The contemporary beauty world has changed tremendously in large part thanks to the creativity of drag queens.
A drag queen is typically a male who overemphasizes their hair and makeup to exaggerate the typical features of women.
William Dorsey Swann, who was considered the first drag queen, was a slave in the 1880s who fought for queer rights and referred to himself as a “queen of drag,” according to an article by The Nation.
Swann paved the way for drag queens today by fighting for the right to express their art.
Over the decades, drag queen beauty has inspired many of the makeup trends we see today.
One of the most popular trends people do when applying makeup is “baking” the face.
“Baking” is when you apply a hefty amount of loose finishing powder or baking powder to certain areas, usually where you applied concealer.
The areas people tend to “bake” are the jawline, nose, underneath the eyes and even eyebrows.
This helps control the oils on your face, conceal your pores, make your makeup last longer and brighten the areas you concealed.
Drag queens originally “baked” their faces in order to stop the sweat and oils from ruining their makeup.
The stage lights in some venues are so bright that it creates intense heat.
Another trend involves directly applying craft supplies.
Using a glue stick, you comb the eyebrow hairs upward, let it dry and proceed to cover it with foundation and powder.
Applying this technique to your makeup routine allows you to have a blank canvas to create whatever brow shape you want, without having to actually pull hairs to reshape them.
Applying dramatic makeup was started by drag queens who accentuated parts of their face to construct a more feminine physique.
Drag queens pioneered this trick to shape exaggerated brows, framing the face femininely.
Some would argue the first phases of drag were witnessed in the 16th century theater.
Women were not allowed to perform, so men had to impersonate women according to the British Library website.
To appear as women, men had to not only dress in women’s clothing, but also had to dramatize their makeup.
Techniques such as contouring, overlining lips and bright eyeshadow were used to accomplish a women’s appearance.
These methods evolved throughout the years. For example, the different undertones of contouring shades helped create different dimensions for the face.
Bright eyeshadows are a staple in any drag queen’s repertoire.
It was not too long ago that if you were seen with a substantial amount of makeup on with bright colors on your eyelids, the comment “You look like a drag queen,” may have been hurled at you as an insult.
For the past decade, blown-out colored eye looks have become a well-loved fashion statement – an art form.
Dramatic lashes, snatched eyebrows, bold eyes and contour so sharp it could cut. All can be traced back to
drag queens.
These performers have stellar makeup skills and should be put on the highest pedestal in the beauty world, as they shaped the makeup looks of today.
Drag queens are makeup icons for creating techniques widely used by makeup artists, including me.
All these techniques earn Bri’s approval.
