"I grew up in Houston in a neighborhood called the Third Ward. That's where Beyoncé and Solange Knowles grew up—Solange is a very close childhood friend of mine and I have a deep-rooted connection with them. I’ve been into music since I can remember, but my professional music career really started when [their dad] Mathew Knowles signed me as a rap artist in 2005 and began managing me on his label. Eventually, I moved to New York to start fresh and was hanging out with Solange and, consequently, Bey a lot. I guess I was in the right place at the right time, because I ended up going into the studio with her and the next thing you know she was like, ‘You should probably stay.’ I wrote a lot on the Beyoncé album, and then I wrote “Love Drought” for Lemonade, so hopefully that’s a hit in the making. [Laughs] And now my first solo EP, Trill Feels, just came out. It’s seven tracks–half hip-hop, half R&B. I’m excited about it, I’ve got some cool features on there.
As far as beauty goes I do the same exact thing every day–I’m a creature of habit. I always wear Maybelline Great Lash Mascara, it’s the best. They made a blue tinted one I wore for a long time but I haven’t been able to find it in months. I've been trying Dior's instead–blue is my favorite mascara color, it’s like my thing. And I have really dark lashes so it shows up really well. I use MAC concealer under my eyes and then MAC bronzer, and I do smoke a lot of joints throughout the day, so I make sure I always have lip balm on hand–I really like the raspberry flavored Nivea Lip Butter. When I’m performing with other artists we’ll go for more of a look–usually I prefer a smoky eye because it brings out my eyes. But, you know, I try not to do too much.
I’ll wash my own hair if I know someone is going to immediately come rescue me and style it. [Laughs] But it swells up because my hair is really, really thick, and I can’t manage it myself. So I wrap it in a silk scarf every night and I get it washed and pressed once a week. Then typically I do gel nails because I’m always using my hands and I hate if my nails chip–I’m a bit uptight about it. My favorite color is probably a gray, but the other day I got this polish that changes colors with the temperature and depending on your mood. I got it in a really light pink but when I’d grab a cold glass or something it would turn deep pink! It was pretty cool.
Living in Texas now I’ve got this light tan and my skin is more even, so honestly, I haven’t been doing much. I wash my face with the white Dove bar soap and keep-a-moving. I use the same kind of soap on my body, and I’ll do coconut oil, and then cocoa butter for lotion. I try to pair the oil with a really strong soap and only use it in the shower to shave my legs. I’ll do a shower gel sometimes—my favorite is the Johnson's almond one. I’ve used the same stuff forever and I’m sticking to it." [Laughs]
—as told to ITG
Ingrid Burley photographed by Tom Newton in New York on June 14, 2016.
Behind the music: Kacy Hill recommends the best vitamin supplement for hair growth, Beth Ditto "fucking loves makeup, it's not even a joke," and Tegan and Sara talk androgyny and undereye concealer in The Face.
