Just a few weeks ago, Gracie Abrams completed a 38-night tour across the United States, Europe, and the United Kingdom in support of her sophomore album, The Secret of Us.
“Every night on the bus is kind of like a slumber party,” the queen of the bedroom pop genre tells me when we meet at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel (a legendary venue alleged to be haunted by both Montgomery Clift and Marilyn Monroe). “I definitely have sweet memories of sleepovers. Going to your friend’s house and seeing what they have in their bathroom, what shampoo they use, what face mask they have. The nail polish of it all!”
Today, we’re swapping beauty secrets like teens going through each other’s bathroom cabinets in honor of a big moment: Abrams is the new global brand partner of Hourglass Cosmetics. It’s actually a partnership that sprung from her time on tour, too: She did her own stage makeup for the concerts, starting with the Hourglass Vanish Airbrush Concealer.
“Tour was a good test,” Abrams says, who is known for intimate, emotionally invested moments at her shows—and has even shed tears mid-performance. “The concealer has passed with flying colours. Its formula is on the drier side, so it stays all day while still looking fresh and glowy. I also sweat through shows, and the product still sticks.”
Abrams has a bit of a signature beauty look—a soft sixties-esque cat eye, a smattering of freckles on blushing skin, and strong, full eyebrows. And we can’t forget the iconic sharp bob.
“My favourite thing is fresh skin, a full brow, and blush,” she says, sharing that her go-to products for the look include Veil Hydrating Skin Tint and Vanish Airbrush Pressed Powder in Translucent. “I really love my freckles, especially when the sun comes out, they come out hardcore. One of the reasons I love the skin tint is because you can still see your spots. I like to embrace that. With SPF!”
For Abrams and her band, going on tour is more than concerts—it’s a culinary delight. “It’s also a food tour for all of us,” she says. “We eat as much as we can everywhere. So our rider is kind of constantly evolving. I feel like mine is kind of basic. It’s like, bananas, and the kinds of things that just keep you from feeling dead inside.” She’s also obsessed with the wellness trend of electrolytes. “I’m a freak about it,” Abrams emphasises, “Everyone gets the plague on tour.” Ginger chews for motion sickness are also a necessity.
Through sickness and in health, these moments bring the band closer. “The best I feel on tour is when we all as a band and crew get to spend time together,” she says. “Whenever that happens, everyone is in tears laughing. And I genuinely know it’s corny, but I do feel like that is the best medicine when you’re homesick, exhausted, or literally sick. It’s really lucky to have the people that I do around me on the road. If it were any other group of people, I don’t know that I would be able to do it.”
But when it comes to her glam, inspiration comes from off-stage, literally. “I have the privilege of getting to look out into these crowds of people that are so gorgeous as they are,” she says. “And I feel like I get a lot of inspiration about how to show up, just based on the way that they do.”
This story was originally published on Vogue.com.
