I DON’T CARE IF PEOPLE STARE.
THE RU ROUTINE
My friend told me that when she mentioned to her coworkers that she’d had lunch with me last week, they all asked if I had come in drag. Of course, she told them no, and that I’m only in drag when I’m being paid. Her story didn’t surprise me. I hear it all the time. People assume I live my life in drag, but I don’t. I think it’s a lot easier for them to grasp full-time drag than part-time job. My guess is that people want to put you in a box with a pretty little bow because the reality is far more complex than they’re willing to comprehend. I always thought it was quite obvious that my approach to drag is more wink-wink than the “look-and-feel-of-real.”
People assume I live my life in drag
My workday on RuPaul’s Drag Race actually starts at 4 A.M., when I wake up. I have breakfast, then I shower and shave my bits and pieces. Then I drive to the soundstage where we tape the show. Mathu Andersen, who has done my hair and makeup for the past twenty years, meets me at the set. He and I both get there at 6 A.M. Music is chosen. I’ve been doing “DJ Shuffle” with my iPod—music is highly important to my transformation ritual. My dressing room at this point has already been outfitted with the makeup and the wigs. Our lighting system is jerry-rigged—it’s like the MacGyver style of lighting rigs. We’ve usually talked the day before about what costume I’m going to wear and the corresponding hair. Mathu usually preps the wigs a day in advance, because they take so friggin’ long.
I start with a clean face and moisturize under my eyes only. Next, I swab the areas of my head and face that will be taped, using a special alcohol that’s formulated for toupee tape. I prefer toupee tape (double-sided tape) rather than spirit gum to attach my lace-front wig and temporary face-lifts. Then I apply sticky side A of the toupee tape to the areas on my hairline that a lace-front wig will be attached to; sticky side B will be peeled back and exposed later when it’s time to attach the wig. I apply the tape to my temples and to my widow’s peak area to avoid wig slippage. My hairstyles are heavy as hell and always consist of two wigs. And yes, bruising, welts, and some scarring can occur after five weeks of fourteen-hour days in drag. I thought you knew—drag ain’t for sissies!
I use Mark Traynor temporary face-lifts to shape and smooth my face and eyes. They’re clear plastic tabs that adhere to your face. They have little holes for attaching an elastic pulley, which then gets tied at the back of my head. I adhere the Mark Traynor elastic tabs to my cheek with toupee tape. My whole career is based on an intricate system of pulleys and lifts, smoke and mirrors! Essentially, I’ll be yanking my midcheek area to the far ends of the Earth. And voilà! Instant face-lift. I also attach them under my ear to help define my jawline. With the tapes securely in place, it’s time to apply foundation.
NOTE: Elastic pulleys don’t get attached and tied back until the makeup is finished, and right before the wig is put on. Also, a powder puff is placed at the back of my head (like a yarmulke) to cushion the pulley and allow for a supply of blood to reach certain parts of my brain. Just enough to ensure I won’t black out and hit my head on the floor.
Voil! Instant face-lift
When I’m filming the show, I shave my eyebrows off completely. That way I don’t have to worry about concealing my bushy brows with a glue stick, which is what I do when I’m not filming and I’m on the road with my nightclub act. You know, I really wish someone had told me when I was younger, “Hon, shave those damn eyebrows off!” My career would really have taken off a lot sooner if I had. Unfortunately, when you commit to shaving off your eyebrows, you can easily look like a mental patient when you’re not wearing makeup. Shaved brows offstage are not what I call “man-catcher.” If you do not want to shave your eyebrows, tweeze out the density of hair, so they will lie flat. Then get in there and cover them with some glue stick, getting them as flat as possible with a toothbrush and letting them dry. Then you apply full-coverage foundation over them.
I’D RATHER BOOGIE THAN TRY TO FIT IN.
Drag ain’t for sissies!
Now we start on the face. Silicon primer comes first. It fills in pores and acne scars and gives a smoother appearance to the skin. Then I apply an anti-shine matte crème on the areas of my face that tend to get oily, like the bridge of my nose and my brow bone.
My face is now ready for full-coverage foundation. Mathu uses no fewer than five different shades of full-coverage foundation to re-create my face. The shades are all in the tone of my natural coloring, but vary from darkest to lightest. He uses the lighter shades of foundation to bring forward and emphasize certain features of my face, and darker shades of foundation are used to create depth and drama. This is your basic shadows-and-light story line. Keep in mind that it’s not about brands; it’s all about color tones, textures, and coverage. I require my full-coverage foundation to have warmth of color. Too many full-coverage foundations and powders for brown skin end up looking gray on camera. It’s a good idea to do some experimentation with your foundation and powder using a digital camera with both flash and sunlight.
Welcome to my home
Brushes are used to apply the foundation, and then sponges to soften the edges for a seamless gradation. My whole face is reshaped and contoured to force the camera’s eye to see what Mathu wants it to see, depending on the lighting. The overall concept is to nudge the proportions of my face so that it appears more feminine, softer, and more vulnerable.
Did you know the facial proportions scientifically determined to look “feminine” are the same proportions of a child’s face?! We’re hardwired to have that “ah” response to both beautiful women and to children. That look is disproportionately large eyes and a heart-shaped face with a wider forehead and a smaller chin—that’s what we respond to. Both Marilyn Monroe and Rita Hayworth had electrolysis at their hairlines to achieve this facial proportion.
With our foundation and contouring in place, we powder and set it. This amount of foundation must be set well. We use lighter-colored powder on the highlighted areas and darker-colored powder for the contoured areas.
Now my face is ready for eye shadow, blush, lashes, and lips!
MY WHOLE FACE IS RESHAPED AND CONTOURED TO FORCE THE CAMERA’S EYE.
EYES
The general rule is when playing up the eyes, keep the lips neutral. And vice versa: when showcasing a juicy, puckered lip, simplify the eyes. It’s a cliché for a reason—it works. The freedom of drag allows me to break the rules and have both at once. If I want to have an important mouth and outrageous eyes, then so be it. Mathu prefers to avoid shine or shimmer on the brow bone, an aesthetic he picked up while working with Thierry Mugler. By keeping the brow bone consistent with the matte foundation, Mathu keeps my face from looking like a mask. Shaving my natural eyebrows gives me way more eyelid for shadow.
CHEEKS
We just add a glaze of color to the cheekbone to warm it up. We also put a little bit of shimmer highlight dust on the peak for drama. The earlier foundation contouring does most of the work. People generally need less blush than they think they do.
YES, I’M HAVING A THOUGHT.
KICKIN’ BACK, RELAXIN’, AND LOOKIN’ GOOD.
LIP SERVICE
My lips are overdrawn to compensate for my crooked mouth. When I grin, I tend to lose my top lip. So Mathu overdraws the top lip so it can be seen on camera. We use a cocoa brown lip liner. It’s my version of a nude mouth, but on other people it would be very strong. And it’s a gradational lip: it goes from dark on the outside to lighter on the inside. Like most makeup, it looks best with a good key light.
TWENTY LASHES WITH A WHIP
Before Mathu starts on my false eyelashes, I curl my natural lashes with an eyelash curler, followed by black mascara to the top and bottom. Mathu then chooses a pair of black false eyelash strips that will best compliment the overall look I’ll be pumping. Each strip is then cut evenly into four pieces. A very small button-size dab of eyelash glue is then squirted onto the plastic case the lashes came in. Using an old pair of tweezers, he dips the spine of the lash piece into the glue and blows on it until the glue gets sticky. He always starts with the longest piece first, which is applied to the root of my real lash at the outer corner of my right eyelid. He repeats the same steps on my left eye, and then back to my right eye to apply the next longest lash piece. Alternating between each eye helps to maintain a symmetric balance. Gradually, from longest to shortest, he applies all of the four cut pieces to the root of my real lashes. This procedure is repeated with an extra pair of lash pieces if he wants to stack lashes for even more volume. The same technique is used to apply lower lashes. It’s important to correctly position the outer lash pieces so as not to let them dry droopy. If the curvature of the lash droops below the outer corner of your eye, gently push it up for the coveted cat-eye angle.
SERVING UP A LITTLE SIDE-EYE SEDUCTION.
I top it off with a little
HOPE CHEST
Creating the illusion of a sumptuous-looking bosom is simple using the shadows-and-light technique. Once my push-up bra and gym socks (wink-wink) are in place, I take a makeup brush and dip it into the same gold shimmer highlight dust I’ve used on my cheekbones and shoulders. Then I very lightly draw what looks like a martini glass onto my chest—the stem of the martini glass being between my breasts. For pale skin, use a white shimmer highlight dust or white foundation. Remember to start with a small amount of shimmer highlight dust and blend.
IS SOME TRANNY CHASERS UP IN HERE?
shimmer
BODY-TO-BODY MAKEUP
I use liquid body makeup on my arms and chest area to keep my exposed skin color consistent with my face. Then I top it off with a little shimmer highlight dust on my shoulders and clavicle to add some magic. Civilians don’t need to use body makeup unless they expect to be photographed with a flash camera. Mixing liquid body makeup with lotion or moisturizer is a terrific way to keep it looking more natural. And yes, the body makeup does rub off onto clothes, so be very conscious of what comes into contact with your made-up areas.