Why Lexie Liu Is All About Having a Signature Minimalist Beauty Look
"Do you wear sunscreen?" Lexie Liu asks out of the blue, turning me into the interviewee during her visit to the Allure office. If one of my friends had asked this question, I would have rolled my eyes, but coming from someone who just turned 20, her query is more endearing than insulting. "Yes, every day," I tell her. The Shanghai-based rapper reveals that she doesn't wear sunscreen, even though she's heard it's "effective."
As I give her my sun-protection PSA, I almost forget that Liu has made headlines for being the "Chinese Rihanna". Like Rihanna, Liu's discography has the makings of the new soundtrack to both your morning commute and a night out with friends. With glowing cheekbones, lustrous lips, and precise liner, Liu could have just walked off the set of a Fenty Beauty photo shoot. The brand has yet to recruit her as a model, but she's a self-professed fan of it. She stocks up on Fenty's latest highlighters and glosses; the Diamond Bomb is her most-recent purchase.
Unlike Rihanna, Liu has yet to develop that enviable superhuman quality that makes Rihanna seem like she operates on a higher wavelength than mere mortals, including, but not limited to, her ability to walk over grates in stilettos and leave restaurants with a wine glass in hand. Instead, Liu is about as normal as my 21-year-old sister, Kendall. Normal is a relative term, but both live for a good Instagram meme account, feel most comfortable in athleisure, and probably think way too much. Liu prefers to do her "daily overthinking" in a bath-bomb-spiked tub with neon lights on. Kendall will do her overthinking anytime, anywhere. But unlike most 21-year-olds, Liu can vacillate effortlessly between rapping in Mandarin and English.
Liu prefers to do her "daily overthinking" in a bath-bomb-spiked tub with neon lights on.
The diamond-encrusted chain-link necklace that encircles Liu's black Adidas turtleneck is a reminder that she's one of the only women signed to 88rising, a growing record label dedicated to signing Asian artists, including Niki, Dumbfoundead, Joji, and Rich Brian. Her black wide-legged track pants with rainbow stripes down the sides are the real version of the apparent $12-knockoff pair I purchased — that a more expensive version existed was news to me. Before meeting Liu, I noticed that some of the most fascinating people I follow on Instagram, like GOT7's Jackson Wang and tattoo artist Dr. Woo, follow Liu. Sitting with her, that thought pops into my head, and I realize her name stands all on its own. She doesn't need "Chinese Rihanna" to preface her name for context. She's simply, powerfully, and confidently Lexie Liu.
Liu's K-Pop Start
Her first EP, 2030, drops today, February 1, but Liu has been in the music game since she was 16. In 2015, she had a brush with K-pop stardom while appearing on K-pop Star 5, a Korean reality show about emerging singers competing to sign with a major record label. During that time, she realized how she wanted to present herself in the industry.
Staff for the show had Liu color her hair chestnut brown, marking her first-ever dye job. "I thought it was way too sweet, and I couldn't pull it off," she says. After placing fourth, she decided to bleach her hair platinum. "I ended up looking like a very bad student," she adds with a laugh. As someone who never wore makeup to school because she was afraid it would get her in trouble, Liu couldn't relate to the ultra-blonde fantasy.
Liu's Look of Confidence
Now that Liu is releasing her own music with 88rising, she's almost the antithesis of a K-pop star, beauty-wise at least. Her "power-giving" look, as she calls it, flourishes in its no-frills consistency. You can usually catch her wearing the aforementioned makeup look and middle-parted, sleek hair that grazes her collarbones, which was inspired by futuristic images of women with straight black hair.
"I’m just getting started, so if I switch to too many looks, they might not remember what I look or sound like."
For the foreseeable future, Liu plans to stick to this aesthetic, instead of changing her hair and makeup drastically every time she releases a new song, as K-pop stars are known to do. "I’m just getting started, so if I switch to too many looks, they might not remember what I look or sound like," she explains.
Liu admits that she fears major hair and makeup transformations. With lipstick, for example, she gravitates toward neutral hues, despite having a vast collection of different shades. "I’m scared to scare people," she says, before recounting a time she swiped on a burgundy shade and her family asked if she was OK. When I ask what she's afraid of, a friend of hers tells me that China is conservative. But "I don't feel like [I'm conforming to] a certain beauty standard," Liu adds. "I’m just sticking to what I feel good looking like."
Liu's Beauty Essentials
Cat eyes, for example, make Liu feel good. She's mastered the technique for painting on wings with a liquid-liner pen in an outward direction. When a makeup artist is doing them for her, she directs them on what the wings should look like. "Skinnier or a longer liner," she says are her usual requests.
Long nails are always a must for Liu. Once or twice a month, she gets her nails done: long, almond-shaped claws in earthy tones. They're beige, at the moment, but purple, navy blue, and camo green are some other colors she reaches for. Because Liu uses her hands a lot in music videos and photo shoots, having striking nails is very important to her. "They just empower me," she explains. "When I was 16, I started to shoot some very lame, cute videos, and I was trying to be cool. Then, I was like, What’s the thing that’s missing? Later, I found out that a lot of female artists have very pretty nails in their music videos."
My favorite part of our interview is the genuine pride that infuses Liu's voice when she tells me "I cook in these [nails], too." I imagine she'd tell me "I got nominated for a Grammy" in the same way.
Liu's Simple Skin Routine
Liu's skin-care routine is growing, just as her star power is. She admits that she's not really into the concept of skin care. "I have the most basic moisturizers, essence, and that stuff," she adds. (All are bought at Muji, by the way.) I point out that most people don't even know what essence is, and she promptly takes back her use of "basic."
"It’s very simple: foam face wash, toner, moisturizer, essence, and then, bye."
It's after Liu lists her "simple" regimen of foam face wash, toner, moisturizer, essence, "and then, bye" that she asks the sunscreen question. Then, after I've given her my usual spiel — my mom had skin cancer 10 times, etc. — Liu vows to start using it. I believe her.
A couple of years ago, her parents were the first to tell her to moisturize during the winter. So she started slathering it on when it was cold outside, and then "it went to a day-to-day thing," she says. "My skin-care [routine] is just getting stronger over time."
I have a feeling that the next time I see her she'll have a favorite sunscreen and a 10-step routine. By then, I'm guessing, she'll have a chart-topping song or two and a major musical performance under her belt, too.
Read more about the beauty routines of other amazing Asian women in music:
How Amber Liu Is Redefining Her Approach to Beauty as a Solo Artist
Why K-Pop Star Chung Ha Washes Her Face Three Times Every Night
Now, watch Hayley Kiyoko try nine things she's never done before:
