The artists behind Doja Cat's cutting-edge makeup explain how she's changing the craft

Doja Cat is sure to deliver on two things: an award-winning pop hit and an eclectic makeup and fashion moment.

The Grammy-winning singer has performed her music during fashion events, but her otherworldly makeup looks took the attention off the runway and onto her front row seat in recent fashion seasons.

Standard makeup steps often include foundation, blush, bronzer, mascara and a lip, but photographers have captured the 27-year-old "Planet Her" artist bathed in gold paint, covered in 30,000 Swarovski crystals at Schiaparelli, posing with studded eyebrows and showcasing a literal take on a "beat face" as she wore artificial bruises and cuts on her face and body.

"All of my makeup has a story and there are exactly 0 rules," Doja Cat said on Twitter in response to criticism of her all-gold fashion week look.

"I think our culture (is) shifting away from the rigorous confines of standard beauty," says Laurel Charleston, who created several fashion week makeup looks for Doja Cat, including the icy blue face she wore for the Monot show in Paris.

Doja Cat's eyebrow erasure influence

Doja Cat's influence often sits on the cutting edge of beauty, occupying similar space as fellow stars Lady Gaga, Rico Nasty and Grace Jones.

In August, she shocked fans by showing off a new buzz cut and shaving off her eyebrows on Instagram Live. The decision, which was initially met with concern from her social media followers, became another way for the singer to creatively set herself apart as she substituted colorful, intricate and sometimes heart-shaped designs for her missing arches.

The star's absent eyebrows are a sharp resistance to makeup's emphasis on the facial feature within the last decade.

Headlines, products and YouTube tutorials have pointed curious minds to the "perfect brow." Zendaya and Cara Delevingne have been considered as some of the perfect eyebrow archetypes. And eyebrow processes including lamination, tinting and microblading entered the cosmetic conversation.

Charleston says the brow emphasis is changing.

"Now it's like no brow," they say. "I think that removing the brow is a really unique opportunity to just extend your canvas. Most people think that the place to play around on your face is the eyes and maybe the lip. … Now people are slowly extending their canvas by shaving off their brows."

Makeup's expanding role in fashion

Sophia Sinot, 24, created the studded brow look Doja Cat wore during the Givenchy Spring/Summer 2023 show.  Paris Fashion Week was the first time Sinot worked with the "Say So" singer after the star gave her a surprise follow on Instagram. The "glitch in the universe" moment, as Sinot described it, preceded another as she created Doja Cat's bruised Balenciaga look, complete with a faux black eye and cuts on the lip and eyebrow.

"We had no idea that the models in the Balenciaga show also had this kind of same aesthetic with the bruised eyes," Sinot says, adding that Doja Cat's team called her as they watched the show on Instagram Live to tell her of the coincidence. "We didn't plan that at all. It was so weird."

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Charleston says makeup has started to take a backseat in the fashion world; they want to change the emphasis on "naturally gorgeous models" that backstage creatives only "put a little Vaseline on their skin and push them down the runway."

On Instagram, Charleston often uses their whole face with a full palette of color to create immersive looks based on creations from designers including Jean Paul Gaultier. They hope to see that creative freedom on display in fashion more often.

"I really want to show the world that makeup can be an extension of fashion and not just an accent," they say.

TikTokers recreate Doja Cat's makeup

Since Doja Cat's fashion month cosmetic display, users on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube have mimicked some of the imaginative looks. Some users have even gotten a thumbs up of approval from the singer on Twitter.

"Check out Deb's video," Doja Cat tweeted with a link to a TikTok from @beatsbydeb, a 23-year-old self-taught makeup artist who recreated one of Charleston's looks for Doja Cat's New York Fashion Week look at Vogue World.

Charleston says there's "nothing more flattering" than having other artists recreating their work.

"Every single one that I see I click on it and I comment and I'm (going to) hype you up because that's so cool," they say. "I want to encourage everyone to keep experimenting with makeup and pushing their own boundaries."

Sinot says the eclectic makeup trend is creating a wave.

"A lot of people now nowadays (are starting) to appreciate looking a little bit more weird or freaky or edgy or grungy, instead of always flawless and perfect," she says. "I really like that, I love that. I've always loved that about the freedom of makeup."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Doja Cat's makeup artists spill on intricate beauty looks, eyebrow art