Ruby Rose Talks Gender Norms, Tramp Stamps, and the Trouble With Red Lipstick

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

Yesterday evening, dozens of beauty editors and bloggers filed into a clubby Brooklyn event space for a Q&A between Urban Decay founder Wende Zomnir and actress/activist/"airport style" critic Ruby Rose, the brand’s new celebrity ambassador. The partnership between the edgy cosmetics company and the stunning, heavily-tattooed Orange Is the New Black breakout star seems fated — both prize individuality over conforming to societal beauty standards, and are particularly passionate about animal rights. And over the course of Zomnir and Rose’s 45-minute chat, the two hinted that the actress’ recent campaign for UD is just the beginning — yes, you can expect a Ruby Rose-created lipstick (among other products, presumably) down the line. Below, the best bits from the gender-fluid beauty’s Q&A, from the story behind her first tattoo to why she’s cautious when it comes to red lipstick.

On gender norms and her past experience with bullying: "People would always say to me — because I have short hair, because I don’t dress very feminine — they’d ask, ‘Why do you make yourself so ugly? Why do you make yourself look like a boy? You could be really beautiful!’ And I’d be like, ‘Thanks — I think?’ But the truth is, I feel the sexiest, the most alive, the most like myself, when I’m natural."

On her relationship with lipstick: "When I’m in a girly mood — which, surprisingly, does happen! — it makes me feel more put-together and polished. It doesn’t make me feel like a different person or anything — just like I’m paying homage to a different part of me. I’ll love red lips for a big occasion, but I’m always worried I’ll get lipstick on my teeth. Anytime I’m at an event where I have to speak, I skip it. If I just have to smile and pose, though, it’s red lips for days."

On her famously full brows, which weren’t always so full: "My mum tried [to convince me not to pluck them], but there’s only so much you can do when your daughter is obsessed with Christina Aguilera. I’m pretty sure that at one time, [Christina] didn’t even have eyebrows — just one single hair that was, like, gelled down. So, I shaved my eyebrows — and when I couldn’t get the precision I want, I tweezed them. I looked like a Ninja Turtle. Luckily, some miraculous eyebrow god gave me my brows back so I could live a normal life. I thank Eyebrow Jesus every day."

On her first tattoo: "I got it when I was 16. I’d spent some time living abroad in Germany, and I got a tongue ring — because that’s what everyone was doing in Germany at the time — and I got home and my mum had such an issue with it. She said that she’d let me get a tattoo if I got rid of it, and that to me sounded like a great idea. I don’t think she realized that, 70 tattoos later, she probably should’ve just let me keep the tongue ring! It’s a tramp stamp, on my lower back — a rose with some Celtic design I thought was so original at the time. Now, people tell me, ‘Oh, my mum has that!’ ‘My grandmum has that!’"

On her favorite of her over-60 tattoos: "I have "Be the person your dog thinks you are," which I love. And I have a Basquiat tattoo — it’s the last one I got — because I’m such a big fan. He’s such an inspiration to me, and just really timeless. And my Ninja Turtle — also timeless!"

On creating her own lipstick color for Urban Decay: "I’m really excited about it — especially because my name lends itself well to a lipstick, right? But since you guys have 100 shades already, coming up with my own is going to be like a mathematical equation."

Photo: Urban Decay