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How I get ready: Conchita Wurst

Getting ready as Tom is simple: for beer and pizza with friends, I don’t wear makeup and hardly make any effort, beyond putting on a baseball cap. But I spend 50% of my time as Conchita and, if I am going to a fancy event, getting ready takes two hours.

I started going out in drag when I was 14 and learned about makeup. I begin with the base: I contour with two different shades of foundation, and after that use blush and powder. Then, as we drag artists say, it needs to cook – that means you wait for a few minutes, until everything sets. So I’ll have a sip of something – I love an amaretto sour. Then I get rid of all the loose powder I don’t need. I put beige or powder-pink shadow around my eye and darken my lash line with a black eye shadow. I put on mascara and then, the most important thing, fake lashes. I layer three pairs – I’m a drag queen!

I shape my eyebrows and correct my beard – it’s not as even as it looks – and trim it once a week to 3mm. My nails are always done (shellac with a natural finish) and my hair is always ready: I just grab a wig to match my outfit. I have five in different styles: a short one, a bob and long ones that are straight, curly and wavy. I love a gown and heels, and I like showing off my legs. I used to wear bras to make the illusion complete; but they are not comfortable so I got rid of them, which I recommend. If my chest was very hairy I would shave, but it’s not. I do shave my legs, but that’s it – when you have a beard, nobody cares about a little hair here and there.

Conchita Wurst’s debut album, Conchita, is out now.

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