“I’m very much coming out of my character, coming back into me,” said FKA twigs.
The multifaceted talent — a singer, songwriter, dancer and actress — just wrapped filming Rupert Sanders’ “The Crow,” opposite Bill Skarsgård.
“Today has been really fun, because it’s the first time that I feel that I’m back to myself,” she added, backstage at a pop-up event for Viktor & Rolf in Los Angeles. She’s the face of the brand’s latest fragrance, Good Fortune.
Beauty is a transformative tool, whether it’s used for filmmaking to embody a role or preforming on stage as part of a persona. But it’s also deeply personal. Finding herself again, FKA twigs had on her “staple, go-tos,” in braids, a lined lip, strong brows and big lashes. Makeup artist Raoúl Alejandre was behind the look, keeping the skin fresh and glowing. “It’s what makes me feel good.”
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FKA twigs, born Tahliah Debrett Barnett, has had a beauty routine since she was a young teen, thanks to her mom; these days, at 34, her face is kept bare during the day (“not a scrap of makeup, not an inch, not a drop,” she said with a laugh), but for nights out, it’s done up.
“I love playing with makeup,” she said. “I love experimenting and having a good time, you know? I put on some techno and suddenly paint my face.”
When it comes to skin care, iS Clinical is a favorite, and she swears by Amala Beauty’s “Illuminating Pro-Retinoic Treatment Oil.” For hair and body, her shelves are full of organic, sustainably minded, family-owned goods. “You-can-eat-it level of products,” she said.
On the carpet, she’s playful; often donning different hair styles. And as a performer, she dives into the worlds she creates around her music.
“Throughout my different album eras there’s been very specific looks,” she said.
In the early days surrounding her debut releases, she often wore a bold lip, big doll-like eye makeup, with her baby hairs slicked and curled. Then came “Magdalene,” her second studio album. “It was romantic,” she said of the tour hair and makeup. Created with Daniel Sällström, the inspiration referenced Siouxsie and the Banshees, as well as “The Red Shoes,” a 1948 film that follows a ballerina (FKA twigs was one herself). Wearing braided cornrows, red lips, her brows feathered, the attention was put on the eyes: four streaks of crimson and black liner, white in between, more crimson on the brow bone and topped with gemstones.
“You know what? For me, makeup and hair is about reinvention, and I love also self-referencing,” she said. “So when I get lost, going back into the archives of things that I’ve done and pulling out elements is really fun.”