BORROWED ART

Drag aesthetic has always been looked at as a seperate entity, but it's their make-up rules and techniques that have created the make-up face we wear today

- KONIKA DATTA

Think of all the pivotal moments in the world of make-up that pushed the industry forward, and it'll always be a celebrity or a social media creator whose name will be linked with it. For example, in the early aughts, Kim Kardashian went viral for teaching us about contouring, which would later go on to become one of the most popular categories for make-up, whereas her sister Kylie Jenner's name became synonymous with overlining lips. But it’s only when you trace history that you are introduced to the real masterminds behind these gamechanging techniques — drag queens. It was also them who devised the concepts of baking, shaving eyebrows, cut-creasing, and highlighting that shaped the make-up industry in ways that no fleeting micro trend could ever do. It was their rules and techniques, which, over time, trickled down to the mainstream beauty space and created a blueprint upon which today’s make-up aesthetic is built.

For decades, drag queens were seen as the outcasts of the beauty industry. Their make-up was considered to be too loud and too unrealistic for us. It was seen as a different entity altogether, but the fact of the matter is, there is drag in all of us — we may not realise it, but even your current make-up routine consists of trends and techniques borrowed from this art form. What would it take to give them this recognition and credit that they deserve and make them a part of the beauty community?

Light & Shadow