Feeling fab, but you think you could look better? Well, have we got something for you! These tips come straight from the fishiest queens the world has to offer. Whether you're looking for contouring tips or the best brands to use, we have something in store for you. If you want to dress to impress and have makeup that matches all that glamour, follow these tips and watch those heads turn!
1. Amanda Bang Says Wash Up!
"Learn how to properly clean your face so you can do anything." A clean face is the first step to putting on your game face. If you don’t wash your face properly, you might have trouble with uneven spreading or other issues. If you want to get a good clean look, you gotta get a good clean face.
Use your favorite cleanser and wash away all that grime and dirt that might have built up. Make sure all your pores are nice and clean. Then pat dry (don't rub!) with a towel. Your skin will thank you later.
2. And Misty Violet Concurs
To reiterate, here’s Misty Violet: "Always wash your damn face." We can’t express how important this is. You need to make sure that you clean your face off so that you don’t have any debris in the way. It’s also proper hygiene and will keep your skin young and glowing, so it’s probably a good idea no matter what.
Even if you have the utmost perfect skin, it's probably a good idea to clean your face every time you want to apply makeup. It'll also refresh your energy to splash some water on your face, so don't skip out!
3. Pandora Boxx Goes Heavy Duty
Sometimes what you got isn’t good enough. Sometimes you’ve gotta deal with some stubborn…stubble. Maybe your routine isn’t working, or maybe your skin is too sensitive for hair removal products.
If you need a bit of an extra edge, Pandora box recommends this tip: “Girls, if you want to have a pink razor, that’s fine. But to get the hair removed, you need a man’s razor, use the Gillette Mach 3”.
4. Manila Luzon Recommends Nylon
If your shaver still isn’t doing the trick, there are a few ways you can improve your look. From the clothes you wear to the products you use, there’s always a workaround.
If you need some help, just ask Manila Luzon: “My trick to staying hairless: First, you have to be Asian, so you don’t have a lot of hair. Second, I use Veet on my body once a week. Third, you have to wear nylons to cover up what hair you do have on your legs.”
5. Alexis Mateo Prefers Elisabeth Taylor
If you want to spice up your look, try adding in a few extra senses to your outfit. Not only will you pop, but the whole atmosphere surrounding you will be greatly enhanced.
If you want to kick it up a notch, Alexis Mateo recommends some perfume to liven things up. “A girl should always wear perfume. My choice depends on my mood, but today I’m wearing Elizabeth Taylor’s White Diamonds.”
6. Yara Sofia Cleans Up Nicely
Sometimes it’s the little things that help. This one’s less so a beauty tip, and more so a tip to help you post beating your face. It shouldn’t be all that hard to wipe your hard work away: “I love those Neutrogena facial wipes,” she says.
“I use one or two each day to take off all my makeup; that’s all it takes.” So, if you’re coming back from a long day and wanna scrub those cares away, try reaching for the makeup wipes you’ve got laying around. It’s as easy as one two three.
7. Latrice Royal Puts Herself Through The Wash
Latrice disagrees. You might need something a bit more heavy-duty for those beat faces. According to Latrice Royal, “At the end of each show, I put some Dawn liquid detergent on my hands and wash all the makeup away. Why Dawn? Because it cuts the grease”.
There you have it, folks. Skip out on the makeup wipes and just use some of what you got already laying around the house. That’ll scrub all your problems away.
8. Shannel Clocks Your Blending
If you’re going in to buy makeup and you aren’t sure what you need, the salesperson at the store will gladly help you look for something. Just don’t be afraid to tell them if you don’t think it’s the right color for you.
“The one mistake women make with makeup is that they tend to pick the wrong color foundation for their skin and just buy whatever the makeup-counter salesperson tells them to buy. Then they forget to blend into their neck.”
9. Kelly Square Shares Her Mantra
"Blend, blend, blend, blend, blend!" If the last one wasn’t a strong enough hint, then here’s Kelly Square telling you a second time to make sure you blend! You don’t want people to see the lines you make when applying the makeup, you want them to see a face that looks like it descended from the heavens.
If you don’t blend properly, it will break the illusion you’re trying to create, especially around the neck. You don’t want to look like you just slipped a sock over your face. Say it with me now: Blend, blend, blend, blend, blend!
10. Tammie Brown Uses Her Groceries
There’s an unlimited number of weird hacks to get your makeup looking right. If you want to cover up your wrinkles, there’s something there for you, too. And all it takes is a common breakfast item that you almost surely have in your refrigerator.
According to Tammie Brown, “If you dab on egg whites over your wrinkles, let dry, then cover that with foundation, it will help erase your wrinkles. But watch out for salmonella! To take that off and your makeup, use all-natural olive oil.”
11. Hexxa Helps You Do Dewy
If you’re looking for that perfect shine and a bit of highlight to your face, Hexxa has you covered. She says, "To get a dewy contour, draw a line right under your cheekbone with the angled end of a beauty blender, and slowly go upwards to make a really pretty, creamy, dewy line”.
Sounds super simple, and super easy! Now you too can add a fresh, glowing look to your profile!
12. Christina Taylor Says Don't Overdo It
Look, you don’t always have to go overboard with your makeup. If you’re comfortable with the way your skin looks and you don’t want to cover up all that natural beauty, don’t!
Just take it from Christina Taylor: "You don’t always need to use full coverage, especially if you don’t have anything to cover! If you have good skin, use medium coverage. Practice your eyeliner. And always tap and blow with eyeshadow!"
13. Primer! Says Bella Noir
Some people think certain steps of doing makeup are more important than others. Which part of the process you find to be the most necessary probably depends on your routine and is up for debate.
However, that doesn’t mean some parts aren’t more important than others. If you love Bella Noir’s look, however, you should probably take her advice to hear. According to her, "Primer is the most important step! Always!" So don’t be skimp out with your primer. Oh, and if you’re looking for some good primer alternatives, check out our next tip.
14. Darienne Lake Gets A Bit Personal
So…this one’s a bit odd. But hey, whatever works! According to Darienne Lake, some of your other household items (namely personal lubricant) may just be the same stuff found in your makeup.
"I found this great makeup primer, and I read the ingredients. I realized the main ingredient is also the same main ingredient that’s in my lube,” Lake explains. “It’s the same exact stuff - dimethicone... So sometimes I’ll use just a drop of lube on my face as a primer or in my hair for silkiness. Lube as a primer makes makeup just glide over your face so smoothly."
15. Yuhua Hamasaki Does The Opposite
"Spend all your money on good primer. All your other makeup can come from wherever, but primer is what matters." Well, unless you’re Darienne Lake. We’re not exactly sure what to go by here, as the two seem to disagree on the matter.
It might just be a good idea to try out both of these tips because you never know what just might work for you. If you, too, are having mixed feeling about spreading lube on your face, you might just want to listen to Yuhua Hamasaki. Otherwise, Yuhua look like a big mess.
16. BenDeLaCreme Uses Fun Tools
Sometimes it’s best to use what you got. You don’t always need to buy what the company expects you to use. After all, makeup is art, and your freedom of expression is what sets you apart from the competition.
Take it from BenDeLaCreme: "I love to use those sponge paint brushes to apply makeup because you can get a hard line by using the edge and a soft effect by using the sides. I buy them at Lowe’s or Home Depot! I use it for foundation, for shadows, for everything.” If she can do it with those, you can probably use anything to your advantage.
17. Gidget Von Addams Loves Lashes
"Fake eyelashes or bust!" Here’s yet another queen repping the fake lashes. If there are that many saying it, then it’s definitely the way to go. Even if you think you don't need them, they might just liven up your look a little, so try them out!
Grab some lash glue, and the biggest, baddest lashes you can find, and stick ‘em right on your face. Doesn’t matter where, doesn’t matter how. Just get ‘em on there!
18. Discord Addams' Top Three
"Big lips, strong highlight, add blush!" The big three, the ultra-trifecta. If you want a face that pops, make sure you draw outside the lines a little bit to fill out your lips. Then you can add some lip liner to round out the look
Highlight well (but don’t forget Monét told you!) and finally add some blush to bring back that color and add some life back into your cheeks.
19. Trinity Taylor Recommends Some Vids
"Go on YouTube and look at tutorials. Find something you love. Experiment. There are no rules!" Words of wisdom, Trinity. YouTube tutorials are one of the best places to learn new ways to spice up your look. You can even share your own tips and tricks!
There are so many people, each with their own styles, who love to teach their community how they do their things. You can learn a lot from watching someone else do their makeup, and you can even adapt it into your own methods.
20. London Adour Spreads Her Wings
"An eye wing can never be too long!" Even if you think it looks weird at first, creativity is key. You can always adapt and adjust. Just don’t be afraid to go all the way! Your style is ever-growing.
If there’s anything you can learn from these feisty queens, it’s that you shouldn’t worry about what others think. Your style is a part of what makes you unique, and if you can bring something new to the playing field, then you can do anything!
21. Pissi Myles Tell You To Let Loose
"Don’t be afraid to be silly and do things differently from other people." We couldn’t agree more. If you’ve ever felt like you’d stand out too much from the crowd by being yourself, that’s a good thing.
People try too hard all the time to blend in with others just to turn around and say that we’re all individuals and we’re all unique. So be daring! Don’t be afraid to be that unique person that we all are. Even if someone knocks you for doing so, it’s that uniqueness that makes you special.
22. Lucy Lips Glitters It Up
"Don’t be afraid to put glitter in the brow!" Who doesn’t love glitter? This has to be one of our favorite tips from the queens. If you want to glam yourself up, some glitter here and there is perfectly fine, and sometimes expected.
Just don’t overdo it, or you could end up like Alexis Vanjie Mateo in season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race who got read to filth for glittering up her chest because it looked like chest hair. Not that there’s anything wrong with a little hair on your chest, it just happened to look pretty unnatural.
23. Monét X Change Warns You
Makeup isn’t just about slapping some powders and lipstick onto your face, there’s an art to finding where to put your shadows and your highlights. A well beat face is about knowing how to distribute these elements evenly.
If you ask Monét X Change, she’ll tell you to "use highlighter just like an accent! You don't want it to be the main focus." We’re not sure if this is a read or not, considering the point of highlighting is to be an accent, but we appreciate the help nonetheless.
24. Monique Heart Hydrates A Lot
"Moisturize and drink a lot of water. Expensive makeup won’t cover up bad skin." If you aren’t drinking enough, your skin is going to dry out and you aren’t going to feel as good, physically and mentally.
Keeping your skin healthy is just as important as everything else here, so don’t neglect it! Keeping your face moisturized is just another step in the cleaning process, so just as that's important, it's essential to take care of the quality of your skin.
25. Mila O'Day
If your not sure when to moisturize and you want your skin to shine, you should take Mila O'Day's advice. "Always moisturize your skin before foundation!" It’s not enough just to keep yourself hydrated; you should also hydrate your skin.
Apply some of your favorite moisturizers, let it set, and you’ll be good to go! If it ends up too shiny, just add a little powder to matte it out. A good starting routine makes way for a good face full of paint.
26. Honey Mahogany’s Cat Eye
Are you having trouble drawing those perfectly crisp lines? It’s understandable--not everyone has the steadiest of hands. Or you could be new to makeup. Either way, never fear!
If you want a perfect cat eye like Honey Mahogany, just follow her advice: “To help stabilize my hand, I rest my elbow on the table and then place my chin in my hand to draw the line. To get the point of the cat eye, I use the outer corner of my eye and the end of my eyebrow as reference points: The line between those is the angle of the wing.”
27. Alexis Michelle Helps You Out
"To avoid the reverse raccoon look, use a loose brush and dust with a pale pink blush under the eye. It warms everything up." We’re happy someone mentioned this one.
If you’re not careful with your highlighting and contouring, you could end up looking like this “reverse racoon”. Of course, you could always try to turn out a look using this concept, as well.
28. Blair St. Claire Is Perfection Incarnate
For those perfectionists out there, I do declare that Blair St. Claire can help you keep that perfect look. "Pay attention to the little details and overall sharpness,” she says.
“Big and small, it all makes up the whole package." Coming from someone like her, we’re sure her advice will really bring a look together.
29. Miss Fame's Famous Tip
Miss Fame has a trick to shading: grasp the tip of a thick, angled brush while applying your contour. She explains, "This keeps your contour soft and diffused, rather than thick, heavy, which can age a face quickly."
We have yet to try it, but we’re positive she got her fame from somewhere or other. We’re willing to put our faith in her.
30. Morgan McMichaels Uses Hairspray
We don’t condone doing anything potentially dangerous, but when it comes to doing your makeup, sometimes mildly risky is the way to go. Not that getting hairspray on your face is dangerous, but be sure not to breathe it in. Maybe spray it a little on your hands first.
"People say, 'Don't ever get hairspray on your face!' but with everything else, the smoke, dirt, air, it doesn't much matter," Morgan Michaels explains. "I use hairspray to set my makeup." Just make sure you cover your eyes really well.
31. So Does Valentina
Valentina’s got a slew of good tips for us. First up: "Spray your face with hairspray to set the look." If there are two queens at this point swearing by this method, then there’s got to be some truth behind it.
Valentina also has her own set of advice. For a lip that looks true to color and can be manipulated whichever way you want: "I eliminate my lip color using an Anastasia liquid lipstick in a light beige tone and then I apply my lipstick over it.” What a great way to add some pop to your lips!
32. Violet Chachki’s Bigger, Bolder Eyes
Maybe you want to change the way your eye looks. A little bigger, a little smaller. It’s all possible. Similarly to how Valentina covers up her natural lip color, Violet Chachki suggests erasing your natural eye crease to make way for a new one.
“I just cover my entire natural lid with eyeliner, up to my crease. Then I go in under my brow bone and draw in a new crease. You have to play with shadow to create the illusion of a new eye shape."
33. Joslyn Fox
For a bigger, shapelier bust, Jocelyn Fox compares it to the work you do on your face. She says, "The same way you contour your cheeks and eyes, those same rules apply for your chest."
"So, you put on your best push-up bra, you take some bronzer, and you follow the McDonald’s arches on your chest with a big M shape. Then you highlight the front of your boobs and highlight in the middle of your cleavage and above the bronzer. The more shimmer the better for your chest bronzer and highlighter. That’s not so true for your face, but it works great for your boobs."
34. Jujubee
If you want your lips to be full of life and shine, Jujubee has a great trick for you to try: "I use a warm towel and some vitamin E oil, and I rub it in a circular motion on my lips." This will keep your lips well-nourished and soft, and might also help you avoid the dreaded cracking from the changes in season.
She also has another trick for you to try out. "I sometimes apply lip gloss just to the center of the lip to give it a little shine and volume,” she says. By avoiding putting it on the whole lip, it gives your lip the illusion of being a little fuller and, of course, the shine. Thanks, Jujubee!
35. Aja
Some people have smaller eyes than most. If you’re one of those people, it might take a little more to make your eyes pop the way that you want them to. If you need some help, Aja’s got you covered.
With a little arts and crafts, anything is possible. "I strategically place a few cut up lashes under my eyes,” explains the queen. By extending the area of reach that your lashes have, it helps with the allusion that your eyes are bigger. So go out, get yourself a few different sizes, and experiment until you’ve got the look you want.
36. Trixie Mattel
This brings us to our next tip from none other than Trixie Mattel. "If you don’t think you need false eyelashes, you're wrong, you do! If you don't wear them you look like you've been shot in the face twice!"
Everyone can benefit from a few extra lashes. Make them eyes pop, darling! Now just apply the previous bit of advice and you’ll be all good to go.
37. Gia Gunn Likes MAC
Gia Gunn swears by MAC products. "I really like MAC products because they are usually full coverage and they normally do exactly what they are made for,” she says.
Having a product that’s guaranteed to do its job is always good. As for application tips, she also likes to use hair spray to set the makeup.
38. Alaska Says Hiieee To This Product
Everyone has a favorite product, whether it’s a high-end fashion brand or something from your local pharmacy. Everything can be used for something.
As for Alaska, she recommends this: "I love a Kryolan TV Paint Stick," she said. "I use them for foundation over my beard and eyebrow areas. They last a long time and they come in a wide variety of colors."
39. Shangela Says Halleloo To This One
As for Shangela, she’s got a soft spot for Dermablend Full Coverage Foundation. "I’ve been using this product since I first started drag and have watched drag queens for years share this around a dressing room," she said "I love how it helps me go from dude to diva with its creamy consistency.”
When you've got a product that's good enough for Shangela, you know it's gonna be good for you as well. Take it from one of the best Beyonce impersonators around!
40. Kameron Michaels' Many Styles
Kameron Michaels likes to switch up her styles for different kinds of events. She explains, "For events, I love to look like a fairytale character. For stage, I like fringe, sequins, and anything that sparkles."
Don’t be afraid to try out different things! Sometimes different events call for different moods and it’s awesome when you can match that theme.