Chappell Roan’s MUA Ali Scharf on how to recreate her bruised skater look

Divine, the Statue of Liberty, Tony Hawk? While we’ve become used to seeing Chappell Roan dressed to the nines in her most glamorous and extravagant outfits, at a show earlier this week Roan swapped out ballgowns for JNCO shorts and glitter for bruises, for a more low-key, skater-inspired look.

The Mid-Western princess took to the stage in Seattle looking like your typical fuckboy stoner-skater, sporting an oversized shirt, JNCO shorts and a whole lot of grunge. Gone was her signature white-faced, blue-eyed glamour, with dirt and scrapes taking its place. A 180 turn, no doubt, but it landed.

“We definitely wanted the glam to be slightly pared down compared to Chappell’s usual all-out drag inspired make-up,” says tour make-up artist Ali Scharf who was responsible for creating the look. “We went grungy and effortless, just-spent-a-day-at-the-skate-park chic. Cool toned shadow with a smoked-out black eyeliner, minimal coverage on the skin with a dewy finish and ample blush to mimic a sweaty, flushed look.”

Roan sported all the hallmarks of the skater archetype – think: bruises, scrapes and cuts. Looking like she fell off the half-pipe, the star also wore a bandaid on one elbow and athletic tape on the other. To create the illusion of the cuts, Scharf says she, “first laid down a wine-coloured eyeshadow followed by a red lipstick and a small tinge of black eyeshadow to create dimension. I topped the whole scar with a light layer of ‘vampire blood’ I got at a local halloween store ages ago. The way it dries down mimics the look of a scab.”

In true skater fashion, Roan’s neck was also marked with a conspicuous hickey, the pop princess’ own idea to play into the dishevelled nature of the look: “The hickey was created similarly. Purple eyeshadow, stippled with red lipstick in the centre and some blue and green shadow blended on the outskirts of the bruise,” Scharf explains.

It wasn’t just Roan who was rocking the skater look. Conceptualised as a collaboration between Roan, her stylist Genesis and Scharf, the show’s whole aesthetic paid homage to the Seattle 90s skate scene – an era defined by the sounds of Limp Bizkit and Pearl Jam, and the influence of skaters like Hawk and Mark Gonzales. The rest of the band also joined in on the theme, sporting greasy-wet look hair and various Thrasher and Spitfire attire.

Although a departure from her usual style, Chappell’s got the skater look down – she might lovebomb you and then ghost you, but maybe she’ll let you keep her Thrasher tee first. The look quickly made its way into TikTok fancams and edits. “SKATER CHAPPELL RUN ME OVER PLZ,” one X user wrote.