Tiffany Day on How She Found a Creative Voice in Makeup
“Beauty is one of the only things I get to control.”
Long before she made her Boiler Room debut, Tiffany Day was just another kid on the internet posting YouTube covers of pop songs and watching Michelle Phan’s makeup tutorials. After moving to Los Angeles at only 18, the Kansas-raised artist traded the burned CDs she inherited from her immigrant parents for studio sessions. Now with her sophomore album HALO, Day has landed on the electronic pop sound she was in search of all along, although she says she sometimes has mixed feelings about how she got here.
“Somedays I’m really embarrassed of my online footprint, but other days I cut myself slack, because what I did was not an easy thing, and I also wouldn’t be where I am without the things I made. All I can say is that the passion of enjoying pop stayed within me,” she tells Hypebae. While fans today might associate the star with her signature blonde hair and bleached brows, both her visual identity and sound are the result of years of soul searching.
Transitioning from her first album to HALO, Day learned the hard way to always put her own desires above pleasing others. “HALO was really different from my first album because it was the first time I just stopped caring about what others thought. My first project was half electronic influenced, half pop, and I did it because I wanted to transition listeners into a more electronic sound. That didn’t work. They only liked the pop stuff, and I was miserable,” she says. Now, the artist describes her music as “an even blend of pop and some electronic music” that leans into the overall theme of “feeling alive.”
Just as she’s always had a passion for pop music, Day recalls beauty playing an equally integral role in her childhood, “Growing up, I would watch my mom put on her skincare before bed or put some blush on before dinner and I always thought it looked so fun.” After outgrowing her complicated relationship with makeup and its ability to feel like a chore rather than a hobby, the star says she’s found a creative voice in makeup, and it’s especially evident in how beauty details manifest into her world building as an artist.
To Day, beauty has evolved into a reflection of who she is on the inside. “Beauty is another fun way to express yourself. I’m at this point where I feel confident in both glam and nothing, but sometimes beauty is the nice cherry on top to make me feel like the baddest b-tch out there,” she explains. “I used to struggle with my visual identity, mainly because I feel like I’ve always been bright and bubbly and when I was younger, I was embarrassed for that to reflect in my visual identity. As the years went by, I slowly started loving and accepting those parts of me, and now I cannot imagine a world where I don’t share those with people.”
From the setting spray she’s used since high school to the eyeliner she says symbolizes her rebirth as an artist — ahead, Tiffany Day reveals all of her beauty essentials.
SKIN1004 Centella Sun Serum SPF50
“I don’t really remember who put me onto sunscreen but one day when I was 23, I thought, ‘What if I took really good care of my skin starting now?’ Then when I get older, all these b-tches would be really wrinkly and I would look like a baby. So, my skincare journey began with sunscreen. It’s my non negotiable even on a cloudy day, and it has become so ingrained into my routine that it’s just like making my bed — I cannot leave the house without doing it. This sunscreen in particular has been my holy grail for years, and it’s mainly because it doesn’t fully feel like thick gross sunscreen. It’s got a watery skincare feeling to it, and I have not bought another bottle of sunscreen since I started using this product. The Koreans just know how to do it.”
Dior Beauty Forever Skin Foundation Stick
“I hate using my hands to put on makeup. Knowing me, I touch a lot of things, and the worst is when I actually get makeup on something else that is not my face. I’ve been using this foundation for years now, and I like that you can really just, put that sh-t directly on your face. It’s amazing. I can’t go back to liquid foundation ever again.”
Urban Decay Setting Spray
“I’ve used this product for years, even before I started performing. When I was in high school, this was the school dance product before going out. I love this stuff. My makeup always stays so good with it. I’m not sure who put me on, but it was definitely
one of those classic YouTube makeup products from 2015. I was really tapped into beauty influencers back then, I’ve always loved watching makeup content ever since I could remember.”
Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeliner Pencil
“This one is maybe a bit newer, but I feel like this product resembles my rebirth in the last few years. I dyed my hair black because I had a roach infestation and was desperate for change, and then I had this weird moment where I realized, I never want to have black hair again in my life, and that I’m Tiffany F-cking Day. So then I dyed it blonde again and this time, I decided to bleach my eyebrows too. I had someone in my life tell me I would look stupid doing that, so I held off for the longest time. And then I was like, ‘Why am I listening to them? If I look stupid, then I’ll just let them grow back.’ I did it and instantly fell in love with how it made me feel. The only thing that was missing was a dark eyeliner. I ran to the store, bought a super dark brown eyeliner from Urban Decay, and the rest was history. It feels wrong now to not do a dark eye look with my makeup.”
Wonderskin Wonder Blading All-Day Lip Stain
“Also a newer addition to my routine, but I was unaware about lip stains for a while and now I feel like I can’t go back. I’m not a fan of glosses or lipsticks or anything sticky on my lips while I perform, mainly because my hair goes everywhere and constantly pulling it away from the stickiness on my lips is really annoying and gross. I guess, with a lip stain, you put that sh-t on, let it sit for a minute, and then wipe it off, and you’re just set. It’s amazing. I never have to worry again. I am the type of girl who likes beauty that is also really practical. I hate taking jewelry on and off, I hate reapplying, I just wanna do it once and let it stay there. Kinda like a Korean lash perm. You never have to curl your lashes. You just wake up looking like a f-cking fairy. Lip stains are such a hack.”
