Actress Shares Stunning Pictures of Her Birthmark That She was Once Bullied Over

Paige Billiot is celebrating her facial birthmark in the most beautifully empowering way, with a photo series that accentuates it.

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The LA-based actress and director was born with the vascular birthmark, or 'port wine stain', that covers the left side of her face. Sometimes referred to as a capillary malformation, the flat red mark is caused by abnormal development of blood vessels in the skin.

"When I was younger, the birthmark was hard for me to deal with," Paige told the Daily Mail, explaining how she experienced a lot of bullying over it. "Sometimes it even got physical. We moved around a lot so I had to explain over and over again when a child asked what it was."

The inspiration is now encouraging others to celebrate their uniqueness, with a social media campaign called the "flawless affect" project.

[instagram ]https://instagram.com/p/5K78HpxgcL/" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);" >​

[instagram ]https://instagram.com/p/57oad4xgTZ/" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);" >​

[instagram ]https://instagram.com/p/7DjRNuxgQF/" data-instgrm-version="14" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);" >​

Paige asked various photographers to capture her birthmark in how it inspires them - and as you'll see the results are stunning.

She says, "Hope it'll inspired you to understand and love your "flaws". Be unique." We love how it changes the perspective of "flawless", while shedding stigmas and stereotypes. 

What a beauty icon.​