The Secret to Janeese Lewis George’s Glam

At 11:36 p.m. on the night of D.C.’s primary election, now-Democratic mayoral nominee Janeese Lewis George sat down with members of the media. At the time, my mind was racing with policy and campaign strategy questions. I ended up asking her about President Donald Trump’s threat to orchestrate a federal takeover of D.C. if she won. But as I watched the clip the next day, her purple eyeshadow shimmering and her false lashes firmly in place, I wondered: How did her makeup still look as good as new?

Because social media algorithms can seemingly read our minds now, a video soon popped up on my Instagram feed of Lewis George’s election night glam from “@shannieonthebeat.” It turns out, Shannon “Shannie” Cosby has been doing Lewis George’s makeup for the past decade. What began as a one-time appointment for a birthday party in 2016 turned into Cosby helping Lewis George get ready for her wedding, baby shower and, eventually, a mayoral campaign.

Over the last six months, Cosby, 39, has done Lewis George’s makeup for almost every campaign event leading up till election night. The makeup artist known for her bridal work seems poised to become the unofficial “mayoral MUA,” so I sat down with her for some of her secrets. Spoiler alert, it involves four different setting sprays and a belief that women can be both glamorous and professional.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Lately I’ve seen a few comment sections where the most liked comments are all about Janeese Lewis George’s makeup. When did that begin?

People really started commenting on her glam when she was on TV and they did the debate most recently, the NBC Washington debate that was a sit-down with her and McDuffie. That’s when the makeup got a lot of traction. On social media posts, people were like ‘Who did her makeup? Who was the makeup artist?’ I thought that was funny. I’m like ‘She’s talking about real issues, and y’all asking me what’s the lip combo.’ But ok, sure, we’ll take it.

You’re right, it is kind of funny. In those clips, she’s often talking about some pretty serious issues like housing or public safety or child care. Why do you think the makeup is what’s resonating with some people?

I mean, the girls love a good glam. That’s why we watch the Oscars and award shows. We love somebody where we can be like ‘Wow, look at her makeup. Look at her hair. Look at her outfit.’ I think the glam aspect of it is actually resonating with the younger audience. I do have a full-time job so a lot of the Gen Z girls there are like ‘Oh my gosh, she looks so good,’ and I don’t know if they would really be talking about the mayor’s race otherwise. So I think it’s resonating with a lot of people on a not-so-serious level where it’s like, ‘Yes, give us glam.’ And the fact she’s a woman, younger, a millennial – it’s showing us that we can still be glamorous and put-together and professional all at the same time.

You’ve done her makeup for a lot of the big moments in this campaign. Do you have a favorite look?

The election night party would probably be my favorite look. I think it was the perfect blend of glam and professionalism and obviously it got a lot of attention, which I am very appreciative of. Everyone’s been so complimentary. For the campaign we’ve been a lot more neutral and subdued, so I really wanted her to pop on stage that night. We went for it, we did a little extra and it really went over well.

Election night was the first purple eye I’ve done. Usually I’m more of a natural glam kind of girl with golds and bronzes, but she said, ‘My suit is white, the eye has to be purple.’ I was like ‘How am I going to make purple look elegant and professional still?’ But once I put a little sparkle on the eye it really took it up a notch. Turning it up a little bit got people’s attention and really made her feel confident and beautiful that night. We might lean into the purple eye as the standard moving forward, but I like to keep people guessing.

The reason I reached out to you is because I got to sit down with Janeese Lewis George at around midnight on the night of the primary election and, obviously I wasn’t going to ask her about this then because I needed to ask her about policy, but she had been working all day, she had 10 different camera flashes on her and my microphone in her face and her makeup still looked great. How do you make it stay?

It’s really about the foundation. Making sure that the skin is hydrated and moisturized, but also choosing products that are more mattifying to last throughout the entire day. It goes into the powders: once you lay down a liquid product, being sure to set it with a powder. Then once I’m done I actually do have four sprays in my arsenal that I use over the course of the makeup application that really help it to last all day.

Four setting sprays?

Yeah, four. Each has a different purpose, one is hydrating, one is supposed to be waterproof.

Is there one particular product you’ve loved to use on Janeese Lewis George?

Yes, I like to use Dior Backstage Foundation because it's matte and it stays all day long.

Any other beauty secrets you’ve learned on the campaign trail?

Most recently I’ve learned to use more mattifying products. I think we are in love with dewy because we all want to look glowy, we all want to look full of life, but in terms of longevity and camera-ready, it has to be matte. It has to be matte. You can add glowy elements, like make it matte and put a highlight on the cheek, a glossy lip, shimmer on the eye and that’ll give you a glowy aspect, but overall it needs to be matte. The other thing is not to be afraid of it. I think people are like ‘Oh, that’s too much.’ But you actually need too much, especially when it comes to TV, film and photography.”

Women lawmakers, especially Black women lawmakers, often face a lot of scrutiny of their appearances. How do you balance this when doing her makeup?

Because I do natural glam, I feel like it’s always just an elevated look. I try not to make people look totally different from what they normally look like. But I do feel like you have to use all of your privileges as a woman, honestly. And if it is that you’re nice to look at, so be it.

And to the people who say that makeup shouldn’t matter, what would you say to them?

I think a polished professional is really what it’s about. It’s not just about the makeup, it’s about the whole look. Anyone who takes care of themselves and they do the extra mile in terms of their look are always going to be taken seriously because they present themselves as someone who’s very serious.

We say don’t judge a book by its cover, but we do. If she came out looking a mess, she wouldn’t be in the position she is now. We have to recognize how someone being polished is interpreted in the real world. It’s about getting people to stick around for 10 seconds and then they actually start listening to her speak. I mean, when I was 21, I didn’t care about politics, it wasn’t really my thing. But if I saw a glam I liked, I’d be like, ‘Let me see what she’s talking about. Oh, she’s smart and she looks good, I love that.’