Doja Cat's Experimental Makeup Isn't "Attractive" & That's The Point

If you want to come for how Doja Cat does her makeup, get ready to eat your words because the queen of experimental beauty is not taking questions at this time. After spending Paris Fashion Week doing the most with her makeup — did you see her white-and-blue face paint at Monot’s Spring/Summer 2023 runway show? — Doja Cat logged onto Twitter to find that some folks had less-than-kind things to say about her looks. Not that the “Planet Her” rapper cares. On Tuesday, Oct. 4, Doja Cat made it clear that how she wears makeup isn’t about being attractive or following “makeup rules.” Her makeup is all about self-expression and art, as makeup should be.

Paris Fashion Week brought a treasure trove of experimental and bold looks from Doja Cat. When the star attended Vivienne Westwood’s show, her eyes were decorated with strong black, graphic wings reminiscent of one of Batman’s Batarangs. For the Givenchy show, Doja Cat stunted in studded brows and striped black lips. However, one of her most iconic Paris Fashion Week looks was a full-body metallic moment. For A.W.A.K.E.’s runway show, the “Get Into It” rapper got her whole body into liquid gold, transforming her into a beautiful bronze sculpture or life-size Oscar trophy. The makeup was stunning, but it wasn’t designed to accentuate the features that society deems attractive nor attract the male gaze, a fact that some critics took issue with.

“This paint is making her look ugly. When you do makeup like this you still need to accentuate your features. She looks like a tired old statue lmao,” one Twitter user shared in a now-deleted tweet that literally no one asked for or forced them to post.

Doja Cat, for her part, didn’t take the criticism lying down. Since the tweet was deleted, Doja replied via screenshot and shared a baddie manifesto with her 5.4 million followers. In just two sentences, Doja Cat exposed *and* rejected the misogyny and toxicity built into these kinds of critiques. Her tweet, which was really more of an artist’s statement, ended with her declaring that “all of my makeup has a story and there are absolutely 0 rules and if there were you wouldn’t be the one making them,” Doja Cat tweeted.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but Doja Cat is right. Makeup should be about self-expression, not concealing or reconfiguring yourself to meet someone else’s standards. If you want it to accentuate your features, go right ahead, but don’t yuck someone whose yum is being experimental with a pressed pigment palette.

While the Grammy winner has never been one to shy away from big beauty moments, she’s recently been rejecting beauty standards in favor of what it is *she* thinks is beautiful. Back on Aug. 4, Doja Cat took to Instagram live to shave off her brows after buzzing off her hair. During the video, she said, “I feel like I was never supposed to have hair anyway. I’ve never liked having hair. I cannot tell you one time, since the beginning of my life, that I’ve ever been like, ‘This is cool.’”

Post-shave, Doja Cat’s account was then flooded with comments from “fans” expressing concerns about the mental health struggle they assumed her choice to go wig- and eyebrow-free must be indicating. Naturally, Doja Cat shut that right down, but it hasn’t stopped critics from weighing in on how her beauty choices are wrong. It boggles the mind to see just how many people can’t handle the idea that a woman would wear makeup that doesn’t conform to their standards of beauty.

When it comes to stars stepping out of the norm, no one is really doing it like Doja Cat. Bleached eyebrows are practically mainstream now, yet there are very few truly browless celebs running around. There are even fewer femme celebrities rocking buzz cuts, but Doja Cat isn’t a follower or one to stick to the status quo. She’s going to keep telling stories through her makeup and her real fans can’t wait to hear the next one.