SHOPPING'Fake It So You Make It': Drag Star Willam Belli & Adult Actress Sophie Anderson Exclusively Share Their Confidence & Beauty Secrets — Shop Now
July 29 2022, Published 3:02 p.m. ET
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If there were ever two words to describe drag superstar Willam Belli and adult actress Sophie Anderson, they would be F*king Smart, a sentiment the pair proved with the premiere of their new OUTtv series earlier this summer. The self-proclaimed “sexiest queer quiz show on TV,” F*cking Smart pits the celebs against each other as team captains, tasked with leading their guests to victory as they answer burning questions about LGBTQAI+ history, pride and more.
But beyond the litany of fun facts gleaned from the show’s stellar six episode run — did you know that goat eyelids were used as adult toys in ancient China? — one facet of the series particularly stood out: The team captains’ impeccable style and unshakeable confidence.
Even with her bubbly and sexy on-screen persona, Anderson actually describes herself as being “very insecure,” a revelation that would likely come as a shock to fans who have come to know and love her for her hilarious and bold social media posts. While the openly pansexual star says her partner, fellow performer Damian Oliver, and the acceptance of the LGBTQAI+ community helps her muster “that confidence to be exactly who I want to be,” simply projecting self-assurance goes a long way.
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“A lot of my life is faking it until you make it,” the star exclusively shares with OK!. Having the right beauty tools, she says, doesn’t hurt either. “Honestly, I go out and I'm like, ‘Right, I got my wig. I got my make-up on,’ and I can be whoever I want to be.”
Willam has a similar mantra when it comes to confidence: “Fake it so you make it. And if you can't make it, just bake it,” he quips, referencing the drag makeup technique of baking.
Aside from setting powder, Willam says a fierce overdrawn lip is his secret to looking and feeling his best, a trick he picked up while learning how to apply makeup in the 1990s.
Citing Playboy magazines, Baywatch and even old-school porn stars as some of his formative beauty inspirations, the drag icon exclusively shares the decade’s signature “winged little flip” has remained one of his go-to beauty techniques throughout his career.
After removing foundation and other base products from around the lip line, Willam then dives in with a lip pencil, noting that thinking big is critical when drawing on the perfect pout. Contrary to popular belief, “putting lip liner on top of foundation or powder is not a recipe for success,” he notes, as it actually causes it to apply “chunkier.”
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“The lip line is a suggestion,” the RuPaul’s Drag Race alum says. “If you are lining your lips on your lip line, I don't know who told you that you're not allowed to have any fun and draw them a little bit bigger, but draw them bigger,” he advises, noting that a pop highlighter on the center of the lip can also help further the illusion of luscious lips.
While Willam lists Makeup Forever, Morphe and Huda Beauty as some of his favorite beauty brands, he says he regularly picks up products from his own cosmetics company, Suck Less Face & Body, to help him perfect not only his lips, but also add extra flair to his makeup looks.
“We do all the good, fun stuff,” he says of the brand, which is available at Forever 21. “We don't do foundation. We don't do concealer. We do lashes, lips and glitter.”
Suck Less Face & Body’s Red Lip Varnish retails for $16 at forever21.com.
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Suck Less Face & Body’s Blueballs Glitter Gelly retails for $12 at forever21.com.
Part of what distinguishes Suck Less Face & Body from most other celebrity beauty brands is its versatility, looking good on everyone regardless of gender, a feature Willam says is particularly evident through the brand’s false eyelashes.
“If someone who's more masculine wears them, facially bone structure-wise, the lash doesn't hit the brow bone,” Willam explains, referencing a problem that many masculine makeup enthusiasts face.
Suck Less Face & Body’s Day Lashes retail for $15 at forever21.com.
But it’s not just beauty. Confidence is more than skin deep, also stemming from being informed on all things sex and love.
Enter F**king Smart. Even with its breadth of jokes and fun, lighthearted segments, F*cking Smart fills a crucial hole (no pun intended) in general sex education offering important information about queer sex, history and love, topics that are frequently overlooked in traditional educational settings.
Although most teenagers receive “formal sex education” before turning 18 — 96 percent of teenage girls and 97 percent of teenage boys to be exact, per the CDC’s 2010 National Survey of Family Growth — not all sex education is created equal, especially when it comes to members of the LGBTQAI+ community.
Just 8.2 percent of students said they received reported “LGBTQ-inclusive sex education,” according to GLSEN’s 2019 National School Climate Survey, with 17.0 percent of respondees saying they were “taught negative content about LGBTQ topics,” an oversight that can have tangible, real-world consequences.
“Research shows that when young people fail to receive high-quality, inclusive sex education, they are more likely to experience negative sexual health outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections (STIs), unintended pregnancies, and sexual violence,” Jennifer Driver, an exec at SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, told Forbes in October 2020.
Covering relevant topics in the classroom, she says, can actually serve many benefits, helping young people feel seen and accepted for who they are. “On the flip side, when LGBTQ+ youth see themselves reflected in the lessons they learn at school, that type of affirmation can be life changing and, in some cases, life saving.”
And it seems Willam is well aware of F*cking Smart’s importance as an information source — both in terms of public health and continuing forward with political progress.
“We're presenting educational stuff in a fun way because these are things we need to know so we don't repeat the mistakes of history and get our civil liberties taken away again,” the performer explains, noting that “some people are “blithely unaware” of the community’s history. “Once you have them, getting them taken away is even worse,” he continues, referencing advances like the legalization of gay marriage and same-sex adoption rights.
As such, Willam says the heart of the show is to empower viewers “to be as smart as they can.”
“When kids don't eat their vegetables, you need to find a way to slip them in,” he shares. “I think this is a way of slipping in info without everybody knowing, because it's fun and entertaining and we do porn and drag.”
And it seems there’s always more to learn — just ask Anderson. Even with her extensive experience in the adult entertainment world and gay icon status, Anderson says she picked up a thing or two during her “amazing time on the show.”
While the actress says she knew “a lot” about topics such as “sex positivity and sexual stuff” going into filming, she says “there was a lot” she didn’t know. “It was absolutely great,” she recalls of the “educational” experience.
But it seems Anderson gleaned more than just a few tidbits of LGBTQAI+ trivia from her time on the show. After years of “feeling alone” due to her sexuality, the star admits to OK! that serving as one of F*cking Smart’s team captains “meant the world” to her.
“I cannot explain what the communities mean, because to be accepted for who you are is such an amazing thing,” she shares. “It's very important not to be judged, and to really appreciate who you are.”
F*cking Smart is streaming now on OUTtv.
