the beat: Girl Friday — The Grey Estates

Welcome to The Beat, a new TGE feature where our fave artists/bands/people give us tips on makeup! The most feature to ever me! Today we welcome Girl Friday, who just signed with Hardly Art!

Libby

Who knows. All I know is that I either try to look like I am about to walk into a conference room and fire the entire office OR I look like I haven't showered in days after making like Mowgli and calling a pack of Wildebeests my family.

On a normal day, I'll usually wash with my Zum Face bar, moisturize with Drunk Elephant's Marula Oil and haphazardly spray some rose witch hazel on my face. I'm Thayer's wench. I'll go with Stila Stay All Day Liquid Liner, Too Faced's Better Than Sex Mascara, and Benefit's eyebrow gel. For shows, I'm a huge fan of this NYX palette. I love using bright colors onstage. Performing, to me, is like the purest form of myself. I try to convey that in the brightest way possible because if you know me in the every day you would think I listened to Joy Division exactly once and now suddenly I have a tumblr. Does it make me confused that Elton John is my only fashion icon? Stage makeup (especially yellows and reds) makes me feel like a literal sun - like geez stop staring...After a long night, I love using Drunk Elephant's Glycolic Night Serum after I cleanse with Aesop's Parsley Seed Facial Cleanser. I'll then moisturize with Marula oil again... sigh that was exhausting. No sunscreen because I live on the edge. Also, most of my tatts are done by sick non-men whose art I truly admire and feel inspired by. Trying to let their energy seep into me everyday!

Vera

Black eyeliner: I’m here to tell you about beauty - I know lots about it and stuff. I could even have a YouTube channel if I wanted. Being a musician is very performative for me - like a second identity. I guess putting stuff on my face when I’m on stage helps with that. I’d like to look like a combination of Lou Reed, David Bowie, PJ Harvey + death - so that means lots of dark around my eyes. I suck at it so I simply try my best and who cares anyway! Who says you have to be good at stuff to do it? Eyeliner is also very similar to a pen so you can get nuts and draw all on your face.

Lipstick: I like lipstick cause you can put it on in two seconds and you suddenly look put together. My mum taught me that.

Moisturizer: You got to keep your face moisturized! You got to! I recently ran out and it’s as dry as a desert out here- pure hell I tell you what!

Tattoos: I have Patti Smith, Joni Mitchell and my Babcia tattooed on my arms. Their strength seeps into my pores and makes me feel strong! Tough! Ready to smash the patriarchy!

Sierra

Step 1: Shave off my eyebrows. Marilyn Manson does it and so can I. You would think I do more with the cleared space, but I usually prefer to do nothing and walk around like the glistening alien egg I am. Gird your loins re: my morning routine. I tend to go off. I am a s-l-u-t for Lush products (lots of vegan stuff! Recycled packaging! Not tested on animals! So kind!), so I use their Let the Good Times Roll cleanser in the mornings, and their Eau Roma Water toner next. Occasionally I get very fun vampiric dark circles under my eyes, so I give those suckers a cheeky dab with Lush’s Enchanted Eye Cream and then put their Full of Grace serum bar all over my face. Now it’s time for some ~argan oil~ - a drop or two on my whole face - and then I mix whatever facial moisturizers I have (Burt's Bees and Glossier at the moment) with some sunscreen to boot. Get into it! Protect yourself from those rays! How/if I end up doing my makeup really depends on how emo I’m feeling at the moment, and whether I feel masculine/feminine/neither/both. If it’s a particularly intense day I might do a Three Cheers-era My Chemical Romance red and/or black eyeshadow ring around my eyes. Or for shows, I like to draw tears on with liquid eyeliner or lipstick so when I inevitably do cry, it looks chic. Tattoo-wise, my first one was for My Chem (obviously), and I have two stick and pokes from my friend Angela. I'm (not-so-)accidentally turning my right arm into a shrine to me crying... one of them says "crybaby" and the other is a portrait of the very distraught child who graces the cover of Placebo's perfect first album. 3/4 of us have little GF tattoos too. Guess we can't break up now :/

Synopsis: the more catastrophic I look, the more powerful I feel.

Virginia

My face remained a blank canvas until my senior year of college when my roommates taught me that eyeliner and lipstick can be fun and easy wee! Since joining bands, my makeup skills have graduated from using my mom's concealer from the 90's to knowing that ColourPop exists. I'm a big fan of their Aeronaut Black Creme Lipstick and will whip it out whenever we're feeling a "goth prom" vibe. I also love me a good eye shadow (especially the glittered variety) and am currently living off their Zodiac palette. If I need a touch of intense color, I've started taking any good lipstick and applying it everywhere (as eye shadow, liner, blush, etc). I second using Lush products because they all smell amazing and make me feel luxurious. As of now, my body remains un-tattooed, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be completing the GF tattoo circle this year. ;)