Joanne Tronconi has been dealing with unsolicited stares and mean comments for most of her life, but she’s always refused to let it keep her down. Although she was born with a birthmark known as a port-wine stain all across her body and face, things got much worse when she developed Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome, a rare condition that caused her birthmarks to swell. Today, the Florida mother has retaken her confidence with a little help from her son’s makeup channel on YouTube.

"The deformity I have now I didn't have the first 40 years of my life. Now wherever I have the birthmark has swollen. My arms, my lips, my face, my chest, my back — you name it," Tronconi explains in the video. "Many people stare, comment, and come up with their own conclusions. It's really just a matter of perspective, I'm here today to show you how I use makeup to make myself feel beautiful.”

According to the National Institutes of Health , Klippel-Trenaunay syndrome is harmful to the development of blood vessels, soft tissues, and bones. This disorder is often characterized by a port-wine stain, overgrown soft tissues and bones, and vein malformation. The birthmark is caused by the swelling of small blood vessels near the skin’s surface and sometimes develops small red blisters that break open and bleed.

Tronconi’s son, Matthew, is somewhat of a celebrity on YouTube in his own right. Under his channel, clawdeena9, he shares impressive videos in which he uses makeup to turn from a boy into a girl. He decided to help share his mother’s transformation when he saw the joy it brought her. After all, evidence has shown that people with visible birthmarks and rare skin diseases benefit greatly from the transformative powers of makeup.