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The first takeaway from Atlantan rapper Mulatto’s beauty routine? Products appear infinitely more eye-catching when handled by fingers boasting an extended candy-coated manicure. And a close second: For a signature beauty look, precision is key. “I’ve been playing in makeup and, like, wearing makeup since fifth grade—so the earlier you start, the more you know,” she says. “Makeup is about experience. You don’t just wake up knowing how to ‘fleek’ your face.”
“I used to do my own makeup for all my shows because I’m so picky with my face,” says Mulatto, who kicks off her morning routine with a fresh, exfoliated complexion courtesy of Murad Acne Control Clarifying Cleanser applied with a damp washcloth. A spritz of vitamin C–infused toner and several drops of Kiehl’s Midnight Recovery Concentrate are followed with moisturizer and primer, the better to protect skin, in Mulatto’s words, at all costs. “Quarantine kind of saved my skin—I had time to, you know, backpedal and get it together,” she says. “But when I be having shows back-to-back, and photo shoots, and music videos, all that stuff, my skin be like, ‘Help me!’”
“Being a part of this whole female rap movement, wave, whatever you want to call it, is so cool,” says the rapper, who last year made a cameo in Cardi B’s instantly iconic “WAP” music video. “You’ve got so many of us. There’s like, different skin tones, different aesthetic, different accents, just like, a whole different style.” For her part, Mulatto’s look centers on a menu of sky-skimming lashes, high-gloss pouts, and wigs, those worn over healthy honeyed lengths. “When I be wearing wigs—it’s really a productive style,” says Mulatto. “So when they be like, ‘Dang, how you get your hair so long?’ it’s really from wearing wigs.” For an everyday look, the rapper pulls her natural mane into a sleek midi ponytail, turning her attention to her edges with the help of Eco Style Professional Olive Styling Gel and an edge brush.
Another example of said attention? The brows. After underlining each brow with Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz, Mulatto blends the color up with a spoolie, the better to avoid harsh lines. “This is probably the most tedious process of the whole makeup routine for real, because I don’t play about my brows, child,” she says, painstakingly outlining each brow in concealer for a hyper-defined, angular approach. An allover brushing of foundation is followed by brightening concealer, with a darker shade of the same product acting as contour, dotted along the forehead and nose and pulled along the cheekbones before a thorough blend. The look is baked with translucent powder, brushings of bronzer applied over the contoured areas for a bit of extra definition. A fluffy brush to remove the powder, followed by a pull of highlighter, completes the well-honed moment—save for an application of pearlescent pink lip gloss. “Any lip gloss is fine,” says Mulatto. “Just make sure you put on your lip gloss before you walk out the house.”
