“I started dancing when I was two and a half, and when I was 12, I remember watching The Rockettes during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade and deciding I wanted to be one of them. It’s now my fourth season as a Rockette. We rehearse six hours a day for six days a week. It’s pretty intense training, but it’s really an unbelievable job and honor. I mean, I get to be a part of a classic New York staple.
We can do up to four shows a day—each is 90 minutes with nine dances and nine costume changes—which means sometimes I have to wear makeup for over 10 hours. Prepping my skin is essential. It starts at home, where I cleanse with Youth To The People’s cleanser. It’s a refreshing way to start the day. Then I like to ice roll to wake up my face, followed by spritzing a dose of hydration with Clearstem’s Skinspray. While my face is still wet from the Skinspray, I pat on Cosrx’s snail essence. Then I finish prepping with Jergens’ Natural Glow moisturizer and Trader Joe’s SPF 40. Oh, and I prep my lips for the iconic Rockettes red lip with Vaseline.
After my last show, I use my Take The Day Off The Day makeup remover to wipe off my lipstick. I never go to bed with an ounce of makeup, so once I get home, I use Farmacy’s Green Clean balm. It’s kind of unbelievable how it melts very set makeup without drying out my skin. Then I wash my face again with the Youth To The People cleanser. If I have excess eye makeup or lash glue, I use Q-Tips with coconut oil to get it off. Then I pat on the Good Molecules discoloration serum and Clarins Double Serum. And I like Laneige’s Water Sleeping Mask or Youth To The People’s Dream Mask as a night cream because I want to feel really hydrated when I’m going to sleep, especially after wiping off all of that stage makeup. And then the last step is a tiny bit of castor oil on my brows and lashes.
Once a week, I use The Ordinary’s Salicylic Acid 2% Masque—I’ve used it since I was in high school. The night before my day off, I like to use a gua sha with face oil to reset my face after a long week. And since we don’t get to see the sun a lot being in Radio City Hall all of the time, I self tan my body with b.tan’s B.tan’s Forever + Ever mousse and my face with Isle of Paradise’s drops in Medium every three days. I mean, I have to. I’m a Florida girl—I need a glow or I look sickly. Oh, and I keep Hero Cosmetics’ Mighty Patches around for pimples. Clean & Clear’s Persa-Gel is great, too.
Every Rockette has a unique way of doing their makeup and hair. I had to experiment a lot during my first year because other than wearing a red lip and false lashes, you get free rein. I start with the Wet N Wild primer serum. It leaves my skin so dewy, which is nice because I use a lot of pressed powders and I don’t want my skin to look too matte. Then I dab a little bit of the Hero Cosmetics Rescue Balm on small spots—it’s green so it neutralizes the redness under my foundation—before going in with Tarte’s Shape Tape concealer in 29N and the Haus Labs Triclone foundation in 200. I bring it down to my neck, too. It really covers a lot without being cakey. Someone once told me that the higher you place your contour, the better, so I put the Hollywood Contour Wand from Charlotte Tilbury a little bit above where I want to create shadows. I set it with Benefit’s Hoola bronzer, and I like to use my One/Size setting powder to accentuate the lighter sides underneath my cheekbones, just above my jawline, and my nose, too.
Then I move on to my eyes. I prime them with Tatcha’s Silk Canvas primer balm, and I alternate between Morphe’s Champagne Glow [Editor’s note: discontinued] eyeshadow palette and MAC’s Connect in Colour palette, which has two really beautiful gold shades that I like to use for special events. I actually use an index card to create the shape of my eye. I keep seeing people use tape, but I don’t want to put tape on my face every single time I’m doing my makeup.
I do my eyeliner with Glossier’s Pro Tip—it’s the only liquid liner I can actually use to do a winged eye. Other pens don’t have such a defined tip, which gives you so much control. I also love Glossier’s Lash Slick mascara—I use Black during performances but Brown on the daily. It doesn’t get clumpy, and I love how easily it goes off at the end of the night. Then it’s time for my falsies. I like to cut my Ardell Wispies before putting them on, and I apply them with Duo’s lash glue. I like to finish my eyes with Maybelline’s Define-A-Line eyeliner on my waterline because I don’t like liquid liner there. It’s also a little nostalgic because my mom used it on me before competitions when I was younger.
At this point, I dust Too Faced’s Chocolate Soleil all over my face and neck to further set everything and add warmth. Then I save my brows for last. I get them threaded every two weeks at Perfect Brows in Hell’s Kitchen—it’s only $10! If I need to fill any spaces, I use MAC’s brow styler [Editor’s note: discontinued], and I set them with Got2b’s Glued brows and edges gel, which cements them down all day. We wear a wig and a hat that go right over our brows during some dances, and even then, they don’t budge.
Of course I can’t forget the iconic Rockette red lip. My favorite red ever is the Haus Labs Atomic Shake lip lacquer in Ruby Shine but the brand discontinued it—we have to talk to Lady Gaga. One swipe leaves such a beautiful shine that doesn’t transfer all day. Now that I’m on my last bottle, I only use it for special occasions. The rest of the time, I wear Sephora’s 10HR lip stain with their Lip Liner To Go in Deep Ruby [Editor’s note: discontinued]. It also stays on really well.
Overall, I can’t live without One/Size’s On ‘Til Dawn spray. One spritz and I’m locked and loaded for showtime. While it’s drying, I dust on my highlighter. That’s a trick someone taught me. I like to mix Fenty’s How Many Carats?! Diamond Bomb with Urban Decay’s Naked Illuminated shimmering powder [Editor’s note: discontinued]—it has some pink hues in it that match my blush combo, which is MAC’s Pink Swoon and Fleur Power.
Every dancer has to have their hair done in the signature Rockette French twist. This helps keep our hats and wigs in the same place. So, while I’m doing my makeup, I have my hair in a pre-twist to prep it. This is especially important when I have clean hair, which I find difficult to work with. I start off by spraying water on it and adding Tresemmé’s Freeze Hold to give it texture to help hold the shape of the twist. When I’m ready, I take it down, wet it again, add in Eco styling gel, and twist it. Twists can take girls up to 30 minutes. Sometimes we have ‘twist fits’—that’s what we call them—because our hair doesn’t want to go up. [Laughs] It certainly took me a while to figure it out.
To keep it healthy, I use Carol’s Daughter Black Vanilla shampoo and conditioner. The woman who did my hair for senior prom told me to try them. She was like, ‘I promise they’ll change your life.’ I haven’t looked back since. Once a week though, I mix in Head & Shoulders’ scalp scrub to get rid of any product build-up on my scalp. Thank God It’s Natural has a great Miracle mask that I use once a week, too.
I do my own nails during the season. I like to keep them short, which helps with all of our fast costume changes—one of our costume changes is just 78 seconds. I wear Essie’s gel polish in Bubbles Only, a burgundy. Then I do a coat of Essie’s gel top coat and cure it with a gel lamp. Having my nails done makes me feel put together. Red nails, red lips, long lashes, and boom: I’m a Radio City Rockette!
I wear a new scent every season. During my first, I wore Bath & Body Works’ Into The Night Diamond Shimmer Mist. It’s very cutesy, very funny. I had to step it up my second year, so I got Nomade from Chloé. I felt really confident coming back as a second-year Rockette, and this perfume smells like confidence. During my third year, I wore Giorgio Armani’s My Way. I haven’t quite nailed down a scent this year, but I’m eyeing Burberry’s Her—we’ll see. My everyday scent is Glossier You. I keep a travel-sized one in my backpack at all times. I’ve worn it since 2020, and it reminds me of that transitional era when I was auditioning to become a Rockette for the first time.”
—As told to Daise Bedolla
Photographed by Alexandra Genova in New York on November 25, 2024
This article was originally published on intothegloss.com.