Author: Evan Tribelhorn
(Creme Fatale @cremefatale, Photo Courtesy of Dominic Saavedra)
Hello and welcome back to Drag Me, a monthly column in which I explore all things drag and drag-adjacent. This month I wanted to take a look at one of the most noticeable and mesmerizing things about drag: makeup. Using just a couple of shades related to someone’s skin tone, the entire bone structure of the face can be changed. Makeup is what allows the gender lines to be softened and blurred in an explosion of colors.
A standard drag queen look has a couple main ingredients: full highlight and dramatic contour, impossibly arched brows, overlined lips, and a dramatic eye look complete with a set of two (okay, maybe more like six) false eyelashes. It may seem fairly straightforward, but on average queens take at least an hour to finish a basic look, and if there are any prosthetics or other extra pieces involved the makeup can take upwards of three hours. That one to three hours doesn’t even include wardrobe or hair(!), which can sometimes add another hour to the process of getting in drag.
One of my favorite things about drag makeup is how individualized it is to each performer, and how it’s evolved over the years. Older queens tend to have harsher, clean cut lines, and what I like to think of as the “Divine Brow,” which is a thin, black brow that extends way further than any natural brow ever should. Younger queens, especially ones newer to the industry, have taken a liking to a more “glam” look, which softens the contour and is akin to what we might think of as Instagram makeup. There are also campier looks which exaggerate the lines of the face to such a degree you can’t help but laugh, and there are other looks that take inspiration from the club kids of the ‘90s and maintain vaguely human features but in wild colors and patterns.
One last thing I want to say is that drag has influenced much of what is now considered to be standard in the world of makeup: full cheek and nose contours, “baking” under the eyes, and the ever-popular shimmery highlight that sits atop the cheekbones. While larger celebrities like the Kardashians brought the idea of contouring and baking to the attention of more people, these techniques have been a staple within the drag community for decades. Here is a great video by Elle magazine that explains the connection between drag and the beauty industry.
As always, thank you so much for reading and I’ll be back next month to talk about my second favorite part of drag – hair.
EVAN TRIBELHORN | yee haw | KXSU Arts Reporter