Alyssa Edwards On The Makeup Lessons She’s Learned As A Drag Queen

Alyssa Edwards tells me over Zoom that she was a “shy, awkward, introverted little boy.” One of seven youngsters, Edwards admits that, at one level, she overheard her dad and mom having a dialog and asking one another if Edwards was ever going to speak. But then she found dance. “Dancing was my secure house,” she says. “It was the place I may very well be me, unapologetically.” Fast ahead to right now, and Edwards is a widely-known drag queen, choreographer, and performer who’s starred on a number of seasons of RuPaul’s Drag Race in addition to her personal docu-series, Dancing Queen. When Bustle chats with the star, she’s prepping for her London-based one-woman present, Alyssa, Memoirs of a Queen. She’s actually simply joyful to maneuver: “I believe [dancing] is a common language — we’re all born to bop,” says Edwards. “There’s no proper or incorrect manner. When a tune comes on that resonates with you, take pleasure in it!”Of course, sporting all types of colourful make-up appears onstage is one more reason why Edwards loves what she does. “I like glamour. I like the facility that make-up gives me,” she tells Bustle. Her go-to look? “I’d say my favourite factor to put on is my signature Alyssa look: an enormous, daring purple lip, pink eyeshadow, and an enormous lash — a Texas-sized lash, reasonably,” Edwards, a Lone Star native, laughs. That’s to not say she isn’t tactical about her magnificence routine, although. Edwards just lately partnered with Degree deodorant on its “Move Again” marketing campaign that encourages individuals to interact in bodily exercise as quarantine ends (she’s a fan of swiping on the antiperspirant earlier than a present). As for the remainder of her routine? Here, Edwards reveals the three largest make-up classes she’s realized as a drag queen. 1. Take Care Of Your Pores and skinThe most necessary factor of all in magnificence, says Edwards, is your complexion. “It all begins with an excellent canvas,” she tells Bustle. “Putting on make-up, particularly this quantity, after which taking it off after which placing it again on, can actually injury your pores and skin. So I actually attempt to nurture and defend my pores and skin as a lot as I can.” Her favourite skincare model is Ogee, a jojoba oil-based line of necessities Edwards says performs effectively together with her complexion. Oh, and: “I at all times say your greatest buddy as a queen must be a feminine and an esthetician,” she laughs. 2. Use A Setting SprayAny energetic particular person (or, let’s be actual, any person who experiences summer time humidity) is aware of how arduous it’s to forestall your make-up from melting off your face. The secret, Edwards says, is to at all times spritz on a setting spray. “This Charlotte Tilbury Airbrush Flawless Setting Spray is nice for stage,” she tells Bustle. “My make-up won’t transfer. And I’m a high-energy performer.”3. Have Fun With ItA make-up tip Edwards needs everybody would comply with? “You can’t make a mistake,” she says. “You’re going to scrub it off, so have enjoyable with it. There actually is not any proper or incorrect approach to do put on make-up.” And with that, I’m off to seize all of my eyeshadow palettes.