ES Insider Newsletter The hottest luxury and A List news Enter your email address Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid You already have an account. Please log in Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive updates on cool openings and celebrity lifestyle news every week, by email Update newsletter preferences

There are few artists who put on a show quite like Kacey Musgraves - something which celebrity makeup artist Moani Lee confirms is intentional, and not without quite a bit of work from Musgraves and her team.

That team includes Lee (who has become the go-to beauty guru for country stars like Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris) stylist Erica Cloud and hairstylist Giovanni Delgado.

The trio has been working with Musgraves for more than a year, from her tour to red carpets, and most recently, the singer’s Amazon Christmas special.

“Kacey is so particular, in the best way possible, about the full 360 experience of her artistry,” Lee says. “It's definitely rooted in her songwriting and her music, but it translates into the visual aspects of her show choices down to the clothing, makeup, and hair."

The 'Slow Burn' singer's meticulous approach is clear from her concerts to her red carpet appearances - take, for example, her Moschino Barbie look at the 2019 Met Gala that included not only blonde hair and a bright pink lip but also an arrival in a pink Corvette.

No matter what the mood has called for, Lee always gets it right, nailing classic beauty looks while dreaming up entirely new trends (often involving glitter). Here’s a look at how she does it, and some of the secrets behind Kacey’s most memorable makeup moments.

On putting together The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show

“This was filmed during Kacey's tour, so she had just finished Lollapalooza in Chicago. We flew to LA, went straight into rehearsal and filmed for about a week, then the next day, we were in San Francisco to do Outside Lands. There were a lot of other people involved, like the dancers who needed to have their time and space to choreograph and incorporate Kacey. I think it forced the thought process, in a good way, to make time-sensitive choices about her makeup that would be impactful but transition quickly.”

(Musgraves singing ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ with Lee’s perfect red lip for The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show)

Creating Kacey’s perfect red lip for ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’

“I started with two lip liners, the Pat McGrath Labs Permagel Ultra Lip Pencil in Manhattan and Major Red, because I really wanted to create depth and dimension. A lot of times with the camera, we have to create a three-dimensional feeling because depending on the lighting, it can look flat. I tended to use the darker liner around the inner corners where you smile, blending it up along the line with a lip brush. Then I used the brighter liner through the top and through the center of the lower lip.

For the lipstick, I used Pat McGrath Labs MatteTrance Lipstick in Forbidden Love. It’s this beautiful poppy red that really kicks. I often find that I struggle with matte lipsticks in the textures because they tend to be too dry and get that cracked look throughout the day. Pat’s lipsticks don’t do that, they stay that juicy, velvet matte.”

(Dewy skin at the Chanel No. 5 in the Snow event in NYC)

What to pair it with

“I love a bold lip with a completely bare face - I think it's so sophisticated and chic to balance understated with a bold choice. A tip is to make sure your skin is beautifully hydrated with a rich face mask such as Dr Jart+ Soothing Hydra Solution and exfoliate your lips well. I love Ilia's Lip Exfoliator Balmy Nights followed by Ilia's Lip Conditioner in Balmy Days. Keep your skin fresh with concealer tapped in where needed and skip powder if possible. I love to tap RMS Beauty Living Luminizer on eyelids for a dewy, fresh eye, and finish off with one to two coats of mascara.”

Drawing inspiration

“The creative conversations we have as a team are so important. My references are drawn from so many things depending on the mood of the piece we’re doing with Kacey. Sometimes we’ll pull up swipes from nature, like the color of fish scales or something we might have seen in the desert, such as the color and layers of sandstone. We’ll even reference texture or a painting or a photographer, like Richard Avedon, to pull more of a mood. We often look at iconic references from Sophia Loren, Monica Bellucci and Cher.”

What’s in her makeup kit

“I travel with three suitcases of makeup alone, and I keep a mental Rolodex of what's in there in order to have everything at my fingertips and pull out ideas I may have already come up with.

For instance, I had created this really beautiful, almost laser-cut bright blue eyeliner that was sitting in my kit for months just waiting for the right moment. It was made of this thick - almost palettes of glitter, and I had preloaded it onto this mesh-like material so that it would be an easy application when the time came. When Kacey was in Nashville this spring, I saw that she was wearing this great jumper that had shocks of blue in it, and I thought it would be a cool opportunity for the liner. Once the lights came on, it almost looked like lasers were shooting out of her eyes, and throughout the entire performance, it was really catching light in the most beautiful way.”

​

(Musgraves sporting her signature glitter for the Oh, What A World Tour)

Getting (more) glittery

“I came from the editorial world, so exploring products and ways to use things has always been a fascinating process for me. I have to say that Kacey was probably one of the few clients of mine that was into glitter. I don’t know where it started for her, but it’s been fun to play with a range of textures and shine. I think the stage is a wonderful platform to toy with some extremes because when you're in an arena with 20,000 people or more, the dimension of what you see on stage can be made more dramatic - you have a little bit more room to push the elements.”

All the ways to wear glitter

“For Kacey’s recent 'Glittery' performance on Fallon, she wore a sparkly green suit that I wanted to pair with this sheen, rather than an expected all-over glittery look. I used this extremely fine jet-milled glitter in order to create that and just pressed that on. Then we’ve done stronger glitter shadow that you can try with NYX Professional Glitter Makeup, using a glitter primer first to help with the product staying and preventing major fallout.

(Musgraves wearing one of Lee’s rhinestone creations for the Oh, What A World Tour)

Rhinestones are also a fun way to add a playful touch of light to the eyes. You can choose your favorite Swarovski crystals and use clear eyelash glue to apply in whatever formation feels exciting to you. Sometimes just one or two added to the inner corner of your eye can be so subtle and fun.”