Kesha is bored. Just like the rest of us. But unlike the rest of us, her unexpected WFH situation comes amid a postponed tour and changes to her beauty brand schedule Kesha Rose Beauty that we imagine don’t include any hands on consultations. “Well, I think that because I’m quarantined, and I’m at home, I have more time on my hands than I have in a decade,” the singer and beauty mogul told ELLE.com during our Zoom interview. So, what is the reigning queen of glitter doing with her abundance of hours?
Her daily routine ranges from the relatable—face masks, Tiger King binges, and TikTok—to the eccentric—painting a green screen wall in her home to film said TikTok content. Ahead, Kesha’s tips for thriving in the chaos and assurance that, yes, she’s worn glitter mid-quarantine.
To start, have you worn glitter at any point during this quarantine?
I have! I was filming a little video for a song I wrote called “Nicolas Cage.” I used my palette and just smeared a bunch of all of the colors—glitter included—all over my face because somehow, it just makes life a little bit better when you add glitter to it.
How has your beauty approach changed during this wild time in the world?
I’ve been trying to get a little sun and also trying to do a face mask and do all the things that I usually am too exhausted to do at the end of the night, after a long day of work. I’ve meant to exfoliate twice a week, and I haven’t been wearing a ton of makeup. I’m letting my skin breathe, but I also have days where I put makeup on, and it really does help my mood.
KESHA ROSE BEAUTY
You’ve been sharing a lot with your fans during the quarantine. Has that been therapeutic for you, and have your fans appreciated the new content?
I think now more than ever; I realized that I just want to entertain people because I’m not a doctor, and I’m not a nurse. I think if I can provide anything, hopefully, it’s just a moment of some kind of entertainment during this time because I definitely have realized the importance of escapism in all of this. It’s something to take your mind off of a global pandemic.
If I can, in any way, be just a little bit of an escape, then I’m really happy. If anything I’m putting out is helping anybody just smile for five seconds, then I’m giving my gift to the world, which is just being an entertainer. I try to engage with my fans more than ever now because I have the time to do so. I also just don’t want anybody to feel like they’re alone in any of the emotions because I feel all the same nerves and anxiety as a lot of my fans are saying they’re feeling.
KESHA ROSE BEAUTY
Before all of this, you had a super busy year. What’s it been like to deliberately slow down? How have you been keeping creative?
I’ve been trying to learn how to paint, trying to learn how to cook. Two things I’m pretty terrible at doing. But every day, I just try to wake up and try to do something I’ve been meaning to do for, I don’t know, my entire adult life. I’m also spending a lot of time with my cats. I know that sounds kind of stupid but has been really grounding and nice to just take my mind off of things. I haven’t been that well-versed in editing my videos and filming my videos for TV shows. Because of the quarantine, I’m at home trying to figure out how to film it and angle the lighting and how to play it all. It’s forced me into learning how to be even more integrated with the creating of all my art.
You’ve got a very fun following on TikTok. Did you feel pressure joining TikTok because of your famous song of the same name?
It’s been fun to just fuck around with it and have fun with it. I’m hoping that just dancing around my house like an idiot can somehow bring a moment of happiness to somebody out there because we’re all just trying to figure out how to get through this time. I’m just trying to figure out how to be helpful in my way. I wish I were a doctor. I wish I were a nurse. I wish I could be more hands-on useful. But in the meantime, I’m just playing music for different charitable organizations and just trying to be entertaining. Hopefully, me acting like an idiot can make somebody else out there who’s maybe having a not great day at least laugh at me.
What’s the weirdest thing you’ve done during quarantine?
I think one of the weirdest things is I just painted a wall in my house green to make a green screen wall. I’m not sure exactly what I’m going to do with that, but I now have a massive green screen in my home.
What are your beauty and wellness recommendations for this time?
I would say do not put too much pressure on yourself because I can find myself always putting pressure on myself to accomplish an extraordinary amount of things. I think right now, we all just need to be just gentle and patient with ourselves because we’re going through something that is unprecedented in all of our lifetimes. Do not get down on yourself if you don’t accomplish wild things.
Recommendations for getting through it is, absolutely swear, if you take a bubble bath, it’s life-changing. I’ve been taking baths every single day and doing a collagen and sheet mask. I feel like it’s my treat for myself every day by getting through a very stressful anxiety-induced time.
Any music you’re loving, shows, movies? Have you gotten into Tiger King?
Oh, God, of course. Doesn’t everybody watch the Tiger King? That lady (Carole Baskin) for sure fed her husband to the tiger. Let’s just be real. Everybody knows that. I want to know what happened to the cats. I need to follow up and make sure that the animals are okay. That’s my lasting impression is I want to know what happened to the tigers.
Oh, Schitt’s Creek is like just for fun. If you need a total escape, that’s a happy, funny thing.
What’s next for Kesha Rose Beauty?
I could talk forever about the makeup because I feel like I’ve had every kind of makeup known to humankind on my face. I’ve glued all sorts of strange objects to my face throughout the entirety of my life and my career. I’ve always loved pushing the boundaries of fashion, music, and makeup. I love that the response to the makeup has been positive because I spent so much time making sure that it was something that I could stand behind, something that I would wear on a red carpet, something that I would wear on stage, something that I can genuinely stand behind. That’s why it took me so long to get it to the point where I can put it out because I didn’t want to settle.
KESHA ROSE BEAUTY
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.