A lot of the most tender, intimate moments of my life have happened in the aisles of Sephora. I’ve met girlfriends on first or second dates there as an excuse to bond with them over perfumes and serums (if only so we can hold hands while we “test the products”), I went with my best friend’s mother for her 70th birthday to help pick out skincare for her retirement era, and I later went with a friend who had recently begun transitioning to help pick out her first full-coverage foundation. Sephora is a place where life decisions are prepared for with free samples and perfume testers lining our pockets. It’s where we come out powdered and perfumed, ready for whatever life decides to throw our way.

Sephora knows that it is a comfortable space for the cosmetically inclined, and for the past three years it’s been building up what it means to be that kind of community space through its store programming. In 2016 Sephora launched complimentary in-store classes for those experiencing major life transitions, Classes for Confidence. Up to this point, those classes have focused on workforce re-entry and beauty in the face of cancer, with participation from community organizations around the country. In June 2018, Sephora will launch a series of in-store programming around the country for the trans and nonbinary community, hosted and developed by transgender Sephora cast members. On Tuesday, May 22, the first preview class will be held in New York City.

“This is the third curriculum we’ve rolled out, and we couldn’t be more excited. It’s been two years in the making. It’s one of the initial programs we wanted to design, but we wanted to make sure we did it right,” says Corrie Conrad, Head of Social Impact and Sustainability at Sephora. Conrad has been spearheading the programming since joining the company a few short years ago. These classes and Sephora’s entrepreneurial bootcamp fall under her purview. “We held focus groups and worked with our employees experiencing their own gender journeys to help determine class content, sensitivity training procedures, and to help figure out which stores would make the most sense. The trans and nonbinary community is a beloved part of our community and we want to be allies. That’s the point of all our programming: Whether you’re entering the workforce or questioning your gender, that’s a major life transition. We want to be there for you.”