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Content Warning: This story contains a discussion of suicide and / or self-harm.
Grace Gaustad is used to keeping a busy schedule. From working on their third album to cooking up fun and innovative beauty products for their cosmetics line BAKEUP beauty, and managing their personal life, the 21-year-old sure knows how to juggle plenty of projects at once.
But since the start of the new year, the multifaceted artist has happily tapped into their “self-care” era, which is something that wasn’t always a priority for them. After struggling with severe depression and anxiety for years, Grace finally found solitude in meditation, a practice they learned from their mother.
And while meditating is one of Grace's favorite self-care methods, they also rely on their passion for music and beauty as an outlet for self-expression. You can visually see their creative thoughts come to life in various beautiful art forms in their music videos, like Disappear and Old Ways (which were both written and ideated by the singer). In Grace's music, there are no filters or secrets. They sing from the heart about the challenges they've faced and the growing pains of being a young adult, which they hope listeners can relate to.
As a beauty entrepreneur, Grace has also made it their mission to create beauty products designed to not just make to you look good but actually to make you feel good from the inside out. Their line with professional makeup artist Jo Baker includes easy-to-use eyeshadow palettes, facial gems, colorful liners, and plenty of digital play space with virtual makeup looks.
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Teen Vogue caught up with Grace to chat about the importance of mental health to them, what they learned throughout their journey to becoming an artist, and what they hope to accomplish with Bakeup Beauty.
Teen Vogue: What are some of the things you enjoy doing when it comes to self-care?
Grace Gaustad: I've gotten into a great routine, which includes daily meditation. I pull cards and I read poetry every day. I try to really center myself before I get my day started. I think that's been a game changer for my mental health this year because it wasn't something that was part of my routine before. And now I start my days a lot better than I used to.
Meditation has been a real game-changer. You can just take 10 minutes every morning or night just to quiet yourself, listen to some music, and focus on your breath. There's a really cool technique that I learned called grounding, which is pretty much just walking outside, whether it's on grass or sand, barefoot and it just reconnects you with the Earth.
TV: You’re pretty active on social media. How do you handle all the ups and downs of it?
GG: I think social media is a double-edged sword. I think the big problem right now is young people—who are easily influenced and are in their own self-discovery period—are opened to so much information, and you never know what's true, what's not true, what's filtered, what's not filtered. I think it paints a bad picture for young people about what they're supposed to look like and what their life is supposed to look like. If you're not doing XYZ by 25, you're a failure. I wish that more people on social media were a little more realistic about what life looks like.
I also love social media, though, as a promotional tool for people who are artists or singers or directors, actors, or anything like that, especially in entertainment. I think it's a great tool to promote your work and to find new opportunities. I certainly have met many wonderful people I work with now through social media. I actually met my partner, Katie, on social media. That's how we connected.
TV: Let’s talk about BAKEUP Beauty. Why did you decide to co-found the beauty brand?
GG: The point of BAKEUP is to make beauty fun again. Jo Baker and I had a blast creating all the makeup looks and creating the products afterward. We're not taking it seriously. It's like we just want to invite everyone into our playhouse and put gems all over your face. You don't have to be this super-skilled makeup artist to go get your playbox and just put a couple of gems on before you go to dinner.
I love this idea that BAKEUP is trying to make it easier for the everyday person who wants to have fun and play around to get involved in the beauty space. It's a company that's founded on just the principles of self-expression and identity, and how can we just make ourselves feel more authentic walking out the door.
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TV: BAKEUP offers a variety of digital avatars and filters. Can you please share the purpose behind that?
GG: The looks that I wear in those music videos are what Jo can create, but I could never recreate myself. I think a lot of people are in that spot. The digital space allows you to have this avatar, and you can wear things and do things that maybe you would never be able to traditionally do in real life, but you can get a little slice of it here.
TV: When it comes to your music, where do you find you draw inspiration from?
GG: I draw inspiration from absolutely everywhere. I always say my projects are these stories of my life. BLKBX was childhood to 18 years old, and then PILLBX was about the last couple years of my life, of being an adult and just stumbling into the world of adulthood, and it's scary and what happens and all these ups and downs. My next project will be focused on the next couple of years of my life and what that's going to look like, and all the things that I will endure and encounter there. I try to be as truthful as possible, knowing that there are a lot of people who are going through the same things somewhere out there in the world.
TV: You’ve received warm support and positive feedback on your recent music video for “Disappear.” Please talk about the creative process for that project.
GG: “Disappear” is a very vulnerable track. Its message is for suicide prevention and awareness. It's a place I found myself in at one point. I think that suicidal ideology is scary. I think a lot of people really struggle to see the light at the end of the tunnel because when you're in that darkness, it’s very hard to navigate it.
Looking back on it, I was been able to come out on the other side and it was the perfect opportunity for me to write a song that I felt captured that experience for people and to pair it with a video. Mariska [Hargitay] says something powerful in that video when she's like, "The world is not a better place without you."
One of the biggest points there is about suicide is that there is no coming back. It's done. I think people sometimes, when they're in that dark space, don't understand just how final something like suicide really is, because you're not thinking straight. I say that as someone who knows it very well. I want to say to all the young people out there, that light, you can't see it right now. It’s there, though. It's there, and you just have to trust that it's there, even when you cannot see it.
TV: As the co-founder of BAKEUP Beauty, can you please share the go-to Grace beauty look?
GG: My staple product for sure is the BAKEUP Beauty Daily Meltdown cleansing balm. Even if I'm not wearing makeup, [I still use it, and] it's almost like a hydrating mask. I love [putting on a] good moisturizer after I get out of the shower. CeraVe has been a go-to [brand] for a really long time.
I also worked very hard to get rid of my acne, so I try to let my skin breathe as much as possible. I always have a Chapstick on me. I also love the Laneige lip masks, which I use at night. I think that the Playbox is one of my favorites, just because I don't have the skillsets with makeup as some people do. It's very easy for me to just take gems and just go around my eye or something like that, that's super easy.
TV: What are you most looking forward to accomplishing this year?
GG: I'm most looking forward to finishing my third album. These albums are kids to me almost. I always say it's like birthing a child into the world. I'm excited about this next chapter. It's unlike anything I've done before. BLKBX and PILLBX were similar in a lot of ways, and although this next one does have qualities of both of those projects, I think it’s far more raw, authentic, and honest than either one of those albums. It's really me taking everything off and letting you see.
I'm also excited about all of the BAKEUP products that are coming out this year. It's fun creating BAKEUP. I think that's the best thing I can say about it. It never feels like work.
If you or someone you know is going through a crisis, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or +1 (800) 273-TALK (8255).
