Laufey's Simple Skincare Routine, Hormonal Acne, and Makeup as "Painting Yourself"

A Minimal Skincare Base

The routine starts with a cleanser, the CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser, worked over the whole face. Next comes CeraVe PM Facial Moisturizing Lotion. Laufey points out that despite the name, they use it in the morning too.

Laufey explains that acne arrived late. It didn't show up until their 20s, and it was largely hormonal. That experience pushed them to think more about "the internal" and how to take care of the body overall, which they feel has fed into the condition of their skin. Asked about priorities, Laufey names sleep as one of the most important skincare steps.

Touring, Flights, and a Dermatologist's Recommendation

At the time of filming, Laufey says their skin was "freaking out." They had just been in the desert, were now in Los Angeles, were in the middle of a tour, and were flying several times a week, so their skin "doesn't know what to do." For this, a dermatologist recommended Tower 28 SOS spray, which Laufey says they have come to love. They use it after every flight and whenever they get a moment, either over makeup or over skincare.

Self-Care and Icelandic Wellness Culture

Laufey says one thing they didn't do enough of growing up is self-care, and recently they have been enjoying eye patches. The pair they use is from an Icelandic brand, and they say it always feels good to use something from home. The jar is hard to open because their hands are covered in moisturizer, which gets a laugh.

The Icelandic product leads into a reflection on Icelandic women and beauty. Laufey associates them with natural beauty and explains that the extreme weather means you have to take good care of your skin. In their description, Iceland is a wellness society, with lots of saunas and steam rooms. They also mention the Blue Lagoon and the silica mud people put on their skin there.

A Candle, a Lucky Number, and Lip Balm

Laufey treats lighting a candle as a skincare step, joking that as a Taurus they have to be cozy. The candle is from the Icelandic brand Fischersund. Laufey says they hoard Icelandic candles because they "yearn for the smell of home." This one is number 23, which is also their lucky number.

The final skincare step is a lip balm Laufey has used since high school. Growing up, they hated having anything on their lips. This balm was the first they could tolerate because it is so minty, almost "spicy," that it masks the sensation of having something on the lips.

Makeup Bag Habits and Foundation

Laufey keeps makeup in a plain plastic bag that came about while transferring things between bags. They like that everything is visible, and when the bag gets dirty they swap it for a new one. The current one is messy because a pencil sharpener exploded inside it.

For foundation, Laufey uses a Westman Atelier foundation stick in shade four. That prompts an aside about numbers in Chinese culture: four is very unlucky because it sounds like the word for death, though Laufey tells viewers not to be scared of it. Eight is very lucky, they say, and whenever they see an eight they feel something good is about to happen.

Icelandic, Chinese, and Western Makeup Styles

Laufey compares beauty cultures. In their view, Icelandic makeup trends mostly follow American ones, while Chinese makeup has its own distinct trends and products. They find it funny that using more Chinese or Asian techniques makes them look more Asian, and using Western makeup makes them look more white. They describe being "in the middle," able to skew either way, with makeup as a tool for that.

Eyebrows: Late Start, Painful Lesson

Laufey didn't touch their eyebrows until about age 20, afraid that once they started they wouldn't be able to stop. They had their brows professionally done for the first time only a couple of months before filming and were surprised by how painful it was. "No one tells you," they say. Getting brows tweezed, for them, is the clearest case of "beauty is pain." Day to day, they do very little and prefer a natural, brushed-up brow.

The Music Video and Asian Representation

Laufey talks about a recent music video whose makeup looks were 1960s-inspired, including eyeliner drawn over the top of the lid. They enjoyed it because they don't usually get to play with styles like that. The video featured Laufey alongside Alysa Liu, Lola Tung, Megan (as transcribed), KATSEYE, and Hudson Williams.

Laufey says Asian faces are rarely seen in those styles of makeup, and they thought it was "so cool" to see. Much of the crew, including the glam team, was Asian. Being part of a community like that matters to them, especially since they didn't have it growing up. The idea behind the video, Laufey explains, was that these are people they sometimes get mixed up with, so it seemed funny to put everyone in one video. They describe the shoot day as their "dream day."

Laufey also credits their twin sister, Junia, who works as their creative director and makes sure hair, makeup, and story fit together.

Eyeshadow, Family, and Doing Show Makeup

For eyes, Laufey uses a palette they accidentally took from their mom and now don't want to give back. They put a light brown in the crease and add a shimmery shade on the lid "when I want to have fun." Their parents still live in Iceland. Laufey says they miss them and home every day, though the candle makes the room smell a little like home.

Laufey did their own makeup for shows until this tour. They stopped because they couldn't make it last, and it would melt off by the end of the night.

Blush, Mozart, Mascara, and a TikTok Lip Liner

Next comes a Chanel product that Laufey describes as a mix of blush and bronzer, brushed onto the cheeks for a "sunkissed" look. They like to get ready to classical music, especially Mozart piano sonatas, joking that "a little bit of Mozart in the morning goes crazy." For mascara they use Ilia Limitless Lash, including a little on the lower lashes.

The lip liner came from TikTok. Laufey's sister found it there and Laufey took it from her. They admit they don't really know what they're doing with it and just do a light outline.

On TikTok and Owning Success With an Audience

TikTok leads to a reflection on Laufey's career. Whenever one of their songs blows up there, they're baffled. Their sound draws on the past, while TikTok is "so new, so young." Laufey says they're "happily shocked," because it means young people are listening to the music Laufey loves.

Laufey says they loved growing an audience on social media and feels they and the fans "own this success together." Now, looking out at arena crowds of tens of thousands, they don't feel like they're facing strangers. It feels like a group of people they know, who they're confident have already accepted them.

Makeup as Painting

The last products are a favorite multi-use color, which Laufey puts on the lips for a flush and sometimes on the cheeks, and a final product tapped on with a finger. Laufey shares a saying (garbled in the transcript) that they translate as "to paint myself." They find the idea beautiful: the face is a canvas, and doing makeup feels like painting.

Laufey admits they may have overdone the final step, calling it part of doing makeup: sometimes you add too much and have to tone it down. Remarking that the result looks "kind of intense," they call it the final look and close the session.