R&B Artist Maeta on Touring, Beauty Hacks, and Doing Her Own Hair and Makeup

Listening to any song off her latest EP, When I Hear Your Name, makes one thing instantly clear: R&B artist Maeta is a music icon in the making. Scrolling through her Instagram shows she’s a burgeoning beauty icon too. Everything from her cherry cola-esque lips to her bronze, sculpted eye shadow says so. 

Maeta set out on tour in August. Ever since, she’s been traveling constantly and performing on different stages in different cities, and all the while, she’s been doing her own hair and makeup for each show. Impressive, right? In the midst of her busy schedule, we caught up with her to talk about all things beauty—including the drugstore products she loves, why brown eyeliner might be the most versatile product of all time, and how she keeps a hairstyle looking fresh for days on end. Ahead, get to know the music industry’s latest It girl.

Do you switch up your hair and makeup look, or do you keep it similar for each show? 

I’m so basic when it comes to my makeup. I do the same thing literally every time, but the hair has been different every show and so has the outfit. We’re kind of taking each show as it comes, so I won’t even know what I’m wearing until the day before. 

What is your go-to makeup look while on tour? 

I love a caked-up face. The foundation has to be full coverage. When it comes to eyes, I don’t like a lot of eye shadow on myself. I’m very simple. I like to do a bronzy, glowy shadow. And my go-to every time is a brown lip. I do a brown lip literally every single time I do my makeup. I can’t remember the last time I didn’t do a brown lip. 

Do you have a go-to product for a brown lip? 

I was using KKW [Beauty] for a while, but Makeup Revolution has a really good one. Right now, I’m using one that I get from my beauty supply store. It’s literally $2, and it’s so good. It’s the perfect brown. My secret is that I put concealer in the middle and cover it with a gloss so it does an ombré thing. 

Who or what inspires your hair and makeup looks, whether on tour or otherwise?

I usually just go on Pinterest. I have a hair board, and I’ll just go through that and find things that I’ve saved and try to do it. The other day, I was in New York, and I did a half-up, half-down with a bun on the top and two front pieces. I saw it on Pinterest the day before and went out and bought what I needed for it and tried it. It was good, but my hair is naturally curly, and I straightened it, and halfway through the show, it was the frizziest hair of all time. I find all my inspo on Pinterest. If I didn’t have it, I don’t know what I’d do.

I love that you use Pinterest. That’s what I do too.

Yes, it’s fun! Spending like 30 minutes to an hour on there just saving or making new boards is so fun.

How long do you normally spend on hair and makeup before a show? Do you work with a makeup artist and hairstylist?

I’m quick because I’ve been doing the same routine forever. I would say like 45 minutes. I always do my hair the day of and just keep it all day because that can be stressful, but for makeup, you can give me 25 minutes before I go on stage, and I’ll be fine. I do everything myself because I’m a control freak.

That’s impressive.

We fly in the day of the show, so it’s always a rush. I just know my routine.

What are your top five favorite long-lasting makeup products?

I don’t know if I have a top five, but I have a few things. I’m a drugstore girl. I rarely go to Sephora to buy makeup. Everything I get is from Target or CVS. I think baking is important. I use the Makeup Revolution Translucent Setting Powder. That’s so important; it’s my all-time favorite powder. I use that, and then I do a matte lip every time. I sing with the mic so close to my mouth. If I have a gloss on, it will be everywhere, so I never put a gloss on. I use setting spray, but I don’t know which setting spray is the best one. I think Patrick Starrr has a good one. … That stuff is incredible. I remember being really impressed by it.

Do you happen to have a favorite eyeliner or mascara?

I do love Dior palettes. They have such beautiful colors. Every time I use eye shadow, it’s almost always the Dior palette. For eyeliner, I stick to the drugstore. I’m using an E.l.f. brown liner.

Another trick is sometimes I’ll use an eyeliner for lip liner. I don’t know if that’s good for your lips, but it stays so long. … I’ll even use it to put little fake freckles on my face.

That’s a good trick, especially if it’s waterproof.

Yes, and my lip liner moves! If you know me, you know I’m always pulling out my phone and checking my lip liner. When I use eyeliner or even a brow pencil, those things just don’t move.

Let’s talk about hair products. What are your favorite products? Are there any styling products that you use to keep your hair in place?

I have a show tonight, and I did my hair this morning. I use Göt2b. It’s so good. There’s a tip my old hairstylist told me. If you spray your whole head with Got2b Göt2b spray and then dry it with a hair dryer on cool and low, it locks it in and stays all day. There have been times when I’ve worn my hair in a ponytail for two days, and it still looks fresh. People compliment me on that. So yeah, Göt2b—the glue and the spray.

Last but not least, what’s your favorite part of touring?

My favorite part is just being backstage with my team because we have so much fun and, honestly, just being onstage. I’ve never experienced people singing my songs back to me before this tour. I was thinking today about how excited I am to perform. I’m genuinely excited. … A little nervous but more excited.

Shop Maeta's On-Tour Beauty Edit