Lil Cherry on Experimenting with Beauty, Photoshop, and Getting Into Character | Interview
Although she enjoys being a chameleon on stage, Lil Cherry is literally and figurately a stripped-back version of herself when she’s off the clock. For one, she usually doesn’t wear any makeup. (And she’s starting to get more into the au-naturel look for performances, too.) Throughout her life, her relationship with beauty has been complicated at times. “There are days when I might not feel as good about myself and what I see or what I think I see in the mirror,” Lil Cherry explains.
But Lil Cherry’s daring approach to hair and makeup has allowed her to redefine and reconcile what beauty truly means to her. “Beauty is also something that is up to you to make a fun thing by experimenting,” Lil Cherry continues. “Like when we make music, it’s always about bringing the fun back, and we want our fans to dance and enjoy our music. It’s a similar thing for beauty and the different makeup looks I do.”
And on another level, Lil Cherry has been playing around with her skin-care routine, too. Not only does this allow her to unwind and take care of herself in a very relaxing and mindful way but it also helps her address her skin concerns with care and compassion. “I actually have been struggling with adult acne for the past year and a half,” she says. “But recently, my skin got so much better because I changed one of my lotions. That actually gave me more confidence and made me feel like, okay, I don’t even need much makeup right now.”
The magical lotion in question is Milk Skin from the Korean beauty brand Tirtir. It has a creamy foam consistency that keeps Lil Cherry’s complexion ultra-soft and moisturized while doing a bit of exfoliation, she says. (After looking into it, I want to try it asap.) An intense three-step cleansing regimen — complete with an oil cleanser, makeup wipe, and a “special soap” before hopping in the shower — supplements it. She also often slaps on a cold sheet mask straight out of the fridge to depuff her face after a late-night performance.
Later in our interview, Lil Cherry tells me she wants to circle back to our skin conversation. Of course, I let her continue, and she takes this moment to have some refreshing transparency about her beauty journey. “To add on to the part about my skin, it doesn’t listen to me all the time,” she says. “But I would say really, thanks to Photoshop, my skin looks much clearer in some shoots than in real life — that’s something worth being honest about.”
Trusting the Process
As we wrap up, I take a moment of my own to acknowledge the amazing trust Lil Cherry has in the people she works with, including, but not limited to, her family. Several times during our interview, she even brought up how much she loves wearing pieces from her friend’s jewelry line called Melted Potato. Without missing a beat, she knows exactly how to honor their talents.