Chappell Roan is MAC’s new global ambassador: ‘It feels full circle’

Ever since she exploded onto the scene with lipstick-stained teeth and a detritus-strewn wig at her Tiny Desk concert, Chappell Roan has been one of the most exciting beauty icons of our time. Effortlessly blending elements from contemporary drag culture, clowncore exuberance and club kid counterculture – New Romantics meets Pre-Raphaelites, with a twist of the “ugly beauty” – she always brings the boldest, most experimental looks to her performances and works with the most exciting creative talents. 

It’s actually surprising, then, that she hadn’t been snatched up by a beauty brand – until now. What seems like one of the most natural and authentic collaborations in a long time, MAC Cosmetics has just announced Roan as its newest global brand ambassador. Beginning next year, she will star in MAC campaigns worldwide as well as partnering with the brand on “exclusive surprises and bold creative moments.” 

“Partnering with MAC feels full circle. This brand has always made space for people like me; since day one they’ve embraced art, queerness, drag and self-expression,” Roan said in a press release. She has previously worked with MAC on her 2024 VMAs look, her SNL look and her Grammys look this year. 

The appointment comes under the direction of MAC’s new global creative director, Nicola Formichetti. Having worked as Lady Gaga’s personal design director (as well as a stint as Dazed’s creative director), he’s no stranger to bold artistry and he says that it was the creative freedom and fearless self-expression of these ever-evolving looks – from her now signature white-faced, blue-eyed glamour to more extreme transformations like her sexy Statue of Liberty-inspired entirely green-skinned look – that drew MAC to Roan, as well as her advocacy.

“[Chappell] is one of the most exciting and powerful artists of this generation; a true creative force who uses beauty as a form of bold, emotional storytelling,” he says. “Chappell represents a generation that values authenticity, queer joy and fearless self-expression, which aligns perfectly with MAC and our mission of ‘All Ages, All Races, All Genders.’ Her love for her community, especially her commitment to LGBTQIA+ voices and rights, reflects the heart of what MAC has championed since the beginning. We're thrilled for everything we'll create together.”

For the first campaign, Roan was photographed by Inez & Vinoodh in a signature theatrical look including no eyebrows, her clown-white complexion and a Cool Teddy lip combo (the Silky Matte Lipstick in Cool Teddy and Stone lip pencil). Make-up artist Andrew Dahling, a longtime collaborator of Roan’s, says the look is a modern take on androgyny that feels powerful, graphic and unmistakably her. 

“I drew from film-noir monochrome and 1930s military references and then layered in her signature high glamour. The stark white base and erased brows created a clean canvas for sculpted dimension, while the eyes were built with cool greys and deep blacks to evoke a moody, cinematic intensity,” he says. To create the eye look, MAC’s Pro Longwear Paint Pot in Tailor Grey and Black Mirror were used with eyeshadow shades Carbon, Scene, Cozy Grey and Greystone, and eyeliner in the shade Feline. Glitter lashes were created using MAC lashes 76 Supermodel Lash and 80 Romantic Lash, with glitter in 3D Black and 3D silver added. “We finished with a custom chunky frosted-tip glitter lash that adds a playful, hyper-feminine contrast to the structure of the look, capturing the theatrical spirit Chappell brings to every transformation.”

It’s Dahling, and the rest of her beauty collaborators like Dee Carrion and Ali Scharf, that Roan credits with helping her build the ‘Chappell Roan’ persona, although at the beginning of her career when she couldn’t afford to pay a make-up artist she would do the looks herself. In an interview with MAC, she says that the team all have folders of images pulled from runways, fashion shoots, oil paintings, films and drag for inspiration. 

“Sometimes they will make a drawing or do the make-up on themselves so I can see it in real life. We build the look from there. It is always glam to the max, slightly haunting, a little weird, and gorgeous. I think there’s something so special about looking not just beautiful, but striking in a surreal way, while singing sparkly pop songs,” she says. “It’s giving David Lynch vibes for me. There’s always something in the back of my mind that is saying ‘is this bold enough for someone to make a Halloween costume out of it? Is this special enough for people to remember?’”

While Roan has experimented with a few neutral looks in the past, for fashion week shows in Paris for example, she says that type of aesthetic makes her feel “gorge” but not necessarily herself. “Whenever I don't have colour in a make-up look, I feel very naked,” she says. “I love blue and purple eyeshadows the most. My advice would be to try whatever you can/want, you can just wash it off if you hate it and no one ever has to know it happened. I had to lean into the recklessness and embarrassment of looking like a crayon box and that took a long time.”

For anyone looking to recreate the Roan look for themselves, she says that the key elements are glitter, colour and a white foundation for that classic theatrical club kid look. “A bright orange red lipstick that won't budge… or one that completely smears off onto your teeth. I usually do one or the other. A big lash and a beauty mark of some kind. It’s a formula that I stick to.”