ve never seen a movement encourage people to celebrate big noses before this.

And this movement is overdue. So many people have told me they’ve had self-esteem issues for decades because of their noses. Some have even messaged me privately – too embarrassed to post a #sideprofileselfie – saying they’ve never told anyone how much their big nose bothered them. They didn’t think anyone would understand.

That’s the best thing about the #sideprofileselfie campaign. While it feels scary to post a side profile photo on social media if you hate your nose, it’s a lot easier when hundreds of other people are doing it too.

I hope the campaign helps people accept their noses, and then on a wider level, for the fashion and beauty industries to pay attention, and start putting larger-nosed ladies in the spotlight.

I've recently started to fall in love with my nose. Instead of comparing it to Gigi Hadid’s button nose and Kate Moss’s petite proboscis, I’ve come to love its interesting contours and the character it gives my face.

I hope that by creating an online collection of #sideprofileselfies, young girls can do the same. When they feel like there are no celebrities who have big noses – because there are very few women in the public eye with strong profiles – they can click on the hashtag instead.

There they can look at these photos of brave, inspiring and amazing people and realise that big noses *are* beautiful.