Patrick Starrr on His Holiday MAC Collaboration, Makeup Shaming, and Inclusivity in the Beauty World

A beacon for both the inclusivity movement and influencer culture, Patrick Starrr is best known as one of YouTube’s biggest MUA personalities. However, this past year has also seen him make his mark on the traditional, department store beauty world with a worldwide campaign that’s become MAC’s largest male-fronted collaboration — ever.

Slay Ride is Starrr’s fifth and final collection as MAC’s Key Artist Collaborator, and you better believe that he went all out for his final hoorah. An over-the-top, 16-piece collection with gag-worthy glittery red packaging and a “full fantasy gay Santa” campaign to boot (yes, there is a sleigh-shaped display), Slay Ride includes everything from cheekily-named matte lips to Starrr’s best-selling Patrick Powder.

But those aren’t the only reasons this collection is particularly special to him. As the bookend to his year-long collaboration with MAC, Slay Ride also signifies the completion of an experience that Starrr treasured as both the definitive face of men in makeup and a former MAC sales associate. So in honor of the collection’s holiday release, we sat down with Starrr to chat everything from makeup shaming to playing Mama Hen, not to mention what 2019 will bring.

Teen Vogue: What differentiated this final collection from the previous four?

Patrick Starrr: This one is just full red. Like, full fantasy gay Santa delivering the kids the ultimate glam — the gift of glam. And I think to see someone like me is so different. Someone who is gay, plus-size, brown, and a man on a holiday campaign is unheard of and hasn’t been seen before.

TV: How did you make sure your influencer collab stood out?

PS: MAC was so open with me. A lot of beauty campaigns are very fresh and clean with a plain backdrop for the makeup, but with MAC being so editorial and so at the forefront of beauty — as far as brands in the industry — I wanted each campaign to be thematic…. There’s an essence and vibe with each of my collections thus far that set me apart from other influencers in this space. Plus, I design my costumes...and the PR that goes out myself. It’s also not just a [box to open]. For [Slay Ride], I hand-sketched a sleigh with the campaign in the background…. It’s all me, with a MAC touch.

TV: Speaking of all these very glam, over-the-top editorial looks, let’s talk about your thoughts on makeup shaming.

PS: Makeup shaming — to hell with it. I think those are just people who are battling their own insecurities, so that’s why social media is so powerful. We’re able to have our own voices without fear of being shut down.

I’ve been shamed from the beginning. Always. When social media was just popping off, I was getting gun emojis, the sick emojis, and I really had to be conscious with my space. So with the help of Instagram and YouTube, I was able to block certain words...and I think that’s why my space, specifically, has been so aspirational. Parents let their kids watch me, because I rarely curse on my channel and there’s not that kind of negativity where people are shaming me.

TV: Looking back on the year, is there anything you wish you had done differently — whether it be related to your collection or just life in general?

PS: No regrets...just live life and have fun. If I didn’t make mistakes or hit bumps in the road — like those bullies and hardships — [I wouldn’t be where I am now]. There were a lot of times I just wanted to stop, because I wasn’t sure it was gonna be worth it in the end. But something inside me just told me to keep going...and I think that began when I stopped looking at myself and looked at other people who were inspired by my channel.

TV: Was there a particular fan story that stood out?

PS: Thank god for the internet. I get to see the results of my hard work and my channel, because when you’re on camera at home, you really don’t get the same effect as [performing] a concert. You don’t get instant reactions. So to see those stories, the ones that people take the time out of their day to send you is really special.

One of the hairdressers for a MAC corporate head said that their son, who has Down Syndrome, doesn’t speak often. But when he saw my display [at the mall], he said ‘Patrick Starrr,’ so that was really special. His mom and dad were like, ‘How do you know who that is?’ and he’s like, ‘YouTube, drag, Patrick Starrr!’

This girl also sent me a letter the other day and was like, ‘Hey Patrick, I’m Filipino and I got your first collection when I applied to med school, and now I got your most recent collection when I had my white coat ceremony, when I finished my program.’ I think that’s really awesome — to be with those who don’t have that family. That’s ultimately what keeps me going.

TV: That’s really amazing. I feel that also as a fellow Asian makeup lover.

PS: It is hard. My parents didn’t want me doing makeup at first. But after I named a lipstick and an eyeshadow after my whole family...it took that long.

TV: There’s still a lot of work to be done in terms of normalizing men in makeup, but do you ever get tired of being the definitive face of this movement? The person who’s always used as an example and brought up constantly?

PS: No, everything has been strategic for me. It’s about leveraging my minority with credible brands that can support me — whether it be brands or celebrities or social media heads who are featuring me. Like, Snapchat did a personalized bitmoji for me when I released my first single “Got the Glam,” and...a bitmoji takes months to make, so they sketched it out and really took their time to animate and embed it to all the users on the platform. For them to support someone like me really says a lot.

I’m not tired of it, because the visibility alone is helping other people who don’t have that normally. It’s aspirational. I made [the campaigns] so thematic, so that when you go into a department store, you see the clean beauty ads, and then you see the Patrick Starrr palm leaves and the...shirtless men, and the freaking sleigh, and the turban. It’s visually enticing, but it stands out at the same time — it prompts inquiry into who that person is and what they are.

TV: Out of all the collections you’ve done with MAC this year, which would you say is your favorite?

PS: I think there’s nothing like the first. Like your first love, your first child, that bliss, the announcement…. My title of the year is Key Artist Collaborator, and I had always looked up to those Key Artists in MAC history. So to have my own collections on display five times was really special. I love this collection too though, of course. I never thought my gay self would be sitting on a sleigh, selling makeup to the kids.

TV: What’s next for you?

PS: Just to keep growing. Work on my YouTube channel. I want to do more philanthropy with LGBTQ youth and just be a mother hen to all the chickens that need hatching — to fluff their feathers and help them fly. I’ve been really blessed as a Filipino-American with great parents, but I really had to crack that egg. So for me to really push forward and help these kids come into their own is a passion project. To do that more in 2019 is what’s next.

Patrick Starrr’s Slay Ride collection is available in stores and online now.

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