The rap industry looks a lot different than it did a decade ago, and thanks to women like Rico Nasty, it'll never be the same again. After being expelled from her affluent boarding school for smoking weed and becoming a teen mom at only 18 years old, Rico had no clue what was in store for her life. Little did she know, her life would one-day be comprised of NYFW runways, mosh pits, and a whole lot of empowerment. Rico Nasty, born Maria Kelly, is the epitome of electric and her makeup routine keeps that same energy.
For Rico, there are no limits, and this is a mantra that is consistently reflected in both her music and her electrifying beauty regime. In a makeup tutorial for Vogue, the punk rock rapper revealed that she only became interested in the makeup world after becoming a mom at only 18 years old:
"I started doing my own makeup when I found out that I was pregnant. 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."
Rico said that for her, makeup is a form of therapy that she's cultivated over the years by studying influencers like Makeupmouse, Sonjdradeluxe, and Alissa Ashley, and making well-known application techniques her own.
"Makeup became a way that I could relax and meditate before a show. I never knew how much I needed that. I watch a lot of makeup tutorials. I like Makeupmouse—I think she's in London—Sonjdradeluxe, Alissa Ashley. There's this girl on Instagram called Melovemealot, and I like her stuff, too. I grab inspo from them, but they've also taught me about making the face what you want."
When it comes to beauty, there is no boundary Rico won't cross, even if that means shaving off her eyebrows to create a fresh canvas:
"Fun fact: I shaved my eyebrows so that I can make them go any direction that I want."
From her bold platinum eyebrows to her edgy and eclectic style, Rico Nasty is the punk rock goddess that lives inside of us all, but according to her, some of her craziest looks have evolved out of a desire to fall in love with her flaws, one of which includes her eyelids (or lack thereof):
"Sometimes I feel like it draws away from the real shit that I'm insecure about. For me, that's probably my nose and my eyelids—once I started doing makeup, I wished I had bigger eyelids. I know, it's fucking weird. But my best friend has eyelids like Cher—the sunken in kind—and it's like a big canvas. With makeup, I can get bigger lids. The more I've gotten into it, the more I learn that it's about whatever makes you comfortable."
Rico recently sat down with Into The Gloss and gave us the details on all her favorite beauty products. Here's what we learned:
Bioderma Micellar Water
"To take off my makeup I've been using Bioderma, the micellar water. Then I use the Bioderma serum—it's like a gel, and it's clear. I feel like it's a drink of water for my skin. After that, I'll put on the lotion version of it to seal everything."
TONYMOLY Panda's Dream Rose Oil Moisture Stick
"If I have two shows in a row and I've been sweating, it might cause a couple bumps that makeup won't sit right on. I put the rose oil where I get dry, and then put foundation over it. It's so bomb."
BLK/OPL TRUE COLOR® Skin Perfecting Stick Foundation SPF 15
kasha-assets-production.s3.amazonaws.com
"I was using Huda Beauty foundation for the majority of the summer, but now my skin has gotten a little bit darker, so I'm using Black Opal stick foundation."
Rude Cosmetics Mimosa Highlighter Palette
"A lot of times when I get palettes I only use one color, but with this one, I run the brush up and down, up and down the whole thing. If I'm going somewhere with my kid, I'm going to do a more natural glam."
To read her beauty routine in full, check out Rico Nasty's feature with ITG here.
Featured image via Giphy
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