I started using makeup 6 years ago. I was a sophomore in college at Penn State University when I decided to enter their annual Student Drag Show. Fourteen queens competed but I ended up winning regardless of looking busted and very raw. What I intended to be a once in a lifetime night of fun turned into a life full of adventure, exploration and relentless expression. I kept experimenting with makeup during college but always had an untraditional approach, while my drag colleagues painting to look ‘soft’ and ‘feminine’ I just wanted to put shapes on my face (laughs). 6 years later and here we are.

A lot of makeup work is intended to be an accessory or an accent to a larger image. Most, if not all, major runways today rely on a makeup style most commonly referred to as ‘beautiful skin.’ This means that the make up artists in charge use a face and body foundation that is very light and have little to no eye makeup. I want to show the world that makeup can and should be curated to be an extension of the artistic image… Every time I watch a runway show and see little to no makeup on the models I just see blank canvases and missed opportunities.
I miss and yearn for the days of Alexander McQueen shows where the makeup was designed and considered just as heavily as the clothing and hair. The makeup was curated to be an extension of the artistic vision, not an accessory intended to blend into the background. Makeup can be art and it deserves to be the main course not just an unseasoned condiment.

Whether it is fine art or an organic pattern found in nature, I really love finding inspiration for makeup that is outside of the makeup world. I like using fine art works as a direct and literal way to prove that makeup can be fine art.
A ‘hot take’ I have is that it is lazy and unoriginal to solely take inspiration/do recreations from other living makeup artists. So many Instagram MUAs only take ideas from other creators, do exact recreations of them and pass them off as being ‘inspired by,’ which irks me. If you’re recreating a person’s work a hundred percent then that is a recreation and not an inspiration. That is an important and respectful distinction I hope creators will start making in 2022.

Gabe was an artist I was inspired by for a long time. I wanted to recreate one of their pieces and reach out to them to collaborate. We came up with the idea for myself to recreate a piece of his, have it printed on canvas and for him to paint on the background. So it’s an art piece, within an art piece, within an art piece, which is pretty wild!
I am also currently collaborating with some of the best 3D artists in the world to create new collaborations that will be taking my makeup work into the metaverse… I am really looking forward to that.

This was my second zine and the goal was to curate a vibrant publication that featured my best and most out-of-this-world looks from the previous year. One part of my style that I really love is taking famous works of art, specifically paintings, and putting them on my face. I thought to take this one step further and actually personify two of these iconic works head to toe and that’s where this cover art came from.

America’s institutions of fine arts are historically constructed and operated to withhold power, space and money from transgender people. The beauty and fashion industries are no different.
As an artist of an identity I’m discriminated for, my work will always be a reflection of myself and my experience, even if it is not directly intended to be. I believe that an artist’s lived experience will always be reflected in their work and therefore people that are transphobic/discriminatory will be less supportive of those works.

I learned to sew out of necessity. When I was doing drag at Penn State I was literally rubbing nickels and dimes together to make anything happen. Being there on full scholarship meant that I only had that money to live off of and it was in very short supply. So I grabbed a sewing machine and threw some looks together! I would grab a joint and sit my ass down for hours watching YouTube tutorials and discovering what a zigzag stitch was so I wouldn’t be naked at Wednesday Drag Bingo. I also do prefer to make my own looks, even today. Being a six foot four tall trans femme it is hard to find feminine clothing that fits me, so I still prefer to sew when time allows.

Yes, it is far more difficult to take a piece of face art and conceptualise how that will be extended to encompass the entire human form. There are so many technical issues to consider but it’s also a completely different style of makeup to tackle. It requires a different branch of makeup products and application procedures but at the same time, it is an indescribable feeling to see your work come to life – literally.

It is actually much easier painting someone else than painting myself. I love being able to fully move around a model and paint from different angles and painting Detox again was just a blast. She was visiting New York City and actually had her luggage stolen by Delta Airlines so when she arrived she had no clothes or makeup to do her gig in. I painted her before and saw her tweets of distress, so I texted her and the next thing I know I was painting her again with my MUA bestie, Sterling Tull. Since she had no clothes we thought “why not just wear glitter,” and the rest is history.

I would absolutely love to work with designers like Christopher John Rogers and Telfar Clemens to create vibrant makeup works that would match and be part of their colorful and iconic designs.

Yes, there is so much that is coming and some really cool work that will be breaking new ground for makeup art. I am currently in the works of art directing and executing makeup for what will be a massive high tech multi-media project with one of America’s largest corporations. I will be working to bring makeup into the future and into the metaverse and I could not be more excited!