An Inside Look At Coachella Day 1 With Daus Mendoza

Daus Mendoza was ready to make a statement over Coachella weekend, and he set the tone on Day 1. The 19-year-old influencer has over 5 million followers on TikTok, where he shares clips of his life as a Los Angeles-based content creator. This year, that has included meet-and-greets with celebs like Ariana Grande and Selena Gomez. And of course, no L.A. influencers’ spring itinerary is complete without a trip to Coachella Valley for everyone’s favorite music festival.

Mendoza took Elite Daily behind the scenes of his Coachella experience, where he saw performances from Blackpink’s Lisa and the Day 1 headliner, Lady Gaga, and wowed with his ‘fits. “The best part of the Coachella weekend was being the best dressed, and being around my friends and people I love the most,” he tells Elite Daily over email.

Here’s a full breakdown of his first day in the desert.

His Slick Hairstyle Took Time To Perfect

Mendoza had a specific look in mind for his Coachella Day 1 hair. To make it happen, he used High R+Co High Dive Moisture and Shine Crème ($18) and Paul Mitchell Flexible Style Sculpting Foam ($17). Mendoza also trimmed his hair a little bit to get those tendrils just right.

Once he perfected the look, he set it all with a hefty spray of Got2b Glued Blasting Freeze Spray ($9). “Literally gonna hairspray the f*ck out of these pieces here,” he said on TikTok — but his efforts paid off, his hair looked perfect all day long.

The Bathroom Lighting Was Not GRWM-Approved

Mendoza’s bathroom in Palm Springs was not quite up to snuff when it came to lighting. “I brought my entire lighting equipment, but I’m too lazy to set it up,” he explained on TikTok. Plus, he was “running so freaking behind” — leaving him zero time to fix his setup.

Despite the abrasive overhead lights, Mendoza was still able to pull together “cutesy, natural, and sparkly” glam.

His Glowy Glam Involved Some Improv

Mendoza wore a pink color corrector under his eyes and set it with setting powder from ONE/SIZE by Patrick Starr. (He usually prefers Givenchy’s formula, but forgot it at home.) For the ultimate wear-all-day makeup, Mendoza mixed two different powders: pink and translucent.

I wanted to do something different and pull a move that everybody else was too afraid to pull — wearing a set of chains, REAL chains.

He Armored Up For The Desert

Mendoza wore a chain set from Catholic Guilt clothing for Day 1 — and yes, it was just as heavy as it sounds. “I honestly didn’t even think about Gaga while planning this outfit. I thought of this outfit like three months ago, and then it kinda just fit perfectly,” he said on TikTok.

“For this look, I wanted to do something different and pull a move that everybody else was too afraid to pull — wearing a set of chains, REAL chains,” Mendoza says.

There were some nerves involved with the outfit choice. “I am really nervous for this outfit because 1) It is really heavy. 2) It is very revealing — at least the bottoms are. 3) It’s metal,” he prefaced the metallic ‘fit on TikTok.

He Got To Watch Mother Monster

But Mendoza’s metallic ensemble was a hit — and to top it off, he ended the night watching Lady Gaga perform. “I love Gaga and I have been obsessed with her since I was a kid, and seeing her perform feels like it fulfilled something in me,” he says. “Kind of like a full-circle moment.”

Day 3 of the festival featured another one of Mendoza’s most-listened-to artists. “Megan Thee Stallion is my favorite female rapper. I listen to her all the time,” he says. “I relate to her so much. Her body, her energy, her confidence — everything.”