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There’s a sci-fi “Hansel and Gretel” theme happening in Megan Thee Stallion’s just-dropped music video “Sweetest Pie,” which she and Dua Lipa have been teasing on Instagram for weeks. Directed by Dave Meyers and concepted by the Houston-born rapper herself, unsuspecting dudes are lured into the pair’s lair within a mystical forest (where even the trees are shaped like voluptuous bodies) and soon find themselves snacking on sweets, sitting in a cauldron-style hot tub, and traveling through increasingly eerie settings that relay a darkly femme-powered theme. And while each scene relies heavily on visual effects (a doorway of legs, the silhouette of a spider crawling—*shudder*—under Dua Lipa’s right cheek, flames shooting from palms), Megan Thee Stallion’s makeup transformations were very real.
“It was in a really huge Los Angeles warehouse with each individual set built into it, and we’d move around in it all day catching the looks,” says makeup artist Lauren Elise Child of working with Megan on makeup swaps in front of the green screens. They met a little over a year ago on set for the rapper’s “Thot Shit” video and soon created the “old-Hollywood glamour” makeup for Megan Thee Stallion’s first Met Gala. Now, as the rapper is “coming into a new era,” they’ve hit their groove. Even with the moody material, the atmosphere on set for “Sweetest Pie” stayed light. “Working with Meg always feels like a family—we get our work done, but it’s laid back,” says Child. “She’ll be twerking in the trailer, and Dua’s super nice—we’re all joking around.”
For each of Megan Thee Stallion’s five eye-popping looks required for “Sweetest Pie,” there was a collaborative spirit leading up to the shoot. “Meg knows what she likes, but she gives her team a lot of creative freedom,” says Child of brainstorming together and pinning up inspiration images that ranged from Pat McGrath runway makeup to Instagram-viral looks from artists like Ana Takahashi. It was all tweaked to Megan Thee Stallion’s style, like in an early scene where she wears a black latex outfit along with her signature graphic crease-cut eyes and high-beam skin. Next, she’s draped in fuschia rouge (a first, since Child notes that historically “she’s not down with blush”) and frothy, rainbow-sprinkled hair styled by Kellon Deryck with confectionary nails by Coca Michelle to fit the Marie Antoinette “let them eat cake” theme. For an emerald-encrusted golden bodysuit, “I used this really pretty oil-based rose spray from Revlon on her face and body—it gave her this glowy look, and it also smells good,” Child says.
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There’s a moisture-locking prep method they’ve perfected, too: “I like her skin to be really hydrated before makeup and start off with a basic Sephora coconut sheet mask,” says Child. “Then, I always use Embryolisse moisturizing cream—it works so well on her—and Laneige sleeping mask on lips.” While the makeup artist occasionally relies on gentle Bioderma micellar water for a quick change, she typically builds from one look to the next. In the final scene, “she’s floating in the air with sculpted diamond hair, and we did a halo-smokey eye on her to reflect the snake she’s underneath,” says Child of channeling a cobra-esque gaze with the help of Megan Thee Stallion’s namesake Revlon palette, Colorstay eyeliner and plenty of mascara. Plus, “she loves a big lash, and Lilly Lashes “So Extra” Mykonos are really good because you can reuse them a million times,” says Child, who will take them back to clean and repurpose on the rare occasions that Megan Thee Stallion asks for a clean sweep after shooting.
“She always leaves set with her makeup on,” says Child of appreciating the fact that her art is kept intact. “And she always does her own brows.” This project was a milestone for their creative working relationship, Child adds. “It was really fun for her to come to me and ask ‘What do you think I should do? What kind of makeup looks do you think I should try out?’” Child shares. “Having that trust—you can’t ask for more as an artist.”
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