"I'm your favorite artist's favorite artist," Chappell Roan declared in a starmaking performance during Coachella's second weekend in April. Staring straight into the camera, the 26-year-old's black-lined eyes glittered beneath neon pink, rhinestone-dotted eyebrows.
In recent months, Roan has experienced an unusually steep ascent (according to one account, her monthly Spotify listeners have increased more than tenfold since the start of the year). Part of her wild popularity is due to her exuberant, drag-inspired style, which crystallized over that fateful Coachella weekend thanks to a serendipitous collaboration with Europhia head makuep artist Donni Davy.
Like Roan, Davy is known for her maximalist stylings. As the head makeup artist for Euphoria, she created the glam on Zendaya, Alexa Demie, and Hunter Schafer that launched a thousand glittering eyelids. Her makeup brand Half Magic only furthered her shimmering universe. The connection with Roan—initiated via cold DM—was just a little cosmic kismet. As it turned out, a bare-faced Roan had attended an event for Davy's makeup brand Half Magic—but Davy hadn't recognized her.
Their Coachella collaboration sparked a new fire in Davy, who is looking to grow her makeup empire beyond film and TV. Davy sat down with CULTURED to talk about "gateway makeup," beauty DNA, and the last remaining makeup faux pas.
CULTURED: Who taught you how to do your makeup?
Donni Davy: Growing up, I was never really a makeup girlie. Definitely not into makeup as self expression. Any makeup I did was to blend in and be prettier for the male gaze. I finally got to unlearn all that during the pandemic, which was after season one of Euphoria aired. I started [doing] more fun, experimental looks on myself. I was lucky because I had an audience where I could basically do no wrong. I needed that permission.
CULTURED: What was the gateway look?
Davy: Rhinestones everywhere. It was zero to 60 in one second. I’m like “Oh, the world is ready to see this makeup on people on TV, not just fashion runways but on real characters.” People can sink their teeth into that.
CULTURED: Euphoria last aired in February 2022, yet what you created is still in the zeitgeist. How does it feel to see your work emulated in this way?
Davy: My whole thing with that makeup was to inspire people to get out of trying to look a certain way for the male gaze. I was hoping it would be female gaze-driven—to break all these rules like, "over a certain age you shouldn’t wear glitter." Glitter and rhinestones are hitting the mainstream now more than ever. There’s always a several-year delay on trends. With Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, and now Chappell Roan concerts, people are showing up like, “Where are we getting the rhinestones and when are we putting them on?” It’s in the DNA of this era.
CULTURED: You’ve mentioned that while you’re not a household name, Euphoria is. Does having separation between you and Euphoria makeup allow you to experiment further?
Davy: It’s almost like a fun secret. I’m just so happy we haven’t reverted back to using makeup to blend in. Whether it’s working with Chappell or the editorial looks I’m doing on my platform—I want to keep teaching people to use the bright color shadow and glitter.
CULTURED: Your collaboration with Chappell Roan started when you slid into her DMs offering to do her Coachella makeup for free. What drew you to Chappell in the first place?
Davy: A few months ago, I was doing Dylan Mulvaney’s makeup, and she was like, “Donni, you have to listen to Chappell Roan.” Then our social media person on the Half Magic team was like, “Donni, she came to one of our Ulta in-store events.” Of course, she wasn’t in her Chappell Roan getup. I saw the Coachella lineup and DM'ed her: “Let me do your makeup and your whole band’s makeup. Let me come and do this moment with you.” I would print out a picture of her face from her Instagram with not a lot of makeup on and sketch on it. So much of it was decided at the last minute once I saw her in person. I could plan it out, go to sleep the night before, and it could 100% change.
CULTURED: How did you translate your on-screen makeup approach to performance makeup?
Davy: On camera for film and TV, all the tiny details matter so much. It’s the opposite for on stage. [Chappell] has her signature white painted face look; it’s basically theater makeup. [But] I still hyperfocus on those details. People were DMing me like, “I saw the makeup, and I knew it was you,” just from how I do the details. I loved every second of it. I could’ve been backstage during her performance, but I wanted to be in the audience so I could see how it looked from everyone else’s perspective.
CULTURED: With Euphoria, you kicked off an aesthetic. With Chappell, it feels like you kicked off her elevated era.
Davy: I’m not going to take credit for that. From weekend one to two, her Instagram following and songs on Spotify jumped enormously. That makeup was part of her first impression for a lot of current fans who found out about her at Coachella.
CULTURED: When you started Half Magic, what was it like translating your vision into products?
Davy: We made the decision early on to build the brand completely by the book so that when and if we had the opportunity to scale up, we’d be able to do so. I had to pivot from my neon dreams for part of our collection and go for more toned-down colors—although if you look at our lineup it’s not toned down at all. The other part was the packaging. I really wanted it to be whimsical and elevated. Each outer packaging has its own illustration, which is so exciting because usually packaging is all the same on the outside. That completely nails the whole fantasy. It’s beautiful, colorful chaos.
CULTURED: You’ve done collab kits for Priscilla and now you’re doing MaXXXine. What’s your favorite part of reinterpreting these films through makeup?
Davy: The Priscilla collab was a last-minute thing. A24, was like, “Hey, Sofia Coppola wants to do a makeup collab. Can we do one?” And we were like, “Oh my god." We packaged existing products to tell a story about the Priscilla wings and lashes. The MaXXXine one excites me because we worked with Sarah Rubano, who’s the makeup artist on all three films [in the Mia Goth-led horror trilogy]. That gives it such authority and authenticity.
CULTURED: Who do you look to for inspiration?
Davy: I am most inspired by the people on TikTok. Seeing young people empowered by the choices they’ve made with makeup, hair, and fashion is so inspiring. Even just being out and about and seeing a grungy kid with cool, green eyeliner.
CULTURED: Whose closet would you pull a Bling Ring for?
Davy: Julia Fox.
CULTURED: What’s the most overrated makeup product? Underrated?
Davy: I hate powder so much. I know it’s an unpopular opinion, but I don’t care. That’s what’s making your makeup look dry. Baked concealer is a crime for me. Underrated: Glitter.
CULTURED: Are there any more makeup faux pas?
Davy: The biggest faux pas if you’re a celebrity and you’re going to be on a red carpet is not doing something creative because your team is telling you to be more of the Hollywood glam type. I’ve met with actors and they’re like, “I do want to go crazy on the red carpet, but I’m always being convinced to play it safe.” What message is that sending to your audience? Inspire these young people looking up to you to be their true selves.
CULTURED: What’s next for you?
Davy: We are expanding Half Magic to an Australian retailer called Mecca. I’m hoping to do more creative editorial, branching out from TV and film. I’m really inspired to elevate young musicians, people just coming onto the scene who want to find their look. Not everyone needs to be drag inspired like Chappell Roan. There are so many ways to find a signature.
