Issa Rae’s Guide to Dry Skin Care and In-Office Makeup

“I would say the best advice I’ve gotten has been like what’s meant for you will be yours,” Issa Rae admits. “That really gets me through times when I’m just like down on myself. When something is mine and I’m ready for it, then I’m out here, baby.” Safe to say, this certainly feels like Rae’s season to shine. 

The star, who catapulted to fame following the success of her Awkward Black Girl YouTube series and the Emmy-nominated HBO show Insecure, will be gracing our screens a few times this summer. She plays Jessica Drew (a.k.a. Spider-Woman) in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, as well as the President in Greta Gerwig’s long-awaited Barbie movie. Off-screen, the second season of her HBO Max comedy series, Rap Sh!t, airs August 10. With such a packed schedule, you might wonder how Rae stays grounded enough to show up as a creator and leader. The answer, in part, is her beauty routine that she walks us through today. Here, she details her everyday skin-care regimen and go-to office makeup look. 

Rae is a self-proclaimed morning person—or a “5 a.m. girl” as she puts it, prioritizing a workout to start her day. “And then this is where you find me—[doing] my skin-care routine.” Ironically enough, her daytime ritual actually begins the night before. “There’s no morning routine without my [Olehenriksen] Dewtopia,” she says. “I have not had a pimple in a year and a half since using this—even period pimples.” Come morning, she removes traces of the PHA/AHA-powered treatment with a Cetaphil cleanser moments before applying a veil of Vaseline to her lips and soothing oil to her scalp. “I do this in the mirror, but I feel so vulnerable doing it in front of y’all,” she says, massaging in Dr. Barbara Sturm’s moisturizer for darker skin tones. “But it’s Vogue, and when Vogue calls, you pick up.” A touch of eye cream, sunscreen, and Tata Harper face oil round out her skin prep. 

“Am I a makeup artist? No. Have I done this before? No. You asked for this shit; you clicked on the video. Alright?” With that disclaimer out the way, she begins by evening her complexion with Shiseido’s foundation ahead of NARS concealer and Fenty Beauty loose powder. “Bronzer really helps with that glowy look,” she says, working a Prime Beauty pigment along her forehead, cheek, and chin in the shape of a three (a technique she picked up from a makeup artist). The bronzer provides a glowing accent to her eyes as well, layered beneath an About-Face copper hue. After applying liquid liner and mascara with precision, she opts for a vibrant purple blush. MAC’s lip liner in Chestnut and Sigma Beauty gloss create the perfect complement to her bronzed visage. Spritzing on Chanel N°5 Eau Première Spray, she’s ready to go. “This is President Barbie signing out,” she says. “Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.”