Tate McRae is well-versed in the reparative powers of a good serum—but it wasn’t always this way. “I am very new to skin care,” the 20-year-old admits. “I’ve basically just been using water my whole life.” However new she may be, Tate is now proficient in the art of cleansing, toning, and more, she’s now able to breeze through her newfound skin care routine and sun-kissed glam makeup look in minutes flat.
First things first: McRae applies Augustinus Bader’s serum, followed by rose-pink eye patches—“so I don’t look dead,” she quips. She breathes more life into her complexion with a jade roller. “I just do this to bring circulation back into my skin,” she says, adding that caring for her acne-prone complexion has been a priority for the past few months.
Now that she feels “a teensy bit more awake,” it’s time for Augustinus Bader face cream, which is just as rich as she likes it. McRae’s hometown of Calgary, Canada “is probably the driest place on earth,” she says. “You have to make sure you’re using a deep moisturizer.”
After sunscreen, lip balm, and face mist, McRae prepares to whiz right through the next phase of her beauty routine. “I can do my makeup on tour, with no mirror, in, like, six minutes,” she shares. Her first step? A little bronze, courtesy of Drunk Elephant’s illuminating drops.
McRae tops her sun-kissed glint with Chanel’s Les Beiges foundation, gratefully acknowledging its lightweight formulation. “I don’t like [foundation] to look too thick on my face,” she says. As she fluffs up her brows with Charlotte Tilbury’s gel and swirls bronzing powder onto her cheeks, she explains her songwriter origin story. “I had a big passion for poetry,” she shares. “When I was about six years old my grandpa got me a piano, and I realized you can sing your poetry.”
She’s also passionate about a fresh-off-the-beach glow. After dotting her T-zone with NARS’s creamy concealer, she dusts another coat of bronzer across the bridge of her nose. The technique “makes you look a little sun-kissed,” she says. “A lot of people do this with blush, but my makeup artist taught me to do this [with bronzer.] It’s one of my signature looks now.” After she starts to feel “a little glowy,” thanks to a few dabs of highlighter, the “Greedy” chanteuse picks up her YSL eyeshadow palette. “I’m gonna put a little shimmer at the front of my eye,” she says, dipping her brush into a glittery champagne hue. “I love a little sparkle sometimes.”