Today we’d like to introduce you to Peachy Keen.
So, before we jump into specific questions about what you do, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
When I was a kid, I wasn’t around a lot of very feminine people. I didn’t really have an outlet for all of the “girly” things I wanted to do and felt embarrassed that I was so interested in them. Even though I’m a woman, I was very scared to be “overly feminine”. When I was 11 or 12, I met my best friend Lilly and she was the first person to bring drag and makeup into my life. She showed me videos of drag queens and taught me how to do makeup, and would steal makeup for me from her job at the time to help me get started. When I was 13, I created a secret account on Instagram just to follow drag artists and stumbled upon a queen named Biblegirl666 (@biblegirl666 on Instagram and Twitter). I ended up completely falling in love with makeup and drag because of her and started playing in makeup. In 2017, I did drag for the first time. I went out in drag for the first time in June of 2018 and met one of my closest friends, Kalila Dea. She ended up starting a drag show in October and invited me to perform, and that’s where I met the rest of my drag family, Blair Witchita, and Beatrix Bella Rouge. The four of us created a drag family and now we do fairly regularly perform. In February of this year, I left high school early and started attending a beauty school so I can create a tangible career out of my passion for makeup.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It has definitely not been a smooth road to get to where I am now. A lot of my family is fairly conservative and I was very afraid of them finding out I did drag. I publicly came out as bisexual and a drag queen in the summer of 2018, and immediately felt my relationships with friends and family members change. I felt extremely unsafe at school and ended up leaving mostly due to that, and partly to pursue my love of makeup.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a Phoenix-based makeup artist and drag queen. I think what I do is different then what a lot of other people in my field are able to do. Because I started doing makeup through drag, I have a different understanding than most people. I’m able to do a wide variety of makeup techniques and styles from bridal to drag, which I believe sets me apart from other makeup artists. I take a lot of pride in my work as a makeup artist and as a drag artist, I put a lot of hard work and time into what I do.
What are your plans for the future?
Right now, my plans in the future are to work as a bridal makeup artist with the school I currently attend and to eventually work on my own as a freelance artist. I also want to continue to make people realize that women who participate in drag are just as valid as men who do, and to remove the stigma against queer women. Coming up very soon, Kalila Dea is hosting a drag show called “Drags in the desert” in Tucson, Arizona which will be featuring Yvie Oddly from season 11 of RuPaul’s Drag Race! The show is on November 17th at club XS, and ticket information is available in the link in my Instagram bio @peachykeendrag!
Contact Info:
- Email: cassyhurleybeauty@gmail.com
- Instagram: peachykeendrag
- Twitter: 666cassy
- Other: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/drags-in-the-desert-tickets-65886876421?ref=eios
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