Halsey on New Music, Motherhood, and a New Beauty Product

Ashley Frangipane—better known to the world as artist Halsey—is dialing into our Zoom call while on break from “the studio.” Though unless you ask her to specify which one—recording, art, or makeup—it’s hard to know which they are currently spending their time in. That’s because the 29-year-old is a painter, self-taught makeup artist who founded the brand About-Face in 2021, and has recorded four studio albums, with a new one currently in production.  

Today, we’re here to talk about their artistic creations from all of the studios, actually. “I can’t think of a better way to spend the duration of my life than being dedicated to making art,” Halsey tells Vogue. Recently, she’s taken “scissors to a canvas,” bared her soul “eight days straight in the recording studio,” and created a new complexion product that’s gotten the gold-star approval of both the sweaty concert stage and motherhood. 

“I touch my face a lot,” she says. “I’m doing it right now! I also have a two-year-old son, and he’s a big face toucher, too. And I’m too soft of a mom to say ‘don’t touch my face [because I have makeup on],’ so I needed something that could withstand grabby toddler hands and kisses from a toddler mouth, too.”

The product is a 45-shade foundation cheekily named The Performer, because not only was it created by a performer, but the product also withstood an all-out performance during the R&D phase—something that genuinely surprised the artist.