Taylor Swift has let fans in on the role of sometimes being her own makeup artist and hairstylist, proving she, somehow, has even more skills to add to her wildly successful resume.
At the Hamburg, Germany show this past Wednesday, the 34-year-old Grammy-winning singer shared never-before-heard insights to celebrate the four-year (!) anniversary of her Folklore album. “I started making Folklore about two days into the pandemic,” she told the audience in a video that’s since made waves on the social media platform, X. Swift added that the pandemic posed unique challenges of not being able to work with a big team and finding scrappy new ways to do things in a streamlined way. “It was just, like, such a challenge for us as creators, but it was so fulfilling.”
tay talking about folklore 🫶
— kaia (@kaiamal13) July 24, 2024
“i called my friend who has some woods behind her house and was like- can i take some pictures in your forest? we ordered all these nightgowns online & brought them & i did my own hair and makeup – just was like- guess i’ll braid it, i don’t know” pic.twitter.com/TBHzyBEdXQ
Swift recalled writing songs in her house, recording vocals on a phone in her guest bedroom, with distanced help from collaborators Aaron Dessner and Jack Antonoff. But as you might imagine, photographing the album cover at the height of a pandemic presented its own set of challenges. “Then came time to take some pictures for the album,” she reflected. “You can’t have hair and makeup, you can’t have wardrobe, you have to just do it yourself. So I called my friend who has some woods behind her house and was like, ‘Can I take some pictures in your forest?’ And she said, ‘Yes.'”
“I ordered all these nightgowns online and brought them, and then did my own hair and makeup,” she continued. “Just was like, ‘Guess I’ll braid it? I don’t know.'” Her casualness about the final look was graciously humble given its overwhelming success. As a refresher, one of the hairstyles pictured on the album is a double bun updo, featuring two low braided buns styled casually and imperfectly, creating a casual yet elegant vibe that perfectly complements the album’s aesthetic.
Swift didn’t confirm if she did her own hair and makeup for Evermore, which she dubbed Folklore’s “sister record,” released in December 2020, a few months after Folklore. However, given the timing and the similar aesthetic of both albums, it’s likely. Instead of the two low buns featured on the Folklore cover, she wore her hair in a long and slightly tousled French braid, which hung over her plaid coat.
