At Milk Makeup, we believe it’s not just how you create your look; it’s what you do in it that matters. That’s what our motto Live Your Look is all about. It means forgetting the rules. Having the freedom to show up as you every day, whether that’s with graphic liner or a glossed lip. Being seen and celebrated for living your truth. And there's no better way for us to show what that looks like than passing the mic to our Milk Fam.
In this series, we're opening it up to our community to share their inspirations, self-expression, beauty routines, and so much more. Get to know the faces behind our campaigns who are as inspiring off camera as they are on. This week, we're getting to know Grey, who starred in our Sculpt Stick campaign. Find out a little bit more about the model, makeup artist, and devoted fan of snatchural glam.
Behind the scenes, Grey spends her days painting faces—a hobby-turned-career that landed her the lead makeup artist role on Hulu’s The Come Up and left her with plenty of invaluable beauty tips. From the trick to doing a perfect cat eye (start with the line in the middle, not the one at the end) to perfecting your contour (use your fingers to feel the natural hollows under your cheekbones, no fish face needed), she always has advice at the ready.
On set for our Sculpt Stick shoot, Grey had a laundry list of thoughts—all good—to share about our new launch, which she instantly decided would star in her next night-out look for a head-turning contour. That may have been her inner Leo at play. “The classic thing people think of Leos is that they’re very vain,” she says. “But I think I’m just very aware of my perception and my relationship with people. And I think I’m a very social person, which is a Leo trait.”
Those social tendencies worked in her favor when she first moved to New York and quickly found community and lasting friendships. “I needed to move to New York and meet other trans women for the first time in order to step into myself,” she says. “I think without that, I would have been really lost.” Since then, she’s fully stepped into herself and found a space to call her own. Her advice to others in search of community and belonging? “Put yourself out there. Don't feel shy.” A true Leo statement if we ever heard one.
Below, get to know Gray’s thoughts on the power of leopard print, snatchural glam, and surrounding yourself with inspiring friends.
How would you describe your personal style?I learned everything about style from watching my mom get ready. Before I transitioned, I feel like I would live through her getting dressed and ready, doing her makeup. She taught me everything about how I styled myself. She has an affinity towards leopard print—leopard print everything—so when I think about sitting in her bed watching her getting dressed, I just see leopard print. What’s your daily relationship with beauty?I've always used beauty as an escape—makeup and fashion and everything. Being trans, for most of my life I felt like those were things that I wasn't able to play with. So I would always do it behind closed doors to feel better about myself. As I've slowly stepped into myself, I use them as a further extension of myself. I like to present. So I do a snatchural Madison Beer glam. My vibe is that I don't want anyone to know I'm wearing anything on my skin. I let the eyes speak; I love to do a cat eye. That's my classic glam: cat liner. Any tips for getting the best cat eye?A lot of people think you should start from the outer corner, outward. But I always find that that ends up making the shape look off and that it's better to start with the top line. That will give you the exact shape that you want. Also, make sure to be drawing with your eyes open, looking straight ahead. Because when you have them closed and then open, they’ll look weird. |
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You starred in our shoot for Sculpt Sticks! What did you think of the formula and shades, especially as a makeup artist?
I love a cream sculpt stick. It’s my favorite way to do contour, but sometimes it can run too warm or too cool. The Milk Makeup Sculpt Stick shade I used today was just right for my skin tone—Toasted. It’s perfect and just looks like a shadow; it doesn’t look like makeup. Since it’s cream it really blends into your skin and looks natural. It really does a great job of sculpting. I’d use these for a night-out look. They’re natural enough to wear during the daytime, but I really like to contour when I go out and show the girls what I got.
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With contour, it depends on your face shape. I have a longer face so I apply it further up to shorten it a bit. With a bronzer, you’re applying more in the places where the sun hits, like your cheekbones, forehead, across the nose bridge. With a cool-toned contour like Sculpt Stick, it’s more in the hollows of your face: under your cheekbone, the eye socket. I personally hate doing the ‘fish face,’ so I’d use the same tip I have when I apply eyeliner. Just look straight ahead in the mirror and use your fingers to find those hollows. Did you also try ourFuture Fluid Concealeron set?Yeah! It was really great. I like that you have all the hydrating skincare benefits without losing the coverage. It’s very high coverage and it’s not drying. If you could only use one Milk product for the rest of your life, what would it be?I’m obsessed with the Hydro Grip Primer. It’s my go to! I’m a party girl, I like to go out all night, and I need that Hydro Grip. It’s an essential. It does the perfect job of adding a layer of hydration that’s not going to mix weird with your makeup or anything. How do you #LiveYourLook?I live my look from learning from older trans women that taught me how to come into myself and be myself. I needed to move to New York and meet other trans women for the first time in order to step into myself. I think without that, I would have been really lost. I've met some really good girls that have been able to take me under their wing and help me out. |
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Do you have any advice for someone transitioning, or advice that was helpful to you that you want to pass along?
Definitely. My advice would just be to find your network of other trans women or trans people because they're going to understand you the most. There's so many different kinds of people in the world and all around you. But the trans experience is so unique that no one's going to understand what you're going through other than other trans people. So I would highly recommend seeking out those friends as soon as possible. Put yourself out there. Don't feel shy going up to another trans person seeking help. I think that has been really great for me.
Which album or song are you currently listening to on repeat?
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. always. It was the first album I ever had. I guess my parents just knew from a young age that that was my vibe and they were very right. “What You Waiting For?” is my all-time favorite song.
If you could have a one-way ticket anywhere, where would you go?I would go to Berlin. All my friends go and have a blast. There are a lot of tattooers that I would really love to get work from, and their music scene seems amazing. I would go there, straight up. Do you have any tattoos?I do! I just got my first tramp stamp. I was waiting on that because my mom has one too and it’s my dad’s name, so I was wanting to copy her and wait for my first marriage. But I'm a little impatient. It’s just a pretty design, not really anything specific. Shoutout @davidenth. What would your dream day look like?Spending time in Chicago, in Bridgeport or Wicker Park where I grew up. Smoking weed with my best friends pretending like we don't have any responsibilities. Whenever I go back, the vintage shopping is amazing. Whenever I go back home, I stock up on clothes. It’s my favorite. What’s your favorite hobby?It used to be doing makeup, but now I do that for a living. I guess my favorite hobby now is just being outside as much as possible because I spend so much time in air-conditioned spaces. I have a couple of friends with cars in the city, and we like to go upstate as much as possible, to the Catskills and stuff. |
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Are there any projects you’re working on that you want to share with our Milk Fam?
My first show that I worked on as the lead makeup artist just came out on Hulu. It's called The Come Up. Go check it out! I have a couple cameos in there as well.
What artist or creative person inspires you most?
Can I say my roommate? My roommate Blair inspires me the most. I think she's taught me a lot about how to be an adult and how to work really hard. She's one of the most hardworking people I know and it's really inspiring. She’s a casting director for a bunch of different fashion stuff. Oh my gosh, she's really really good at people. She’s taught me a lot about how to work my ass off, which is awesome. She took me from a baby to an adult.
If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?
To be in multiple places at once so that I can spend time with people from all over that I love a lot. Also I think about that a lot when I double book myself on a job. Like, this would be so nice if I could just be in both places! But mostly to see the people I love the most.
Follow Grey on Instagram @grey__hoffman.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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