Rico Nasty’s Guide to Bold Brows, Fake Freckles, and Galactic Highlighter
“You can go drastic, you can go chill, you can go rock star, you can go glam,” says Rico Nasty of the transformative power of makeup. “There are no limits.” Leading the revival of women in rap, the Maryland-bred star goes all out above the neck at her shows, which have become notorious for their electrifying women-only mosh pits. Here, Rico, whose new E, Anger Managment is an atomic fusion of punk rap and her “sugar trap” style, shares the tricks behind her stage-look signatures.
“I always needs to make sure my skin is fresh,” says Rico, supercharging her skin with Anastasia Beverly Hills Hydrating Oil before giving herself a gentle facial massage to perfect her makeup canvas. “One thing about foundation is that I hate it,” she explains with a giggle, underlining the pitfalls of finding the right shade and blending it. Fortunately, Fenty Beauty’s Pro Filt’r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation makes life easy, and she taps it into her skin to imperceptible effect. “I started doing my own makeup when I found out that I was pregnant,” she explains. “My son used to give me these really, really, real bad red blotches. I would never want to go anywhere, so my friends were like, ‘Why don’t you just learn to do your makeup?’ After I had my son, the blotches went away and the makeup skills did not.”
Demonstrating said skills, she color-corrects, conceals, and adds a layer of Huda Beauty Setting Powder (“It smells like cookies!” she squeals) and lets her undereyes bake while she contours. “Fun fact: I shaved my eyebrows so that I can make them go any direction that I want,” reveals Rico as she draws on razor-straight arches that make “serving face” a breeze. Onto strobing, she layers Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in baby pink Wattabrat and metallic magenta Sangria Sunset on the cheeks and outer eyes, with results that are nothing short of intergalactic. Rico says she started adding freckles when she saw them on singer SZA: “She gives me life.” After painting a constellation of fake flecks on her cheeks, she uses Milk Makeup’s Tattoo Pen to stamp two small stars beneath each brow. Then, complementing her full fake fringe with cartoonish lower lashes, she uses a liquid liner pen to etch vertical, hair-thin strokes underneath the waterlines. Finishing the look with a swipe of holographic lip gloss, she then swoops her edges with a spoolie brush for immaculately laid baby hairs.
As she shakes out her halo of dark curls and admires her iridescent glow, it’s clear: Rico is psyched about her “extra” sheen. “I’m ready to show the world this face!”
Rico Nasty in an Agent Provocateur pajama top.
Director Talia Collis
Filmed at The Pierre, A Taj Hotel
Originally Appeared on Vogue
