Beyoncé’s ‘Cowboy Carter’ Era Makeup Artist Rokael Lizama Launches Makeup

Ryma Chikhoune

March 15, 2024 at 8:31 AM·4 min read

As Beyoncé channels a new music era with upcoming album “Cowboy Carter” — she continues to tap Rokael Lizama, the beauty-image-maker behind the “Renaissance” tour, as her makeup artist. For the tour, Lizama used his own makeup brand — Rokael Beauty — to create the looks, and now he’s made it available for fans to shop online.

He first came out with lashes, having previously helped launch Lilly Lashes with Lilly Ghalichi. The two were roommates at the time, he said. The lashes, with 24 styles, became a hit with the professional community, particularly the cat eye “Aurora.” He also worked on product development for Haus Labs and Anastasia Beverly Hills before branching out on his own.

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“I wanted to really make a lifestyle brand, but because I’m a makeup artist, makeup was the first category that I wanted to introduce myself into the market with,” said Lizama who plans to expand beyond beauty. “Starting a business is a lot of work. It requires a lot of money.”

He saved up — working as an in-demand makeup artist with clients that include Kim Kardashian, Demi Lovato and Ariana Grande — and has introduced color, focusing on lips. The business soft-launched in January.

Lizama offers 10 shades of lipsticks ($26) in a creamy, velvet matte formula. Featuring nudes and neutrals, they’re highly pigmented and made with jojoba oil. The collection also includes 10 lip liners ($19) and 10 lip oils ($24), also made with jojoba oil. All are vegan and cruelty free, with ingredients listed on the brand site at rokaelbeauty.com. Lizama is testing the market before exploring retail, he said.

“I wanted everything to be so innovative,” he went on. The lipsticks have a unique triangular shape for easier application (“it took me so many molds to create such a shape”), while the lip liners include a mini brush at the ends to “clean up the lip line and make everything super sharp.” The lip oils are hydrating and not too pigmented, as to not “destroy the lip work underneath.”

A look at Rokael Beauty’s “Redefined Lip Shader,” featuring a mini brush on one end.

The gold-colored packaging took the longest to create, he added. “I wanted to really create something that was very sensory and felt expensive.” The line is made and sourced in the U.S., Europe and Asia.

The products have been worn by Beyoncé during the “Renaissance” tour and in her latest music campaigns. Eye shadows are coming next, which have already been tested and seen on Beyoncé as well. He’s also created blush, he said, and looks to release foundation and skin care in the future.

“I could not be more grateful for my clients,” Lizama said. “Number one, just because they’ve been so supportive. They’ve seen the journey. They’ve seen the process. Anytime I have something exciting or new that I’ve been working on that I’m like, ‘I’m ready to test this,’ they’re the first ones to know.”

His clients inspired the line initially: “I could never find colors that worked on their undertones or their skin tones. It was always tricky. Like, I always had to use multiple parts to achieve what I wanted.”

Creating the brand has been a healing journey, he revealed, sharing that he lost family members to COVID-19, including his parents.

“That experience really forced me to look within,” he said. “I had all these dreams with my parents and my family. But I was like, ‘OK, if I’m still on this Earth, there has to be a purpose.’ And it forced me to have my own rebirth. I think when you do that kind of inner work and self-work, you want to share that with other people. And I think with the brand I want that to be something that people can resonate with. It can say, ‘Hey, I want to be my highest self today. So even with the names, I feel like I totally should be like a mantra, a moment of positivity.”

Product names include Destined, Amen and Chosen.

“There are spiritual undertones,” he said. “It should always feel like you’re beautifying your soul and your inner self, not just your outer self.”