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“What if Paris Hilton and James St. James or Walt Cassidy became one and put on a drag show?” That’s what pop singer Chappell Roan muses to me before her weekend one Coachella set. It’s the inspiration for her over-the-top glam, which was painted by opulent makeup artist extraordinaire Donni Davy. “Donni’s beauty looks are very up my alley and her brand, Half Magic, was the first to take me seriously as an artist. It meant a lot that they believed in me, so it is so cool to have Donni do this, it feels very full circle.”
This is not only Roan’s first-ever Coachella as both a performer and attendee—it’s the first time she’s ever performed at a festival, period. “To be playing Coachella as my first festival is surreal. I can’t believe it. I’ve always heard of it growing up, but I genuinely have no idea what to expect…except to have fun.”
Having fun is something Roan is known for. Her concerts are filled with choreographed dances—with her grandparents included!—to singles like “Hot to Go!” and slumber party album release parties.
The beauty look—a true collaboration between Roan and Davy—took three hours of careful painting to fully complete. “Chappell creates really strong themes for each of her performances, and [her stylist] Genesis provided a detailed mood board so that I could design a highly stylized big glam look to punctuate the theme,” Davy says. “There’s nothing I love more than bringing a narrative, vibe, or sentiment to life through makeup. I printed out 10 copies of Chappell’s face and sketched 10 ideas directly onto those photos and ended showing her just two of them. Once we finally met in person for the first time, we got right to work planning the details of the look.”
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To get Roan's signature Drag-inspired look, Davy used the HAUS LABS Triclone Skin Tech foundation in shade 000 Fair. From there, the makeup artist added in details that paid homage to beauty icons like Boy George, punks from the ’80s, and drag queen Violet Chachki. “My favorite parts of this look are the line of rhinestones on Chappell's lower lashes. I used Half Magic’s self-adhesive Face Gems. I painted her lashes white so they disappeared and then redrew a fake lower lash line one fourth of an inch below her real lash line which I then lined with fake lashes. Her eyes looked almost cartoon, but super elevated.”
The end result is something, well, magical. “Beauty isn’t everything. It’s the only thing,” Roan says. “I wish I made that up.”
Before she hit the Gobi Stage, Roan shares she does have one small tradition. “I do knock on wood. I don't even care if it's actually wood!” And she’s off.
