Betty Who’s Iconic Short Haircut Has Nothing to Do With Her Queerness — Interview
“I love Oribe; they have a fortifying serum that I put in my hair every day. And then there is Bed Head… I really love their texture paste. That’s what’s always giving me this [wet-looking texture].” And because her hair has been consistently bleached for a decade straight, Betty’s always working with some kind of deep-conditioning treatment, namely Moroccanoil’s Smoothing Mask.
Though she once frequently wore punchy eye makeup and a bold red or pink lip, these days Betty’s mostly focused on “looking like myself” and “serving skin and brow” (and doing a damn good job at it). Though she loves being catered to by a glam squad and expressing herself through makeup artistry, she no longer cares for makeup that makes her look like a completely different person.
“I don’t want to be under 75 minutes worth of hair and makeup that I did to myself. I think I’m readjusting the way that I like to be seen out in the world instead of feeling like I’m hiding behind it,” she explains. “Now I’m using makeup to enhance the person I already am and be like, yeah, this is actually my face. Here it is.”
As for skin prep, Betty is “obsessed” with a handful of Dr. Dennis Gross products, the first being its Alpha Beta Daily Universal Peel, which she only uses once or twice a week because the exfoliating alpha and beta hydroxy acids it contains can cause dryness and irritation when overused, according to dermatologists.
“If you’re a very intense, excessive person, stay away from the peel pads,” she laughs. The second skin-care product she can’t live without is the brand’s Hyaluronic Marine Moisture Cushion, which she uses as a night cream. “I break out if I put oil on my face, so I have to use oil-free everything,” Betty explains. “[This] makes me feel like I’m doing the like sleeping-moisturizing thing without feeling like I’m clogging my pores.”
That’s about as expensive as Betty’s beauty routine gets. “I love a $12 product when it’s right.” She leans on affordable makeup staples like CoverGirl LashBlast Volume Mascara, Glossier’s Cloud Paint, and Glossier’s Boy Brow (“the ultimate”). The only exception? Charlotte Tilbury Lip Cheat Lip Liner in Pillow Talk. “It is the color of my mouth — it is crazy. I know that everybody says it’s the perfect nude, but I’ve never seen anything like it,” she says. “I’ve gone through, like, four of those lip liners in the last six months.”
This grandeur journey of self-acceptance couldn’t have come at a better point in Betty’s life, considering she’s about to make the jump from stage performer to television host with Prime Video’s reality dating series, The One That Got Away, streaming June 24. The series, which connects real-life individuals with old flames, definitely forced Betty out of her beauty comfort zone — that comfort zone being bright, bold, dramatic stage makeup.