Beauty is most often cast as fun, frivolous, and vain. And though in the larger picture, things like mascara, blush, and lipstick indeed seem lighthearted — it is the business of appearances, after all — there’s also something remarkably potent about beauty. While the conversation has been dominated (and rightly so) about the changing representations of beauty, we rarely hear about the therapeutic and, yes, sometimes life-changing effect it can have. You’ll find their stories are far from superficial.All this week, we'll be bringing you such inspiring tales of remarkable women who have used the power of beauty to cope, empower, heal, and survive. Today, meet Lily Morales a domestic abuse survivor who turned her pain into something positive by becoming a makeup artist.While it’s easy to say beauty comes from the inside, many women won’t ever have to come to terms with the idea. But for Manhattan-based makeup artist Lily Morales, 35, a life-changing event in her 20s has changed her entire outlook on the topic. Hear her story, below.“When I was 23, I was in a relationship with this person. He was older than me and from another country. There wasn’t anything violent in the relationship that would have warned me anything else could happen. Looking back, there was definitely signs but I didn’t see clearly then. I was in the relationship for three years and I decided to end it. There were controlling issues and jealousy. It was just not a good relationship. We’ve had our fights before and we would get back together. This time was different and I think he could sense that."This was 2005. After the breakup, he came to my house and I just let him in. I thought we were just going to talk. He had a knife hidden in his socks. He stabbed me so many times and slashed me. Fortunately, at the time, my mom was living with me. She was sick and had a person who was taking care of her. That person was able to call for help."He was arrested. He actually never left the apartment and was waiting for the police when they came."I was really injured. I was in a coma for a month and a half. I went through several surgeries. My face was slashed. My teeth were broken. It was a huge process of recovery. My hands, I had used them as a shield and they were also really, really damaged.